What's Happening in Provo and Orem | Jan. 6, 2025

What’s Up Provo! Happy Twelfth Day of Christmas! Looks like Christmas isn’t over yet!

The Twelfth Day of Christmas is also called Three Kings Day, or Day of Los Reyes.👑 

As you may know, many people still celebrate it with Rosca de Reyes (King’s Cake) which has at least one small plastic figurine (representing baby Jesus) baked into it. The person who gets the figurine hosts next year!

A few highlights of today’s newsletter:

• 🌠 Star Wars Skate Night, Theater/Voice/Dance Classes, Action Tots (free class), BYU vs. Texas Tech

• 🦖 More spots now available at Jurassic Jungle

• 🥧 Lots of cooking classes to register for including a Youth Story Themed Cooking Classes

Nothing in this section is sponsored. We’ll always let you know if something is sponsored.

The Bulletin 📌 

The Ruth in Pleasant Grove 🎭️ 

The Hale in Orem has played its last play, and a new era has begun! It’s sad to see the old Hale go, but there’s no doubt the new theater in Pleasant Grove will continue the tradition of featuring some of the best theater productions anywhere in the state. Daily Herald Article

The “Quiet Zones” are back 🚂

We passed! “Federal Railroad Administration officials reinstated the "quiet zone" between Provo and Salt Lake City after all the crossings in the zone passed through a safe inspection this week, Lehi officials announced Friday afternoon.” —KSL Article

Sports 🏐 

🏐 BYU men’s volleyball (#6 in the country) defeated #11 Ohio State 3-1. Recap
🏃‍♂️ BYU honors Ralph Mann, Olympic silver medalist and 1981 BYU Hall of Fame recipient, who passed away Jan 2nd. Article
🏈 BYU Football finishes highest in the Big 12 in the SP+ rankings. (The SP+ uses advanced stats to predict which team would win when a game is played at a neutral site.) Article
🏀 BYU men’s basketball was stifled by Houston 86-55. Takeaways
🏀 BYU women’s basketball lost to West Virginia 53-66.

Today
39° | 🌧️ | 40%

Theater, Voice, and Dance Classes 💃 

With the start of the New Year there are lots of new classes starting up. Here is a quick preview of most everything being offered to children, teens, and adults at the Covey Center:

🎤 Voice class for teens (Jan - Apr)
🎭️ Theater class for teens (Jan - Apr)
🧒 Preschool Performers, and Kinder Creative Movement, Kids Tap, Kids all abilities classes (some of these are filled up already)
🩰 💃 Ballroom and Ballet (Jan - Apr)
👩🧒 Parent/Child Performers dance classes (18 mo. to 2 yo) - parents will have one-on-one time with their child but in a group setting
💃 Couples dance class (Jan - Apr)
🩰 Beginning/Intermediate/Advanced Ballet
🕺 Combo Class - ballet, jazz, modern, contemporary, hip hop
🌙 Middle Eastern Dance - for adults of all dance experience (will be performing during Halfa on April 5th)

Check out all their classes

Also:
👉️ Portrait Drawing (for teens and adults) at the Visual Art Institute in Highland
👉️ Star Wars Night at the Lehi City Ice Rink - wear your costumes and compete in the contest, or just skate the night away to John Williams!

Tuesday
36° | 🌥️ | 20%

Action Tots (free class) 🛹 

The Carry On Foundation uses action sports training to teach resilience, promote mental health, and build confidence and character! Their intentional approach to teaching action sports (think skateboarding, skiing, etc.) really is incredible—read more about it here.

The have a new semester of classes coming up, and to help people get more familiar with what they do, they will have two free 50-minute classes on Jan. 7th (tomorrow).

Tour their new skatepark, meet the Carry On coaches, and learn more about Carry On and their mission and how their classes work. This one is specifically for their action tots program, so if you have a 3-5 year old and you are interested register now for one of the free classes! (Spots are limited and there aren’t many left.)

244 West 100 South, Provo | 9:30am - 10:20am & 10:30am - 11:20am | More info

🏀 BYU vs. Texas Tech
BYU men’s basketball (10-3) is coming off a tough road game against Houston, and Texas Tech (10-3) is coming off a road win at Utah over the weekend. Now the Cougars and the Red Raiders are ready to clash in Provo! Let’s hope BYU can hold down star player, JT Toppin!
BYU Marriott Center | 7pm | Tickets | Watch

🧒 Sensory Friendly Evening at Thanksgiving Point
“Families are invited to explore the Museum of Natural Curiosity in a sensory-modified environment with lights turned down, reduced sound, and extra signage to help create a safe and less stimulating environment. There will also be a designated quiet area for those who need a respite. These evenings are reserved exclusively for families and children with special needs, autism, or sensory processing differences.”
Thanksgiving Point | 5pm – 8pm | More info (scroll past the admission section)

Also:
👉️ The Science of Muscle Health - Lunch N Learn at Kiln in Lehi
👉️ Tween Super Smash Tournament at the Springville Library (the tournament is also on Jan 9th)
👉️ Provo Rec Center’s KidFit program starts today (for kids 2 - 4)

Wednesday
34° | ⛅️ | 0%

Wednesday Night Lights Race 🎿

If you are part of the Nordic community you probably have heard about this already, but just in case—there’s a fun and “low-key” cross country skiing race happening on Wednesday!

There’s no extra fee for the race (just the normal ski pass is required) and the race starts at 5:30pm, don’t be late!

Here’s some free cross-country-skiing-racing-advice: push off using your legs (with a “snap”) and try to glide longer. Hope that helps.

Soldier Hollow Nordic Center | 5:30pm | More info

🏀 BYU vs Houston
BYU women’s basketball is 9-5, and coming off a loss to #18 West Virginia. The Houston Cougars on the other hand are struggling a bit this season and their current record is 4-10.
BYU Marriott Center | 7pm | Tickets

Also:
👉️ 1 Million Cups - Entrepreneur Networking at UVU at 9am (free refreshments!)

Library Corner 🏛️ 

👑 Three Kings Day
“Join Centro Hispano for a cultural holiday celebration with treats, gifts, and performances. El Centro Hispano les invita a una celebración del Día de los Reyes. Habrá regalos, comida y actuaciones.”
Provo Library Ballroom | Monday, Jan 6th @7pm - 9pm | More info

🧩 The Great January Jigsaw Race
“It's the Great January Jigsaw Race! Call or visit the Children's Reference Desk to sign up for a time slot. Assemble a team of two to four people; two of those people must be 12 years old or younger. See how fast your team can put together the all-ages puzzle (350 pieces with Large, Medium, and Small pieces so everyone can participate).”
Provo Library | All month long | More info

Register for next week’s Provo Library activities:
🤖 FIRST Robotics Demonstration (Jan 14) with the Mecha Knights Robotics teams
❄️ Learn It: 3D Snowflakes (Jan 14)
🏅 Mock Caldecott (Jan 15th)

🛩️ North By Northwest (NR, 1959)
Alfred Hitchcock month continues at the Orem Library. Watch Cary Grant as he is chased all over after being mistaken for a spy, all while keeping his hair and suite looking impeccable!
Orem Library | Monday, Jan 6th @ 6:30pm | More info

🪢 Rope (1948)
Another Alfred Hitchcock. And it’s another with James Stewart. Two college friends host a dinner party, but with a deadly secret…
Orem Library | Friday, Jan 10th @ 6:30pm | More info

📕 2025 Adult & Teen Reading Challenge Kickoff with Ally Condie
“If “read more books” is on your list of New Year’s resolutions, you’ll want to join us for the 2025 Adult Reading Challenge Kickoff. We’re delighted to hear from Ally Condie, author of The Unwedding, the Matched series, and several other novels, followed by a book signing and light breakfast.”
Orem Library (doTerra South Lobby) | Saturday, Jan 11th from 10pm - 12pm | More info/Register

Reminders and Notices ⚠️

So many classes starting up soon! We’ll talk about all of them (that we know of) below, plus we’ll include a few reminders/notices you should be aware of.

Jurassic Jungle - more spots now available! 🦖

We just talked all about classes and here we go starting off with a non-class reminder/notice… But it’s important!

The new Jurassic Jungle exhibit/play area at Thanksgiving point has been extremely popular. Even if you are a Thanksgiving Point member you have to reserve a spot, (it doesn’t cost any extra to reserve a spot), and for the longest time all the time slots have been filled up! But not anymore!

If you are a member go and log in now before the new slots (February 1 - March 31) are snatched up! (Admission to Jurassic Jungle is always free for members only, but advanced online reservation is required.) More info

Youth Story Themed Cooking Classes 🥧 

At this Provo Rec Center cooking class your child will recreate iconic dishes related to some of their favorite stories, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Lord of the Rings (Lembas bread?), Disney Princesses (Poison Apple Pie?), and Studio Ghibli (sushi?). More info

🍕 Artisan Pizza Making Class
The Jan 9th class at Indigo355 is filled up already, but the class on Jan 21st still has spots available!
More info

👨‍🍳 Reserve your spot at the Chef Paco Reception and Dinner
Exclusive event with Chef Paco at the Fireside Dining Room at Empire Canyon Lodge. Chef Paco has three Michelin stars, and there’s going to be music, jazz and a meet and greet! More info
(Also there’s a hands-on cooking class with Paco at The Brass Tag on Jan 12th.)

🎄 Christmas Tree Pickup
Provo City will be picking up your Christmas trees until Feb. 1st. Just put them out on the curb and the cleanup crews will do the rest. More info

🎟️ UVU Ticketed Events
🎸 Gangstagrass (think bluegrass mixed with hip-hop) concert at the Noorda on Jan 16th. Tickets
🎞️ Hamlet (starring Benedict Cumberbatch) will be showing at the Smith Theatre on Jan 9th. Tickets

Thanks!

Thanks for reading! Hope this edition will help you start your week off right! 😉 

-Nicole, Josh, & Carlie

p.s. If someone forwarded this to you, and you aren’t part of the group yet, then sign up here! 👈️