By WESLIE STRATTON
Moapa Valley Progress
Local organizations are preparing for the first bi-annual ATV festival to take place November 13-15. The festival is intended to increase tourism to the area, boost the local economy and create a fun environment for both visitors and residents.
President of Moapa Valley Revitalization Project, MaryKaye Washburn, said that preliminary discussion on the festival has provided many ideas including the possibility of having local restaurants provide an abbreviated deliverable menu to visiting festival participants.
“We would do that rather than having food vendors and carts taking away from local businesses,” Washburn said.
Other ideas intended to draw tourists downtown and into businesses include a poker run, geo-cache event and a scavenger hunt. Another possibility is that of an event in the Lin’s Marketplace parking lot in Overton.
Washburn said that no official festival activities will be staged at Logandale Trails due to that being BLM-managed property where there is a complex permitting complex to hold organized events. But maps for ATV recreation will be provided for people interested in riding the trails during their stay in the community.
“We’re using private property for events out past Simplot,” she said, adding that ATV games located in that vicinity will draw participants into town.
“My feeling is we need to not neglect the downtown area because that’s the whole purpose of the grant,” Washburn said referring to the tourism grant that is making the festival possible.
She said that in order for tourists to have a desire to spend time in town there needs to be a friendly and festive atmosphere.
“We need things that bring people out in the evening in the street into a festive environment,” she said.
Ideas include sidewalk sales or an equivalent for businesses to welcome visitors and live music.
“We need to recreate ourselves to draw tourism back,” Washburn said, adding that businesses need to take advantage of events like the ATV festival.
A community clean up will take place from Whitmore Street near the Northshore Inn, all the way through town prior to Veterans Day and the accompanying parade; which will be followed by the festival.
“We‘ll need volunteers and dumpsters,” Washburn said. “To create a path on either side of the highway.”
She is hoping to incorporate the ATV festival into the parade as a way to welcome visitors to town.
The ATV festival will be the first of two with the second following in March.
“We’ll learn from this one and improve on it,” Washburn said.
