Author: cnguyen

December 23, 2024

More than 500 local and international charities are involved in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Light the World Giving Machine initiative for 2024.

According to a press release by the Church, the global charities participating in 2024 include:

• Academy for Creating Enterprise
• American Red Cross
• Care
• Catholic Relief Services
• Church World Service
• Days for Girls International
• iDE Global
• Lifting Hands International
• MAP International
• Mentors International
• Right to Play
• Save the Children
• UNICEF
• Water Aid
• The World Food Program USA

Giving Machine items can be donated online through many of the organizations’ links above. These charities offer mentorship, support for children, food, education, women’s services and more to people worldwide.

According to Mark Seastrand, director of the Church’s Communication Council for the Orem and Vineyard area, the machines located in the Orem University Place Mall are sponsoring the Academy for Creating Enterprise and the American Red Cross, along with other charities that have local impact. These include:

• Community Action Services
• EyeCare4Kids
• Kids on the Move
• Meals on Wheels
• Tabitha’s Way
• United Way

These local charities offer a variety of donation items such as eyeglasses for children, visits to the elderly, resources for those with mental disabilities, meals for the hungry and new baby kits for parents.

“The first really good thing about the Giving Machines is it is a really good safe place where 100% of your donation goes to a good worthwhile organization that’s been vetted, approved and really is meeting the needs of the community,” Seastrand said.

Christiane Juvenal brought her family to the machines located in Orem. She said her daughter donated glasses, a donation made available by EyeCare4Kids.

“She picked the lenses for literacy because she’s partially blind,” Juvenal said. “She knows it’s going to go to someone that feels the same way she does …and so it’s more personal too, you know, to be giving to somebody that’s maybe your next door neighbor.”

Another one of Juvenal’s daughters, Heather Rand said it was especially meaningful to give knowing it would help someone locally.

“When it very first started, there were a lot of foreign items, like buy chickens and seeds and cows and whatnot,” she explained. “But this year I noticed that they have a lot more local things, which got me excited.”

Rand is going to have a baby soon and decided to donate a new baby kit for someone through the Giving Machine. In a world where social media encourages to expand reach, giving locally reminds her to serve those that are close to her.

“I thought it was cool to relate to somebody and have it be personal,” she said.

Curtis Beesley, executive vice president for the Academy for Creating Enterprise said it is both “beautiful” and “fascinating” that donations are put to use both locally and internationally.

According to Beesley, the Academy for Creating Enterprise teaches entrepreneurial and business skills to more than 30,000 people annually in 16 different developing countries. He explained that small businesses are what support these countries, yet many of the people living there don’t know what to do to start a business.

“We’re teaching people how to fish rather than giving them the fish,” he said.

Farming starter kits and piglets are among some of the items that can be bought through the machines, online or in person, through Academy for Creating Enterprise. Beesley said, in the past, donations have also been used to provide thread for women who make and sell hammocks in Merida, Mexico.

“I’ve seen hundreds if not thousands of individuals be helped simply by teaching and supporting and helping them see what they need to do,” he said.

Seastrand said the machines not only provide a way for people to give in a way that “helps people who need help get help,” but they also spread awareness of what each of these nonprofits do. As a result, he said the machines help increase community involvement in these charities.

Seastrand explained one of the best ways to help these organizations is by giving the gift of time through volunteer work.

“I would say a great opportunity of being a student is to not only gain an education, but also to learn about the community services that are available and pitch in and help out,” Seastrand said, addressing BYU students. “I think that is not only helpful to the community, but it’s very impactful to the education and to the personal experience of the individual.”

Seastrand said he sees a lot of joy, smiles and excitement from families that come and purchase items at the machines. “That’s part of the message of the Savior is to make a difference,” he said.

Read full article here.

December 13, 2024

OREM — Bobby Flay’s latest burger chain made its long-awaited debut in Utah this week, bringing in about 200 customers on its first day.

Still, he already has stiff competition in the fast-casual celebrity restaurant chain market on the Wasatch Front.

Bobby’s Burgers by Bobby Flay opened in Orem on Thursday, marking the first of nine restaurants that the chain plans to open in Utah as part of its U.S. expansion. Not be outdone, Slice House by Tony Gemignani opens its first location in Salt Lake City on Saturday, the first of a half-dozen more Utah locations the pizza chain plans to open.

Bobby’s Burgers debuts

Bobby’s Burgers — co-owned by the three-time James Beard Award winner and host of several popular Food Network shows — announced over the summer it would open nearly a dozen Utah locations. Shortly after, company officials revealed the first location at 575 E. University Parkway in Orem would be among the new businesses at the University Place mall.

More happened behind the scenes in the past few months.

Bobby’s Burgers’ Utah expansion came through a deal with MTB Management, which until recently mostly owned chain restaurants in Montana. Joe Sample, founder of MTB Management, traveled to the burger chain’s North Carolina headquarters for a recipe training session for everything on the menu, ranging from burgers to breakfast sandwiches Flay designed.

Sample told KSL.com that he spent a week working at the chain’s flagship location, learning the ins and outs of a fairly simple but more detailed menu than he was accustomed to from his experience operating a series of Taco Bell locations in Montana.

He took that knowledge back to Utah, as he continued planning the chain’s first location debut this week. The chain started radio and digital billboard advertising about a month ago, leading up to a soft opening on Thursday.

“We didn’t broadcast it anywhere and we got just the right amount of business to keep a nice flow going for continuing the train and develop the staff,” he said, adding that the company’s ads will likely switch from “opening soon” to “now open” within the next few days as more marketing picks up.

An official grand opening is expected to take place in early 2025, which Flay will attend. Details of that event are still being worked out, but Sample and Flay say they are thrilled to open during the holiday season.

“We’re eager to bring our unbeatable burger experience to the community,” Flay said in a statement on Thursday. “It’s wonderful to see our brand grow and watch as more and more people have the chance to enjoy our burgers, fries and shakes.”

Work to open other Utah locations is also underway. Sample said the chain is eying both the Holladay Hills and Daybreak areas in Salt Lake County as part of the next Bobby’s Burgers locations, but Utah expansion conversations are mostly in negotiations at this point.

Slice House opens

Meanwhile, Slice House, a growing fast-casual pizza franchise founded by 13-time world pizza championship winner Tony Gemignani, announced its plans to expand into Utah a few months later.

Its first location, 1332 S. Foothill Drive in Salt Lake City, opens this weekend in the revamped Foothill Village Shopping Center.

Its menu features an item unique to Utah called “The Jazzberry” — a play on the Jazz Bear. It’s a New York-style white pizza topped with beef, bacon, onions, garlic oil, oregano, and a blend of mozzarella, romano, cheddar, brick and blue cheese. It’s also topped with a raspberry jam from Chad’s Raspberry Kitchen, a local brand based in Laketown, Rich County.

It plans to open at 11 a.m. Saturday with a celebration with Gemignani in attendance and a few giveaways. Like with Bobby’s Burgers, its expansion into Utah is part of a larger plan to add many new locations across the U.S.

“It’s an honor to further expand Slice House’s footprint across the U.S.,” Gemignani said in a statement on Tuesday. “We are looking forward to this location becoming a go-to spot in the city for delicious pizza and memorable dining experiences this winter and beyond.”

Other Utah locations are still being determined, as well, but it also joins another restaurant backed by a big name in the culinary industry at Foothill Village.

Flower Child (1414 S. Foothill Drive), founded by 11-time James Beard Award outstanding restaurateur semifinalist Sam Fox, opened in October, as more national names look to break into the Utah market.

Read full article here.

December 8, 2024

OREM — Normally when you go to the University Place Mall, you’re looking for clothes or shoes. But the co-founders of Dreamwalk Park want to transport you to another world.

Dreamwalk Park is described as an “indoor, micro theme park” with the intent to help patrons escape this world and discover another one. The park is a series of rooms, hallways and destinations that are filled with fantastical creatures, plants and mysteries to explore.

“We just want to transport people,” cofounder and chief creative officer Ben McPherson said. “Ultimately, we want them to feel like ‘I actually didn’t feel like a mortal for a minute. I went to a different place.’ We want them to be almost addicted to that vibe.”

After arriving at the park, patrons are brought into a sci-fi-esque spaceport and greeted by a robot who helps them begin their voyage. Participants are given decoder wands (UV flashlights) and a portal pass (a microchipped card) they can use to find clues on the walls and unearth hidden creatures.

Travelers traverse across an erupting volcano, a galactic grotto and ancient alien ruins. The journey continues through a grove of glowing mushrooms, gemstone caves and other extraterrestrial rooms before ending in a steampunk cosmic marketplace that looks straight out of “Star Wars” — and even includes a secret robotic speakeasy.

The rooms are filled with ethereal music, supernatural lightning, large animatronics and artistic effects. The portal pass allows people to turn on lights, wake up ancient spirits, view holographic images, play games and even talk with a lab-grown fish.

There are Easter eggs, secret messages, hidden prizes and concealed clues to discover in the more than half-mile path that winds around 50,000 square feet. Shows of music, light and other visual effects occur every 10 minutes in certain areas to add to the experience.

“You can get lost in a 20-by-20 foot section of a tide pool for hours. So that’s what we wanted to do — we don’t have the size, but we have the ingenuity and the creativity to just fill every nook and cranny with something,” McPherson said. “It’s kind of endless on how much you can explore.”

From stones that glow as you pass your hands over them to robots that play music and creatures that seem to breathe and move, the founders emphasized attention to detail to set their interactive and immersive experience apart.

“Obviously, we’re not as big as like Disneyland, but we want there to be this micro detail that makes it feel bigger,” McPherson said.

Cofounder and CEO John Pope said he wanted the park to have “a certain level of perfection.” Employees, including “portal park rangers,” will be throughout the park as actors to help people feel like they are in another world, and not in the mall next to RC Willey.

“There’s a magic that certain parks have where you actually feel like you’ve left your real life,” Pope said. “There’s so few places, anywhere, that you can actually have that believable fictional escape where your imagination is convinced about where you’re at ,and we feel like this is one of those.”

“When you’re in here, you kind of forget what’s around you,” he added.

In most amusement parks, lights, speakers and other standard objects from everyday life are visible and can take people out of the experience, but the founders wanted to hide those as much as possible. So light comes from gelatinous glowing masses or lantern mushrooms, and the music seems to seep out of walls with no speakers in sight.

“Being able to be fully immersed and have your imagination be completely convinced by what’s around you, that’s on another level, and that’s what we wanna keep bringing for people,” Pope said.

The park will open on Dec. 12 and has been in the works for more than three years. Pope and McPherson met through their background in film but ultimately ended up creating the magical world of Dreamwalk Park with the hope of providing a unique entertainment experience here in Utah.

The founders even created an entire alien language that travelers can decode along their trek. Some people could even have “one-off” experiences that nobody else ever discovers, McPherson said.

“We kind of like that. There’s something noncorporate about it. This is a passion project, and we want the community to kind of feel how deep this rabbit hole goes,” Pope said.

Depending how much one decides to explore, people could spend hours in the other-worldly park, but McPherson said most people could expect to spend around 2 hours on their Dreamwalk expedition. He hopes people take the time to slow down, take it in, and enjoy the storytelling through exploration.

“Everybody wants adventure. Everybody wants to escape. Everybody wants to see what’s around the bend of the trail.O ur job is to provide more bends in the trail,” Pope said.

All of the effects are customizable, the founders said, so the experience can be switched up and changed for different seasons or events to keep the park interesting for people to return.

“It’s unending how we can expand and extrapolate in that way,” McPherson said.

Dreamwalk Park will also be selling merchandise and “high-quality collectibles,” such as trading cards, made in house by the artists of the park. Pope said they won’t be just standard gift shop items, but will be unique artifacts that inspire connection to the artists.

Read full article here.

December 5, 2024

Ben McPherson and John Pope had to hide their dream project from the world during the three years it took to build it.

Beginning this month, they’re eager to show it off.

The duo’s creation is Dreamwalk Park, a micro theme park located inside University Place Mall in Orem that will open to the public on Dec. 12.

It’s pitched as an “extraordinary digital experience” that “transports visitors to new worlds, both on and off the screen, allowing them to fully immerse themselves in cinematic environments” through “music and light shows, interactive elements, hidden scenes, articulating creatures, games, and collectibles.”

For McPherson, the co-founder and chief creative officer of the park, it’s the “perfect amalgamation” of everything he’s wanted to do.

It brings together his extensive experience as a filmmaker — he’s produced and directed content for National Geographic and IFC Films — and his art background, where he has specialized in classical realism.

“There’s the painting aspect, the sculpting aspect, the cinematic aspect, and, really, we think of it as an opportunity to bring people into a narrative, movie-like experience,” McPherson said.

The Daily Herald was invited on an exclusive tour of the park, which the creators believe is unlike any other type of entertainment destination in the state.

Weaving through a two-story section of the mall, the park takes visitors on a journey of nearly a half a mile through cave-like rooms showing intricate sets and creations, all visually appealing and some interactive.

Many displays may seem familiar, evoking memories of different media. There are giant mushrooms that appear to be  plucked out of the world of Mario. One entire room looks like the visitor walked into the set of Nickelodeon’s “Legends of the Hidden Temple.”

Other art is completely foreign, such as an alien-like plant sculpture that is engineered to blow air when you hover your hand over it.

“You walk in and see some of these areas, and they feel super familiar, not just because we created them, but because in our minds, I think we have a collective imagination, and we’re drawing from that and we’re drawing inspiration from a lot of folks that went before us,” said Pope, co-founder and CEO of the park.

“While we have some aspects that might be traditional storytelling here,” McPherson added, “we just really wanted people to feel like there was a singular, real vision here that is totally unique and different.”

Along the journey, customers are given a card that can be scanned at different stations to peer into displays, or, in one room, play little games and rack up points. You’re also given a flashlight, which is used to shine at the walls to see hidden messages and pictures.

Every inch of this mystically geeky experience appears intricately curated. There are hidden easter eggs, crawl spaces and a lab-grown fish.

Place your hand on one artistic rendering on a wall and it will read your mood. Watch out for ancient mummy faces carved into the wall that will yell out at you.

A major part of the production is the show rooms, which are three cavernous areas that provide on a variety of performances using visual and audio effects every couple of minutes.

The first room feels intense and adventurous and features a large waterfall. Pope describes the second room as more “Zen”; it offers an audio and light show in a futuristic garden.

The final show takes place in a room that looks like a cantina in Star Wars. Visitors are surrounded by robots and drones that seem determined to incite a dance party.

Several displays were designed to be interchangeable, and the lighting and audio can be tinkered with to match a certain holiday or time of the year.

“People want adventure, and they want to see what’s beyond that next corner, what’s around that next turn,” McPherson said. “And so we have to constantly be adding more for them to discover. Add more terms, add more hidden scenes, add more so they can come and just kind of be a kid and explore.”

McPherson and Pope acknowledge they’re taking a leap in trying to come up with a new form of entertainment for people to enjoy. The project is an enormous undertaking that a number of people have been involved in.

They’re thrilled to see how people enjoy it. “This is like the pinnacle of what you could ask for or dream of as an entrepreneur,” Pope said.

The park will typically be open on evenings and Saturdays, but it will vary by week. Entry fees are $32.95 for adults and $24.95 for kids ages 3-12.

Read full article here.

November 29, 2024

Shoppers coming through University Place over the Thanksgiving weekend may have walked by an impressive row of edible structures.

The Orem mall’s seventh annual gingerbread competition, which began Nov. 25 and ends Monday, shows off a number of miniature houses made out of the Christmas cookies, each with its own distinct flare.

One artist built the Eiffel Tower out of gingerbread. Another re-created ZCMI, Utah’s pioneer-era department store.

The contest’s winner was Krista Johnsen, who made a house titled “Naughty or Nice,” which depicted an elf psychic who appears to determine where someone will end up on Santa’s list.

Johnsen’s creation was inspired by Zoltar in the movie “Big,” she wrote in a paper displayed beneath the house.

“My concept evolved as I wanted to add a touch of Christmas and vintage carnival,” she wrote. “Thus, ‘Madama Elfina’ was born!”

Johnsen added that the house is an agamograph, or an art form that uses optical illusions.

“For a real treat get eye level and walk slowly past the fortune teller machine,” she wrote.

To catch “Madam Elfina” and the other gingerbread houses, go to the hallway between Tradehome Shoes and One Love Babe at the mall.

Read full article here.

November 28, 2024

If you’re looking for a way to bring more reason for the season to your holidays, we gathered a list of live nativities and other faith-centered events you and your family can do throughout Utah this holiday season.

Live nativities

A live nativity can serve as a reminder of what Christmas is about. There are multiple days and spots to check out a live nativity throughout our lovely state. Here are a few that could be worth visiting.

1. Nativity in the Glen, Salt Lake City

• Date: Dec. 3 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Address: Bonneville Glen, 1035 S. 1500 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84105

2. Hunt Family Live Nativity, Ogden

• Date: Dec. 20-23 | Performances begin at 6:30 p.m., 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
• Address: 2375 Fruitland Dr., North Ogden, UT 84414

3. Live Nativity sponsored by Miro, Heber City

• Date: Dec. 11 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• Address: Wasatch County Event Complex, 415 S Fld Rd, Heber City, UT 84032

4. Live Nativity at University Place, Orem

• Date: Dec. 9 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• 575 East University Parkway, Orem, UT 84097

5. Live Nativity at Nature Hills Farm, Cedar City

• Date: Dec. 9 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Address: 4326 N. 2100 East, Cedar City, UT 84721

6. Payson Community Creche, Payson

• Date: Dec. 6-7 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Address for indoor displays and performances: 608 W. 1400 South, Payson, UT 84651
• Address for outdoor displays and performances: 300 S. Main St., Payson, UT 84651

7. A Living Nativity, Mountain Green

• Date: Dec. 8 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Dec. 9 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Address: The Scotsman Center, 5859 Cottonwood Canyon Rd., Mountain Green, UT 84050

8. A Babe is Born Live Nativity

• Date: Dec. 19-21, Dec. 23
• Address: 1174 S. 1700 W., Lehi, Utah 84043

9. Christkindlemarkt SLC Live Nativity Experience

• Date: Dec. 4 at 6 p.m.
• Address: 2601 Sunnyside Ave S, Salt Lake City, UT 84108

Other faith-centered events

There are a variety of ways to celebrate faith and to even check out other religious traditions throughout Utah. Here are a few opportunities to experience and appreciate spiritual practices throughout our state.

1. The First Presidency Christmas Devotional, Salt Lake City

• Date: Dec. 8 at 6 p.m.
• Address: 60 North Temple St., Salt Lake City, UT 84150

2. Christmas in the Canyon, St. George

• Date: Nov. 29-Dec. 23
• Address: 1100 Tuacahn Dr., Ivins, UT 84738

3. A Utah Chanukah Celebration, Salt Lake City

• Date: Dec. 26
• Address: Utah State Capitol, 350 State St., Salt Lake City, UT 84103

4. Christmas Carol Services at The Cathedral of the Madeleine, Salt Lake City

• Dates: Dec. 17, 18 at 7:30 p.m., Dec. 24 at 4 p.m.
• 331 E South Temple St., Salt Lake City, UT 84111

5. Livestream of Mass from The Cathedral of the Madeleine, Salt Lake City

• Dates: Mass is livestreamed and recorded to YouTube on Sundays at 11 a.m.
• 331 E South Temple St., Salt Lake City, UT 84111

6. 38th Annual Spiritual and Religious Art of Utah, Springville

• Dates: Oct. 16-Jan. 8
• Address: 126 E. 400 South, Springville, UT 84663

7. Religious Academy Annual Christmas Show

• Date: Dec. 5 from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Address: 25 Main St., Lindon, UT 84042

8. Hindu Festival of lights Karthigai Deepa Puja

• Date: Dec. 13
• Address: 1142 W. South Jordan Parkway, South Jordan, UT 84095

9. The Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert

• Dates: Dec. 19-21
• Address: 60 North Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84150

Read full article here.

November 25, 2024

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah residents can now give, through vending machines in malls and community centers, to people in need both in the state and around the world.

The first Giving Machine, a highlight of the Light the World initiative run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was located in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in 2017. Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said the program that began in Utah has spread.

“We kicked it off, and now these machines are throughout the world, and others are given the opportunity to kind of lean in to that Utah way,” Wilson said Monday.

She spoke along with church leaders at an event to open the Giving Machines in Salt Lake City. Giving Machines in Orem open during an event on Monday evening.

Wilson thanked the church, City Creek Center and others involved for creating such an amazing program. She encouraged people to focus on others who might need a visit or some support during this time of year — people around them.

Elder Bruce Boucher, an area seventy of the church’s Utah Area, shared multiple donation opportunities that help people in Utah, providing food, shelter, mental health support for children, veterans, foster families and even pets. The organizations receiving donations that will benefit other Utahns include:

• Fight Against Domestic Violence
• Friends of Salt Lake City Children’s Justice Center
• Prevent Child Abuse Utah
• Operation Veteran Support “Honor 365”
• Show Up Utah
• Utah Humane Society

“These tools for giving are easy, and they’re fun. They’re not the only way to ‘light the world’ this Christmas season,” he said, encouraging people to look for other ways to serve as well.

Over 500 organizations around the world have placed items in the machines, located in 106 different cities.

Last year, he said his family went to a Giving Machine intending to purchase about four goats, but they ended up purchasing 18 goats instead. He said he hopes these machines inspire others to give.

Elder Karl Hirst, general authority seventy, is from England and said Monday’s event was the closest he had been to a Giving Machine. This year, England has three machines.

“I can imagine very easily that receivers and givers will both feel that they’re blessed and that their gifts come from above, illuminated by the Father of light,” he said.

When and where are the machines available?

The Red Cliffs Mall in St. George has a Giving Machine that opened on Nov. 18, but it will be closing after Saturday.

The Giving Machine in the amphitheater at the Ogden Christmas Village opens on Dec. 1 and ends on Dec. 15, just in time for the machine on Center Street in Logan to open up on Dec. 16 and remain open until Jan. 1.

The machines in Utah and Salt Lake counties are open for longer than a month. The giving machine by the food court at City Creek Center in Salt Lake City is open through Jan. 1 as well, and the machine at University Place in Orem is open through Jan. 3.

And you don’t have to make it to any of these cities to participate. Anyone can donate to the charities that have placed items in machines around the world at the initiative’s website.

Read full article here.