The annual South Jordan Spring Spectacular was held on Saturday, April 8 and saw lots of eager egg hunters, minus the huge piles of snow on the ground. The absence of snow brought residents of South Jordan and neighboring cities out to watch the Utah Jazz Dunk Team wow with their aerial basketball skills, to pose for a photo opportunity with the Easter bunny, to cuddle some cute barn animals and to sing and dance on stage with Cory Cullinan aka ‘Doctor Noize.’

While the event as a whole began at 9 a.m., the egg hunt started at 10 a.m. and was sectioned off by age group. Thousands of easter eggs filled with candy and toys lay ready for kids ages 1 to 12.  The Spectacular also had an adaptive area, or an area where eggs sat on higher surfaces like on raised tables. The adaptive area was on cement rather than grass, making it more accessible to those with mobility devices.

This year’s Spring Spectacular welcomed some new attendees, residents Lisa and Juan Becerra, who brought their younger grandkids for the first time to hunt for eggs.

“We do lots of the activities that the city has,” Juan Becerra said. “These activities make it so much better for the grandparents of South Jordan.”

A returning member of the community, Carrie, who grew up in South Jordan but now resides in Magna said she brings her family each and every year that the city has hosted a Spring Spectacular.

“It’s a family tradition,” Carrie said. “We’ve been coming every year since I was a kid.”

Also new to the Spectacular this year was a community-input activity that the city sponsored along with partner Union Creative Agency. Participants of the activity were given play money in the amount of $1,000 and asked to allocate those funds into categories of art they wish to see more of. This community feedback will inform the arts master plan for the city of South Jordan. 

According to Janell Payne, director of recreation for the city, the arts master plan is a way to ensure that the residents of South Jordan have a voice when it comes to arts programs.

“We are looking to more officially, and in a strategic way, set up the progress of arts in the city and to continue with the momentum that we have seen,” Payne said.

With an arts master plan in place, that momentum and strategy of bringing the types of arts that residents want will remain in place for years to come. Payne said the plan will help the city be intentional and consistent with the arts despite who sits on the city council or the arts council in the future.

“We’re hoping that this master plan and strategic plan will outline the good we’ve done and provide some additional suggestions about projects and how we handle and acquire art,” Payne said.

The feedback activity at the Spectacular was one that has been used before by Union Creative Agency, a long-range and strategic cultural planning agency. Jake McIntire, the company founder and project manager for the arts master plan in South Jordan was on-site at the spectacular and impressed with the eagerness of the residents to talk and provide positive feedback.

“The community was very welcoming,” McIntire said. “That’s not always how we are received. Sometimes we do get some negative feedback about the arts as a priority for government, we didn’t get any of that in South Jordan.”

After the event, McIntire and his team took note of how excited and energetic the community was to talk about the arts.

The results of the voting activity will help Union Creative Agency, who also partner with Loom Planning & Design as well as Io Landscaping, present a clear outline for the city, which they plan to deliver in August of this year.

For those who want to cast a vote about the arts in South Jordan, the same community feedback activity will be out at Art on the Town on May 6 in front of South Jordan City Hall. For more information about projects worked on by Union Creative Agency visit www.unioncreativeagency.com/λ