Two July Holiday Celebrations, part 2

Days of ’47

Twenty days later, I was up early again for a parade. This time I didn’t have to stay up all night for a spot because I had an aunt and cousins doing that for me. This parade was the Days of ’47 Parade in downtown Salt Lake City. This is one of the biggest parades in the country. If I understand right this is second or third with of course the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade being number one and the Tournament of Roses Parade being up there too. If someone knows officially, let me know.

The Days of ’47 Parade is the culmination of the Days of ’47, a celebration that commemorates the day that Brigham Young entered the Salt Lake Valley with the first group of Mormon settlers, now known as Pioneer Day. As part of the celebration there is a pageant that crowns its royalty, a rodeo, a commemorative concert by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, a children’s parade, awards ceremonies, Brother Brigham’s Ball, services in the historic Tabernacle, fireworks and so much more. I have been to the parade a few times in my life and watched the concert many times via satellite broadcasts. Since I will be moving out of Utah next month, I figured I should celebrate Pioneer Day with the parade.

This year’s parade theme was “Pioneer Spirit – Then and Now,” so each of the float entries had to portray this in some fashion. It has become a tradition for many of the LDS church congregations in Utah to participate by building a float. Some of them are great. Other community organizations get involved, many high schools send their marching bands, major colleges in Utah have floats, other churches have choirs or bands, office-holding politicians ride by, horses and motorcycles go down the road and so much more. I really enjoyed this parade with the colorful and creative floats. It was a fun time with family and a good way to celebrate those who transformed the desert into what it is today.

These celebrations helped make these holidays even more of an adventure than they would have been otherwise. Make sure you check out the community events and celebrations where you live to have the best experience you can during a holiday of significance or just when the community decides to have a festival. It will be a great adventure.