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This Year’s ‘What’s Up in Riverton’ Celebrates Community

Nov 06, 2015 12:04PM ● By Bryan Scott

By Briana Kelley

 South Valley - Hundreds of residents and businesses turned out for Riverton City’s “What’s Up in Riverton-A Celebration of Community” on Saturday, Sept. 19. Riverton City Park was lined with local businesses and city departments offering free items and information. Families and individuals enjoyed the beautiful weather and the free hot dogs, snow cones and take-home items as they visited the various booths.

“It’s great to see what businesses the city has to offer because there are so many new ones. To see where they’re at, what they offer, what they have and, you know, get the kids involved. It’s a nice day to be at the park,” Riverton resident Kelene Rowley said, as kids played in the nearby bounce houses. Other kids sang with a local theater group nearby, and children and adults filled their bags with free knickknacks and coupons. 

“I’m interested to see what we have because we’re growing. We’re getting a lot bigger and more diverse. It’s good to see all of the different services available now, where we can stay in Riverton rather than having to go to outlying communities and keep our business in Riverton where we live,” Rowley added.

The city sponsors this annual event so that residents can get to know local businesses. Riverton City also had booths set up to answer residents’ questions and concerns, from city sports to future road projects. Mayor Bill Applegarth had a booth to talk about questions surrounding the Redwood Road widening project and the active transportation study currently going on. Miss Riverton ran a city jeopardy game. 

Local businesses, both new and old, were also grateful to be involved in the event. West Foulger, who works for newly-opened Larkin Mortuary, heard about the event through the South Valley Chamber. “It’s a great event just to get to know other businesses and the people of the community, and it’s been a lot of fun—very well-attended and the weather’s been beautiful. It’s been a blast,” Foulger said. 

Foulger added that he enjoys the free stuff and likes having such an event nearby that features local businesses. 

Oscar Jimenez works for Stone Ridge Veterinary Clinic, which has been in Riverton for four years. His booth gave out ice cream. 

“It’s very important for the community to know that there’s local businesses, like our dog facility, that is able to help them with problems with their dogs. And it’s a beautiful thing to be able to know that a lot of people who are going to be coming to our facility are people that live here in our community,” Jimenez said.

As Jeanne Applegarth listened to her husband speak with residents, she summed up her thoughts. “I just think this event is awesome. It tells the people of Riverton what’s out here and what we’ve got.”