Wheelchair motocross star Aaron "Wheelz" Fotheringham launched off Woodward Park City's indoor megaramp Saturday, Sept. 12, capping the first Wheelfest with flips and jumps alongside other WCMX riders.

Wasatch Adaptive Sports organized the free event in partnership with Woodward Park City and the Utah Adaptive Alliance. Wheelfest grew out of Wheelchair Palooza, which Wasatch Adaptive Sports started in 2019, and expanded to include mountain biking, skateboarding and scooter riding alongside wheelchair motocross (WCMX) competitions, the Park Record reported.

Programming filled the Woodward campus. The event lineup included open skatepark sessions, pro demonstrations by Fotheringham and rider Kyle Marchant, adaptive mountain biking, a downhill mountain bike race open to all riders including youth and adaptive categories, a Red Bull Mountain Bike Whip-Off, a best trick competition and live music. Wheelfest also served as the finale to the Wasatch Adaptive Sports Pedal With Purpose Challenge, with all proceeds benefiting the organization.

Fotheringham, a professional WCMX rider from Las Vegas who tours with Nitro Circus, has been part of the event since 2019. Born with spina bifida, he began using a wheelchair at age 8.

"There's something about Utah that's got such a good community for wheelchair sports," Fotheringham said. "Anything (for) disabilities here is so much better than Vegas."

He credited healthcare services at Primary Children's Hospital as part of what strengthens Utah's disability community.

Thirteen-year-old Damian Munoz traveled from Los Angeles for the event. Inspired by Fotheringham, Damian owns a "Wheelz Chair," a WCMX chair Fotheringham designed. At Wheelfest he tried adaptive mountain biking and within minutes was riding around the park. He also got someone to try WCMX for the first time. His mother, Sophie Munoz, summed up her approach: "I never doubted him. He's very limited at what he can do, why limit him more?"

Eileen May-West, program director for Wasatch Adaptive Sports, said visitors who came to Woodward for a regular day encountered adaptive sports for the first time. Kids wandered up to the tent asking about hand-cycles, she said, while young skateboarders stopped cold watching wheelchair athletes work the park.

The event fits into a broader accessibility push in Park City. In July, the Park City Chamber/Bureau announced the town had earned Accessibility Verification from Wheel the World, with 30 businesses recognized at a ceremony at the National Ability Center. The Chamber/Bureau aims to at least double that number by early 2027. Chamber CEO Jennifer Wesselhoff told KPCW in July the goal is more than 250 verified businesses by 2034, adding about 30 per year. That effort is tied in part to preparations for the 2034 Olympics and Paralympics.

Becca Gerber, senior director of government and community affairs for the Chamber/Bureau, told the Park Record in July that the community "really does care a lot and does put a lot of effort into making things accessible."

No date has been announced for a 2027 Wheelfest.