Everyone’s invited for the Tourism Info Center Grand Reopening
The 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence is just over two weeks away and the town of Pahrump will be kicking off the celebration a few days early, with a grand reopening of the Tourism Info Center set for the final day of this month.
The Tourism Info Center is situated at the heart of town, in the Petrack Park parking lot, where visitors can easily pull off the road to pop in, stretch their legs and learn a little about the area. In the past, the structure has primarily housed pamphlets with details on things to do in and around Pahrump but with Travel Nevada offering grants as part of the America 250 initiative, Pahrump Tourism Director Jaynee Reeves was quick to leverage that opportunity to pursue a complete overhaul of the building.
“It will be an immersive experience for our visitors, telling the story of Pahrump,” Reeves explained for the Pahrump Valley Times. “It truly is a story, too. It’s going to let our visitors know that we care, we want to tell our story because we’ve got a lot of amazing assets and we’ve got a beautiful community. We’ve really put a lot into this and we’re so excited for everyone to come out and see it.”
The grand reopening will start with a formal ribbon cutting and there will be a local food truck on site, which will be serving up corndogs and ice-cold, red, white and blue “Bomb Pops” free to all attendees. It is an event that Reeves is highly anticipating, as she cannot wait for the community to see what has been done over the course of the past few months.
“The buildings and grounds dept. is adding additional curbing around the space and we had some boulders donated by Rent2Go, they went out of their way to bring us those and place them exactly where we wanted them,” Reeves detailed. “We’ve painted the building, we’ve updated the lettering and the lighting, we’ve placed one of the old ‘Welcome to Pahrump’ signs on the back of it. We’re going to have a trash can for the visitors and we’re getting some metal artwork that’s going to be installed on the outside. And then we’ve got another wayfinder sign that is going to be installed too, using historical wood from the museum.
“And we’ve also added some music, with a motion-sensor-operated audio system that will play the song ‘New Old West’ by local musician Rick Scanlan whenever someone steps inside the building. I think everyone knows Rick and it’s such a great song for our community,” Reeves continued. “There will be some little benches inside so people can grab a seat, listen to the song, grab one of our pad maps highlighting different venues in town, along with a QR code to take them to our newly updated Visit Pahrump website for additional information. It’s going to be more of an experience, rather than just coming in to grab a couple of pamphlets.”
Aside from all of this, Reeves is perhaps most excited about the new mural that graces the interior of the Tourism Info Center, which she is certain will attract plenty of admiration.
“We did a call for artists quite a few months back, had an interview process and decided on three artists. Our lead is Orlando Lara - who is the one who did the mural on the State Farm building over by Dairy Queen, so we knew his art was exquisite - and the other two artists are Patti Romo and Tori Pena,” Reeves said. “Just wait until you see this mural, it is stunning! There are different elements in it that represent our local venues, like the museum, the Calvada Eye, and of course, there’s something in there for America 250, as well. They even painted the ceiling! They really dedicated blood, sweat and tears to this project and it’s so obvious when you see it.”
Reeves made sure to underscore the partnerships that have helped with the project along the way, including with Pahrump Valley Main Street and Sam Kirchner at Pahrump Arts Connect, representatives of which will join Scanlan, the muralists, town and county officials for the grand reopening event.
The Tourism Info Center Grand Reopening will take place Tuesday, June 30 from 10 a.m. to noon, with the ribbon cutting slated for 10 a.m. The center is located at 150 N. Highway 160, in the Petrack Park parking lot.
For more information, contact the Pahrump Tourism Office at 775-537-5121.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com
