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Millcreek Journal

Venture Out! draws neighbors outdoors to bond as community

Oct 07, 2024 12:46PM ● By Jolene Croasmun

The band Dreamhouse dressed in pink for the Barbie-themed event and performed popular songs. (Jolene Croasmun/City Journals)

Venture Out! had a successful run this summer. The program is run by Millcreek City which includes Friday festivals that show a movie and feature live music, food and a twilight market in various parks. The program also runs Camp Tracy adventure weekends.

Aimee McConkie, Millcreek City’s community life director said, “This began before Millcreek was a city. I was part of the Canyon Rim Citizen Association, which was kind of like the community council and I always thought there was a connection in Millcreek that the community was missing but other communities had because they were established cities. So we started working with other community councils and we came together and launched our first Venture Out! in 2006.”

“It was a one day event and we had this amazing feeling that everyone loved it and getting together in Canyon Rim park. We were already doing the movie night then someone gave me the idea to move it around,” McConkie said. 

“We got rid of the one day festival and started doing events in June and July on Friday nights. We started doing events in the park and the key components of these were the movies, good food and getting people exposure to outdoor recreation and there would be vendors. We would go from park to park,” McConkie said.

“There was so much support from so many community members from the beginning. Rita Lund, Jeff Silvestrini, Jay Griffith, Diane Angus and myself were all instrumental in launching the first Venture Out!,” McConkie said.

“I think people get a sense of goodness when people gather, and get together and commune together, they get a sense that they are a part of a good community,” McConkie added.

“We work hard on programming some unique features to it. We call them the sticky memories. Memories are remembered more if there are emotions related to them and we want positive emotions around them,” McConkie said.

Several women in their twenties have made similar comments to McConkie when they find out she is part of Venture Out!. “You do Venture Out!? That was my childhood! We went to one park once a week.” These women felt that they were raised in a good community.

Venture Out! in Millcreek is different from the other cities community events in that it includes a lot of different activities around the event. “The deep play and the connection to the community by going from neighborhood to neighborhood draws your neighbor out and the goal is you go out and see your neighbors,” McConkie said.

Erin was with her daughters Elsa and Pippa at the June “Barbie” movie night at Evergreen park. “We live close by and knew they were playing the ‘Barbie’ movie,” Erin said. “This is our first one this summer and girls wanted to come see it.”

“These festivals have brought out other programs like Camp Tracy. Camp Tracy is at a Boy Scout camp up Millcreek Canyon. It is three weekends at the end of the summer and is some of the best work we have done,” McConkie said.

The camp offers fishing, archery, a ropes course and rock climbing. It is $10 per person for a day camp but you can camp overnight. Camp Tracy was established in 1918 and was formerly a Boy Scouts camp. The camp is geared to families.

“We want more people to come up there including people from outside of Millcreek. It is an urban camp. We have food up there and if you forget anything while camping, we have it there,” McConkie said.

Camp space is $50 and includes activities. There are cabins that sleep 10 that people can rent too. 

“We bring in a bird show, drummer show, there is a craft section and so much more,” McConkie said. “It is a camp but no one is telling you what to do.” λ