🎓 Celebrating Graduation in Provo: A Local’s Guide to the Perfect Day
Provo Event Venue is the perfect place for a graduation party, wedding, corporate event, reunion or private party!
…a Provo Local of 30+ Years
Graduation season in Provo is one of my favorite times of year. The energy is high, the mountains are green, and families from across the country come to celebrate a major milestone in the lives of their loved ones. As someone who’s lived here for over 30 years, I’ve seen Provo grow into not just a university town, but a place full of charm, culture, and hidden gems.
Where to Throw the Perfect Graduation Party: Sparks Museum and Event Center
Graduation celebration in Provo Utah
One of the most unique and elegant venues in the heart of Utah Valley is Sparks Museum and Event Center. It’s more than just a rental space—it’s a piece of Provo’s history wrapped in timeless charm.
Why choose Sparks?
Central Location near downtown Provo
Historic Architecture perfect for memorable photos
Flexible Event Space for small or large groups
Built-in Provo Charm that adds a meaningful local touch
Graduation is a moment to honor where you've been and where you're going—Sparks is the perfect backdrop.
What to Do in Provo While You’re Here
Beautiful Provo Canyon
1. Hike the Y Trail
Great views, close to BYU, and a fun graduation tradition.
2. Explore Downtown Provo
Eat at Station 22, shop at local boutiques, or browse art galleries on Center Street.
3. Visit a BYU Museum
Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum and MOA are family-friendly and free.
4. Drive through Provo Canyon
Stop at Bridal Veil Falls, or head to Sundance Resort for lunch or a chairlift ride.
5. Relax at Utah Lake or Thanksgiving Point
Perfect for a post-ceremony picnic or casual day trip.
🍽️ Best Graduation Dinner Spots
Delicious colorful salad for a graduation celebration in Provo
Communal – farm-to-table excellence
Black Sheep Cafe – bold southwestern flavors
La Jolla Groves – stylish and comfortable
Brick Oven Pizza – family-friendly classic
🛍️ Shopping & Gifts
Graduation in Utah Valley is the perfect place
Graduation is more than a ceremony—it’s a memory. Celebrate it right in Provo, surrounded by mountains, loved ones, and local charm. And if you're looking for a place to mark the moment, Sparks Museum and Event Center is my top recommendation—historic, elegant, and rooted in the heart of this city.
Thanks so much for stopping by our blog! We hope you found this information helpful. We’re passionate about using our blog to shine a light on locally owned wedding venues. These venues often bring a higher level of expertise, service, and dedication to your big day. Plus, with less staff turnover than corporate or investor-owned venues, they’re able to provide a more personal touch. As you plan your wedding, we’d love for you to consider a locally owned venue like ours! Check out this wedding venue map to discover amazing locally owned venues across the country. And a big shout out to all the incredible locally owned wedding venues out there!
oo7 anyone
Bede 5 Jet featured as featured in the James Bond movie Otopussy
Our cute little Bede 5 jet that hangs from the ceiling is one of about 300 that exist. It is the smallest jet in the world and is seen on James Bonds 1983 film “Octopussy “ flying thru a barn at 325 miles per hour.
sparkys hamburger (Copy)
Sparkys Hamburger Sign
Sparky’s Hamburger sign came from a picker friend in Joplin who saw it while pickin and knew Sparky had to have it. He bought it for him and let him figure out where to put it. Thats the thing about making friends that are “pickers” they look out for each other when those friendships are made and stay in contact seeing how each other are doing. I as the daughter of Sparky have been in the car many times as he will call up a “picker” friend to just see how they are doing and how they are feeling. What is happening whats new and what is the recent hot item out in the collectors world of oil and gas.
Old guys like other old guys stories
Red Indian gas pump
When you visit Sparks Museum and Event center you will see our beautiful Roman Column gas pump along with our Red Indian Gas pump. Both are fun stories of how we got them. They are each very valuable and hard to find at any price.
Its all about the story
Sparky loves his family and loves his signs:)
Sparky learned a long time ago it is not often about the currency. Many collectors start off saying the do not want to sell the wanted treasure until…. the right thing is offered and then game on. Many collections are priceless to the owner and are thought of as a treasure not to be bought. This is where the fun begins and negotiations take place. Most owners don’t even know there is something other than cash that will entice them so creativity is a huge part of the fun. Unfortunately auction houses entered the game and almost gone are the days of negotiating or trading . Makes it so the stories are gone and it is not as fun as it once was. Sparky is all about the hunt, the game, the stories, the new friends and yes about finally getting the sign.
What spurred the Petroliana collection?
First sign acquired sign hangs on this white building. Gargoil Mobile and Willis Knight.
In 2013 when Sparky and Jeannie were headed to Guatemala to serve a mission their son Tim was running the Storage Park. He suggested “dressing up the park a bit” Sparky had been mildly collecting a few gas pumps here and there and had about 11 in total. Restoring the first pump that once sat outside Sparky’s home. We put them in front of the office of the Storage Park and some of the few old signs on the walls there.
Tim restored a few more pumps while Sparky was away and when Sparky returned is when the real collecting begin to take place. Tim suggested they go hunting for more pumps and so they did. So back to “picking “ it was but new and improved with the internet and facebook in tow. They learned that gas pump collectors also collected signs and so the sign collecting was added to the search. The first sign was the Kendall Oil sign which hangs on the right upper side of one of the outdoor buildings.
This begin the new and improved hunting and picking that is what Sparks Event Center has now become!
The man behind the Mue
It all begins with an idea.
The seeds of the collection at Sparks Museum and Event Center were sewn in the Summer of 1957 as Sparky (the creator) went with his friend Todd Roberts, on a trip thru old ghost towns in Nevada and found a very nice original 1929 Model A Ford pickup that he bought for $25 . They tied it to the back bumper of his 49 oldsmobile and towed it all the way over the mountains back to Bel Air where he lived and began restoration on it while still in high school. He sold it before he finished and has always been sorry. Always a dreamer and creator even int the 50s he had the eye to collect and to restore. He loved old things then and loves them even more now.
In 1979 he bought an Erskine in Helper, Utah and that spouted those seeds again . That car he restored when I was a child about 10 years old. I remember him spending hours upon hours on it. He was in need of the parts to get it all back together and would drive all over, becoming what now days is called a “picker” as that was the only way to find parts. There was no internet only your car and lots of farmland with what to many would deem as junk piles. However he would see that so called junk and find the treasure part he had been in search of. Picking was the very best source.
He was a super picker and hauled huge loads of awesome stuff home from every trip he took. Back then the signs and gas pumps he saw he thought of as “junk” The exception was the old visible gas pumps. He did haul a few of those home and restored one as a Texaco and put it in front our home when I was young. We now have that pump in our collection at Sparks Museum and Event Center . This pump is located outside across the street in front of Lakeside Storage along with two signs he picked up. The Gargoil Mobile sign and the Willis Knight sign.