CASTLE DALE, Utah — Visitors to this year's presentation of the Castle Valley Pageant were treated to the same wide spectrum of emotions as viewers of the past 23 productions.
"The story was so well-written, acted and directed that we laughed and we cried," said one viewer. "We shed tears when the child and father died, and when the father saw his family in eternity."
The pageant begins with a train of wagons rising over the distant ridge, giving viewers the perspective of immigrants first entering the area.
"It was emotional for me to watch the covered wagons coming up the ridge," wrote a viewer. "It really set the stage for the rest of the evening."
Each year, one of the prized elements of the pageant is the mud puddle. "We were amazed to see all the utilization of the pond of water; it represented many things during the course of the evening," said still another viewer.
"The 'mud dance' was a lot of fun for us, and obviously, for the young men performers as well," wrote still another spectator.