ATV Jamboree

By PATSY STODDARD Editor

Mark H. Williams, president of the Southeastern Utah OHV Club, reported to the public lands council at their May meeting on the progress of their ATV Jamboree. The jamboree is scheduled for Aug. 13-16 and is called the Arapeen ATV Jamboree. The four day event will use Ferron as an access point for trails on the Manti-LaSal as well as the San Rafael Swell. He said they are advertising nationally for the event with a full page ad in ATV magazines. The information about the jamboree is also available at the website: www.arapeenatvjam.org.
The jamboree will consist of rides on trails on the Arapeen trail system. Only 25 riders will be allowed on any given trail. Two guides will accompany the riders. Williams reported that after the riding at Coal Wash on Wednesday a barbeque would be held on Dutch Flat Road with the historical society providing cowboy poetry for entertainment after dinner.
After the riding on Thursday the American Legion Auxiliary will host a spaghetti dinner. On Friday the Ferron Fire Department will cook the dutchoven dinner.
The boy scouts will be holding breakfast at the Mayor’s Park on Thursday-Saturday of the event. A safety class will also be held during the event on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. at the Ferron Multi-purpose building.
On Saturday will be a traditional Emery County lamb and chicken fry cooked by the local mayors. There will be many prize drawings throughout the event. Williams said, “We would like to keep all money raised here in the county and give it back to the area with trail improvements and other community service projects.
“I don’t know how many riders we will have. The Richfield event draws about 800 riders each year and the Fillmore event draws around 500 riders. All riding will be on designated trails.
“Vehicles will be trailered to the trail heads for dispersement of the riders to avoid environmental damages. We have emailed information about the jamboree to 150 ATV clubs.
“We want to show off our country and show that we do know how to protect it. We are trying to satisfy everybody. We also have an ATV as part of the prize drawing.
“The BLM is charging us $4 per vehicle, per day, per trail for access during the four day event,” said Williams.