Timpanogos Valley Theatre President Trudi Harter was on the Wasatch County Arts Council in 2022, when voters were considering approving a 10th of a percent local sales and use tax, called the Trails, Arts and Parks tax. She lobbied for it in any way she could: signage, flyers and conversations.
Her efforts were successful. Voters approved the tax; it went into effect in 2023; and the first grants for trails, arts and parks projects funded by the revenue were awarded in 2024.
Wasatch County, Midway and Heber City each have their own grant programs funded by the revenue. The Heber City Council on Tuesday awarded nearly $120,000 to 12 arts-specific projects of the 14 that applied, following the recommendation of an advisory committee. Each project is matched by at least 25% funding.
Timpanogos Valley Theatre received two grants to fund the production costs — including costuming, royalties and advertising — for two plays.
“Possessive! The Musical!” a family-friendly, pop punk-flavored comedy about demonic possession premiering in American Fork this week, will come to Heber City Sept. 3-5. Timpanogos Valley Theatre received about $5,000 to summon the production.
“That’s one of the points of our mission statement, is to support new and upcoming playwrights,” Harter said.
Timpanogos Valley Theatre also received a $12,000 sponsorship of “1776: The Musical,” which plays June 24 through July 4 in honor of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The funds will be vital in gathering hard-to-find revolutionary period costuming and wigs, which will also be used in the city’s Fourth of July parade, Harter said. The grant will also make it possible to donate 100 tickets to veterans and active military personnel through Black Rifle Coffee Company, she said.
“The grants do help offset that, and then we can all be more generous with everybody, and everybody wins,” she added.
Before the Trails, Arts and Parks tax was passed for Heber, Harter said, “If we received grants, we would get a grant for, like, $1,000 or $1,500.” So the Trails, Arts and Parks tax grants have been a game-changer, she said.
In 2024, the theater received a $20,000 grant from the county to replace the worn-out, nearly two-decade-old plywood stage in its building, which is a historic amusement hall the theater moved into in 2010.
“We thought we could do it ourselves, but in hindsight, no way,” she said. “It’s wonderful to have a new stage that will last us a long time.”
The largest grant given this year was $25,000 to the Wasatch Community Foundation to help install two monuments honoring Timpanogos Chief Tabby-To-Kwanah. That’s in addition to a $10,000 Trails, Arts and Parks grant from the county.
The first, a new grave marker for his son, Tom Tabby, was installed in the Heber City Cemetery earlier this month.
The second, a statue of Chief Tabby-To-Kwanah created by Wyoming artist Jonathan LaBenne, soon will be installed on the roundabout near the city columbarium. The unveiling was originally scheduled for Memorial Day, but LaBenne had a concussion after falling from a ladder and needs time to recover, explained Wasatch Community Foundation Treasurer Marvin Rust.
The two projects’ overall cost is $50,000, Rust said.
Chief Tabby-To-Kwanah lived through violent conflict between Native American tribes and Latter-day Saint pioneers, including the Black Hawk War from 1865 to 1872.
Although the church had placed an extermination order on all male Timpanogos in 1850, Chief Tabby-To-Kwanah remained a lifelong advocate for peace, signing a treaty with Heber City Bishop Joseph Stacy Murdock in 1867.
Rust spearheaded the project because he was passionate about “do(ing) more to honor the Indigenous people that were here in this valley” and to acknowledge that “this was theirs first.” He has been in conversation with some of Chief Tabby-To-Kwanah’s descendents and got their consent before going ahead with the projects.
Heber City’s nearly $120,000 grant funding in arts projects is nearly double what was allotted. Heber City typically uses 10% of its total Trails, Arts and Parks revenue — this year, $66,000 — for arts grants.
The city had also already planned on spending some Trails, Arts and Parks revenue on some projects, like the Chief Tabby-To-Kwanah statue, regardless of whether a grant was submitted. That’s why the City Council agreed to fund all 12 projects and figure out where each falls under the umbrella later.
Additionally, the City Council unanimously approved to increase funding of the arts grants program from 10% of the city’s total Trails, Arts and Parks tax revenue to 15% in its next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
“We made this arbitrary decision to give 10% to the arts as Heber City. There was no objectivity in that. It was a lowball, conservative, safe percentage. ‘We’ll throw 10% at the arts, and then we get to distribute the other 90%.’ I always thought that was too chintzy,” said City Councilor Mike Johnston, adding that he is not a creative person himself but appreciates the value arts adds to a community.
City Councilor Morgan Murdock agreed.
“Arts can change lives, and it’s had a really big impact on my family. Every single one of my children has performed on these stages and helped out backstage,” he began, choking up. “I love parks. I love trails. But arts is important. It’s powerful.”
Here are the 12 projects that received funds, totaling $119,774.
- Wasatch Community Foundation’s Chief Tabby-To-Kwanah Statue: $25,000
- Community Alliance for Main Street’s Music on Main: $19,612
- Main Street Entertainment’s Heber Tourist Shows: $17,000
- Red, White & Blue Festival’s Free Community Music Programming: $12,000
- Timpanogos Valley Theatre’s “1776: The Musical”: $12,000
- Wasatch County Senior Center’s Senior Arts Project Classes: $7,387.50
- Heber City Historic Preservation’s Home Tour Addition: $6,626.20
- Wasatch County Library’s Community Concert Series: $5,100
- Commemorative Air Force Museum’s Signage and Crowd Control: $5,000
- Timpanogos Valley Theatre’s “Possessive! The Musical!”: $4,999
- Community Alliance for Main Street’s Hello Heber Mural: $2,850
- Heber Valley Children’s Choir’s “Sing for America”: $2,200