Utah's Capitol Reef celebrating its 80th birthday as a national park

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Capitol Reef National Park will celebrate its 80th anniversary as part of the National Park Service Wednesday with a variety of special events.

President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed Capitol Reef a national monument on Aug. 2, 1937. President Richard Nixon then signed legislation that created Capitol Reef National Park on Dec. 18, 1971.

The day's celebration begins at 9 a.m. outside the visitor center, where there will be a brief ranger-led history talk and complimentary cupcakes.

At 8:45 p.m. at the campground amphitheater, artist-in-residence David Boys will perform some of the compositions he has created in parks and monuments throughout the country.

Tom Wharton