Last night, after a brief and enlightening exploration of several rooms of the historic Washington County Court House, my wife and I sat in the upstairs chamber of the historic Washington County Court House—the exact room where judges once banged gavels on the bench we sat right next to—and witnessed a brick-and-mortar survivor come back to life in an inaugural event to help tell the story of the establishment of freedom and liberty in America.
The revitalization of this landmark is an extension of Liberty Village's broader vision, which began with their initiative to develop a 32-acre American history park and interactive educational destination that will become the largest of its kind in the Western United States. The courthouse project is an outflow of that foundational mission. Liberty Village and partner organization United We Pledge helped coordinate the careful renovation and beautification of the Court House, rescuing it from near demolition.
Dennis Leavitt, CEO of Liberty Village and United We Pledge, kicked off the evening by recognizing the community stakeholders and local leaders whose intervention saved the structure. Standing in the restored space, Leavitt outlined the building's local history and its future as a living classroom dedicated to teaching patriotism and unity.
Following the opening remarks, guests enjoyed a delicious, period-appropriate supper that set a relaxed, conversational tone for the room. Then, eight or nine reenactors took the floor for Freedom's Light, an hour-long, theater-in-the-round live performance of a new stage production. Starting in the Green Dragon Tavern with the Sons of Liberty, the cast wove music and dialogue through major turning points of the American Revolution, interspersing the grand historical narrative with several accounts of lesser-known patriots.
The performance carried the room straight through to the dramatic signing of the Constitution, ending with a straightforward point: the everyday freedoms we enjoy were built on the immense sacrifices of those who came before us, and the daily responsibility to carry that work forward belongs to us now.
The premiere drew roughly 60 attendees and will be followed by seven more performances throughout this month, proving that immersive arts can successfully activate and honor historic spaces. The overarching goal is for this dinner-theater format to become a permanent, ongoing fixture of United We Pledge's educational and community engagement programming.
Sitting in that room, the connection to my own Journey to Liberty initiative was unmistakable. We share the same civic and heritage anchor points, and it was an honor to see the shared values of my project introduced to the audience as they stepped back out into the Utah summer night.
