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This 9/11 event draws thousands each year. Here’s how you can attend

In a large structure, people set up posterboards with photos and text.
Clarissa Casper
/
UPR
Volunteers help set up the 9/11 project at the Hansen Family Sports Complex on Tuesday.

Steve Casquarelli was a firefighter at ground zero the day terrorists plowed planes into the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers.

This week, 23 years after the attack, he is in Cache Valley volunteering for a project aimed at keeping his and thousands of others’ stories alive.

“It was something you had to see and experience,” Casquarelli said. "It was overwhelming how much help and love and care that this country was laying out for us back home in New York City.”

That sense of togetherness can be felt by visitors to the Cache Valley Remembers 9/11 Project, which is open to the public through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at North Logan’s Hansen Sports Complex. The project — an immersive exhibit that takes an individual through the events leading up to the attacks and their aftermath — is made possible through community support, with more than 500 volunteers helping each year.

Casquarelli, who is now a retired firefighter, said he travels from New York to Utah annually to set up a photo display and to share “hours and hours” of stories.

“It’s a way for me to pay back,” Casquarelli said.

Jennie Taylor, the executive director for the Major Brent Taylor Foundation, which organizes the event each year, believes looking to the past is essential in shaping the future. That’s why, three years ago, she came up with the idea for the project — a place where community members could reflect on what the tragedy meant then and what it means now. In previous years, the event has attracted 10,000 to 15,000 visitors. This year, more than 7,000 schoolchildren will be in attendance.

“As a country, we don’t know enough about our history to be able to pave a good path for our future,” Taylor said. “I think historically, it’s very important to educate ourselves, educate our children.”

In 2018, Taylor’s husband, Brent Taylor, a member of the Utah National Guard and former mayor of North Ogden, was killed in Afghanistan. To channel her grief, she started the foundation to honor her husband's life and legacy. She said she didn’t want to stop there and decided to commemorate the attacks that took thousands of American lives.

The exhibit features videos, photos and audio telling hundreds of stories. First responders will be present to meet with the public.

“It’s an opportunity to interact with people who keep us free and safe while remembering what happened 20 years ago,” Taylor said. “But it’s not only what happened 20 years ago, it’s what still happens today.”

A graphic for an event held by Cache Valley Remembers details the events happening to commemorate those lost in the 9/11 attacks. The graphic has boxes around each day to block out the schedule for each day. Each day is as follows; Wednesday, September 11: 9:00 am- Cadet Color Guard/Reveille, 10:00 am- Mark Gibbons--Solo country, 11:00 am Brigadier General Michael Liechty (retired) 911 effects on UT National Guard, 12:00 pm Lt. Col. (retired)  Winston Jones-poetry, 12:30 pm Wally Odd-Preparedness, 1:00 pm Cristina Edlund--Solo singing, 2:00 pm Music by Marly--Folk, County, Gospel, 3:00 pm Hector Soto--NYC Transit, 3:30 pm NY Guest TBA, 4:15 pm Red Cross Services for Veterans, 5:00 pm Good Time Band w/ John Edwards, 6:00 Interfaith Choir, 7:15 pm Bagpipe performance, 8:45 Cadet color guard/taps; Thursday, September 12: 9:00 am Cadet color guard/Reveille, 1:00 pm Matt Richey Bagpipes, 2:30 pm Les Patterson--Poetry, 3:00 pm Emma Rawlins (student), Lt. Col. Winston Jones (retired Army)--Poem readings, 3:30 pm Scott Zink--Retired NYPD Sergeant, 4:00 pm Hector Soto--NYC Transit, 5:00 pm Reflections Women's Chorus, 7:00 pm Miho Everitt & Rebeca Lopez (song/keyboard), 8:45 Color Guard/Taps; Friday, September 13: 10:00 am Dale major--Country music, 12:00 pm Watterson Children Honor Poems, 1:00 pm Chris Mortensen & Ricky Nelson (Song/instrumental), 2:15 pm Lt, Steven Casquarelli (NYFD Retired Lieutenant) (NYFD), 3:00 pm Erica Peart and Logan Cox--songs, 4:15 pm Jenny Taylor--MAJ Brent Taylor Foundation, 5:00 pm Five Hours from Dallas--Music Group, 6:00 pm Pat Hollow Idaho Plane Crash with returning Korean Military Personnel--presentation by Ross Peterson, 7:00 Bridgeland Brass Military Quintet, 8:45 pm Cadet color guard/taps; Saturday, Sept 14th: 9:00 am- Cadet Color Guard/Reveille, 10:30 am-Red Cross Services for Veterans, 11:00 am- Willow Drake & PTSD Service Dog Arlo, 12:00 pm-Becca Anderson-Harp Music, 1:00 pm- Steven Casquarelli (NYFD retired lieutenant), 1:30 pm- Police K9-Training & Duties, 2:30 pm-NEW RECRUITS-Ceremony (with color guard) "God Bless America" by Jacoby Nelson, Lt. Col Winston Jones (Retired) "Service Commitment", 3:30 pm- Parry Winders- A Delta Pilot recount of flights ready to take off when the attack happened. 4:00 pm- Jenny Taylor- MAJ Brent Taylor Foundation, 4:30 pm-Red Cross- Service for Veterans, 5:00 pm- Craig Mecham-Song & Instrumental, 6:30 pm- Cache Valley Men's Choir, 7:30 pm- Zach Martinez-Country Music, 8:45 pm- Cadet Color Guard/Taps
The following graphic from Cache Valley Remembers details the events happening 9/11-9/14.

Clarissa Casper is UPR/ The Salt Lake Tribune's Northern Utah Reporter who recently graduated from Utah State University with a degree in Print Journalism and minors in Environmental Studies and English.