Thanksgiving Point
Encyclopedia
Thanksgiving Point is a 501(c)(3) educational institute and associated museum
complex and estate garden in Lehi, Utah. It is funded by contributions, admissions, and profits from its retail operations, and concessions. The current logo is a stylized version of its establishing landmark, a water tower. Approximately 1.45 million people visit Thanksgiving Point each year.
Alan Ashton co-founded software company WordPerfect
with Bruce Bastian
in Provo, Utah
in 1979. The company's financial success gave the Ashtons a desire to give something back to the community. On February 14, 1995, the Ashtons purchased land in Lehi, Utah
that was the site of the historic Fox Family Farm. Although initially planned as a place for their family to ride horses and care for farm animals, the goal became to create a destination for the community to enjoy nature and culture.
Thanksgiving Point: About Us
Thanksgiving Point: About Us
Agricultural practices of the area were memorialized in Farm Country and ancient dinosaur fossils were collected for the Museum of Ancient Life. Golf
, shopping
, and dining were added for guest leisure and to provide additional sources of revenue for the property.
's book The Secret Garden
. There are approximately four-and-a-half miles of walking trails.
Community horticulture courses are offered by Utah State University
master gardener volunteers. Noted horticulturist Larry Sagers works from Thanksgiving Point and teaches occasional community courses. Other commonly offered courses include square foot gardening
and perennial plant
landscape design
. The gardens educate about water-wise gardening techniques and operate a vast water reclamation
system through its Monet Pond and waterfall.
Public events include the Tulip Festival, Plein Air Art Festival, and summer concerts.
Children's Discovery Garden
The Children's Discovery Garden is part of Thanksgiving Point Gardens. It is an educational area designed to teach youth about the natural environment. The garden includes two child-size vegetative mazes, an eco-pond, and replica of Timpanogos Cave.
, the Thanksgiving Point Golf Course is the largest golf club in Utah at 7728 yards (7,066.5 m) long and more than 200 acre (0.809372 km²). The course opened to the public in 1997 and it is host to the annual Champion's Challenge.
While the course was built by and is still owned by Thanksgiving Point, it is operated and managed by Vanguard Golf Management.
The Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point houses a sizable collection of ancient fossils, skeletons, minerals, and rocks. Open since 2000, the most notable of the museum's collection are its dinosaur skeletons. In fact, the museum has the largest collection of mounted dinosaur skeletons in the world (60). The Museum of Ancient Life has been called "the Taj Mahal
of dinosaur museums." It features an interactive methodology in its exhibit design which includes more than sixty hands-on displays. These include an erosion
table, where visitors experiment with the effects of water on sand and a hands-on fossil dig.
Farm Country aims to teach an increasingly urban world about the origins of the food supply. Visitors to Farm Country see live cow-milking demonstrations, interact with traditional farm animals, and learn about the modern farmer.
, where the feast is kept as prepared and served as like the actual feast as possible, including a ban on forks. Holiday Lights features a drive-through light display with one million twinkling lights, holiday music, and a series of Christmas displays. Each spring from April to mid-May, Thanksgiving Point Gardens host the region's only Tulip Festival
. A number of concerts are also held in the Garden amphitheater and in Electric Park.
Private events such as weddings, parties, and corporate events are held in conference and meeting rooms throughout the property.
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
complex and estate garden in Lehi, Utah. It is funded by contributions, admissions, and profits from its retail operations, and concessions. The current logo is a stylized version of its establishing landmark, a water tower. Approximately 1.45 million people visit Thanksgiving Point each year.
History
Thanksgiving Point was founded in 1996 by Alan and Karen Ashton and started by Mr. Monoj Kumar from JamshedPur.Alan Ashton co-founded software company WordPerfect
WordPerfect
WordPerfect is a word processing application, now owned by Corel.Bruce Bastian, a Brigham Young University graduate student, and BYU computer science professor Dr. Alan Ashton joined forces to design a word processing system for the city of Orem's Data General Corp. minicomputer system in 1979...
with Bruce Bastian
Bruce Bastian
Bruce Wayne Bastian is an American computer programmer, businessman, philanthropist and social activist...
in Provo, Utah
Provo, Utah
Provo is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south...
in 1979. The company's financial success gave the Ashtons a desire to give something back to the community. On February 14, 1995, the Ashtons purchased land in Lehi, Utah
Lehi, Utah
-Attractions:Lehi Roller MillsLehi Roller Mills was founded in 1906 by a co-op of farmers. George G. Robinson purchased the mill in 1910, and since then it has remained in the family. It is run today by grandson R. Sherman Robinson....
that was the site of the historic Fox Family Farm. Although initially planned as a place for their family to ride horses and care for farm animals, the goal became to create a destination for the community to enjoy nature and culture.
"During the early days of Thanksgiving Point, new and better ideas for the property surfaced every week," says Karen Ashton. "I wanted incredible gardens with lots of roses, pansies, geraniums, and tulips. Alan wanted gardens with tomatoes, carrots, squash, and pumpkins. New ideas were prayerfully considered, researched, and then added to the master plan or discarded. It was exciting to imagine the possibilities for education and discovery."
Thanksgiving Point: About Us
"We wanted to create something for the people around us," says Alan Ashton. "We had been blessed financially and with a large family. We wanted to give something back to the community and the families in our area. Our vision for engaging educational activities was constantly expanding; line upon line, precept upon precept. Each time we got an idea there were additional things that complemented that idea, so it has grown. It has been exciting for us to think about the beautiful and wondrous things that gladden the heart and enliven the mind."
Thanksgiving Point: About Us
Agricultural practices of the area were memorialized in Farm Country and ancient dinosaur fossils were collected for the Museum of Ancient Life. Golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, shopping
Shopping
Shopping is the examining of goods or services from retailers with the intent to purchase at that time. Shopping is an activity of selection and/or purchase. In some contexts it is considered a leisure activity as well as an economic one....
, and dining were added for guest leisure and to provide additional sources of revenue for the property.
Thanksgiving Point Gardens
Opened to the public in 1997, the master plan for Thanksgiving Point Gardens was developed with Salt Lake City landscape architect Leonard Grassli. The gardens are approximately fifty-five acres and include fifteen different theme gardens, including a replica of the garden described in Frances Hodgson BurnettFrances Hodgson Burnett
Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett was an English playwright and author. She is best known for her children's stories, in particular The Secret Garden , A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy.Born Frances Eliza Hodgson, she lived in Cheetham Hill, Manchester...
's book The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was initially published in serial format starting in the autumn of 1910, and was first published in its entirety in 1911. It is now one of Burnett's most popular novels, and is considered to be a classic of English children's...
. There are approximately four-and-a-half miles of walking trails.
Community horticulture courses are offered by Utah State University
Utah State University
Utah State University is a public university located in Logan, Utah. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities....
master gardener volunteers. Noted horticulturist Larry Sagers works from Thanksgiving Point and teaches occasional community courses. Other commonly offered courses include square foot gardening
Square foot gardening
Square Foot Gardening is the practice of planning small but intensively planted gardens. The phrase "square foot gardening" was popularized by Mel Bartholomew in a 1981 Rodale Press book and subsequent PBS television series. A full-length companion DVD, Square Foot Gardening , was recently released...
and perennial plant
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
landscape design
Landscape design
Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practised by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice landscape design bridges between landscape architecture and garden design.-Design scope:...
. The gardens educate about water-wise gardening techniques and operate a vast water reclamation
Water reclamation
Water reclamation is a process by which wastewater from homes and businesses is cleaned using biological and chemical treatment so that the water can be returned to the environment safely to augment the natural systems from which it came...
system through its Monet Pond and waterfall.
Public events include the Tulip Festival, Plein Air Art Festival, and summer concerts.
Children's Discovery Garden
The Children's Discovery Garden is part of Thanksgiving Point Gardens. It is an educational area designed to teach youth about the natural environment. The garden includes two child-size vegetative mazes, an eco-pond, and replica of Timpanogos Cave.
Thanksgiving Point Golf Course
Designed by pro golfer Johnny MillerJohnny Miller
John Laurence Miller is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour. He was one of the top players in the world during the mid-1970s; he ranked second in the world on Mark McCormack's world golf rankings in both 1974 and 1975 behind Jack Nicklaus. He is currently the lead golf...
, the Thanksgiving Point Golf Course is the largest golf club in Utah at 7728 yards (7,066.5 m) long and more than 200 acre (0.809372 km²). The course opened to the public in 1997 and it is host to the annual Champion's Challenge.
While the course was built by and is still owned by Thanksgiving Point, it is operated and managed by Vanguard Golf Management.
Museum of Ancient Life
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal...
of dinosaur museums." It features an interactive methodology in its exhibit design which includes more than sixty hands-on displays. These include an erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
table, where visitors experiment with the effects of water on sand and a hands-on fossil dig.
Farm Country
Dining and retail
Thanksgiving Point includes shopping and dining options including Emporium, Emporium Garden Gift Shop, Garden Path Greenhouse, Harvest Restaurant, Trellis Café, and others.Events
Thanksgiving Point offers public events year round. Examples include a reenactment of the first ThanksgivingThanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
, where the feast is kept as prepared and served as like the actual feast as possible, including a ban on forks. Holiday Lights features a drive-through light display with one million twinkling lights, holiday music, and a series of Christmas displays. Each spring from April to mid-May, Thanksgiving Point Gardens host the region's only Tulip Festival
Tulip Festival
Tulip Festivals are held in several cities around the world, including a number in North America — most often cities with Dutch heritage — such as Albany ; Ottawa ; Gatineau ; Montreal ; Holland ; Lehi ; Orange City ; Pella ; Mount Vernon ; and Woodburn , and in other countries such as Australia and...
. A number of concerts are also held in the Garden amphitheater and in Electric Park.
Private events such as weddings, parties, and corporate events are held in conference and meeting rooms throughout the property.