Everything you need to know for Pioneer Day weekend in Utah
Jul 20, 2023, 4:00 PM | Updated: Jan 19, 2024, 12:01 pm
A woman marches with the Sons of Utah Pioneers in the Days of ’47 Parade in Salt Lake City on Friday, July 23, 2021. (Kristin Murphy/Deseret News)
(Kristin Murphy/Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Pioneer Day isn’t until Monday but celebrations in Utah have already kicked off. The state’s widely celebrated holiday gets a parade, rodeo and marathon — but that’s not all.
Days of ’47 Rodeo
The Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo kicked off on Wednesday and will run daily through Monday night. The rodeo is held at the Utah State Fairpark at 155 1000 West in Salt Lake City.
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According to the rodeo’s website, gates to the Fairpark open at 4:30 p.m. and entry is free but parking is $10 a car. Tickets for the rodeo itself range from $17 to $32 depending on the seats you pick.
Visitors can enjoy food trucks, try their luck at riding a mechanical bull or swing by the petting zoo. More attractions can be found on the Days of ’47 Rodeo website.
The gates to the show arena open at 6 p.m.
Opening ceremonies start each night at 7:30 p.m. The rodeo closes with a drone and fireworks show at 10 p.m. To note, the drone shows are only scheduled for Thursday and Friday, the rest of the nights will close out with a fireworks-only show.
There will be live music following each rodeo show.
Pioneer Day Parade
The Days of ’47 Parade happens Monday in downtown Salt Lake City.
The parade kicks off on South Temple and State Street at 9 a.m.
From there, it travels down 200 East, turns on 800 South and ends at 800 South and 600 East.
Days of ’47 Parade Route 2023 by Samantha Herrera on Scribd
But you don’t have to wait until Monday to check out the floats.
According to the Day’s of ’47 website, a free float preview will be held on Friday and Saturday at the Mountain America Expo Center.
The expo center is located at 9575 South State Street in Sandy, Utah.
The preview goes from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. both days. Photos with parade royalty will be available from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. both days.
Visitors can check out the floats, vote for their favorites and talk to the people who made the floats.
Marathon
Also happening Monday morning, albeit with a much earlier start, is the Deseret News Marathon. Runners will compete in either the full marathon, half marathon, 10K or 5K.
Each race has a different start time and location along the same route.
“The marathon follows the path the Utah pioneers traveled when they first entered the valley. This event is truly a part of Utah’s heritage,” read the marathon’s website.
The route ends between 600 and 700 East on 800 South, intersecting with the parade route.
Other Pioneer Day festivities in Utah
Check out our map of festivities in the state!
Up north, the Logan City Pioneer Day Celebration kicks off on Monday with events starting at 7 a.m. A fireworks show closes the day out at 10 p.m.
In Salt Lake City, a drone show will light up Liberty Park on Monday starting at 10 p.m., but other Pioneer Day events in the park start at 8 p.m.
Also in Salt Lake, a free, 5-mile long hike will pay tribute to the journey The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints pioneers took in 1847 to their first campsite, according to the Days of ’47 website.
The hike starts at 7 a.m. Saturday at Donner Park in Salt Lake City, located east of Utah’s Hogle Zoo. Participants will hike to First Encampment Park.
Mapleton City will host a Pioneer Day celebration on Saturday. Events start at 5:00 p.m. at Ira Allen Park and a concert that starts at 8:00 p.m. will be followed by a firework show.
Spanish Fork’s Fireworks Spectacular Concert will light it up on Monday at 10 p.m. at Sports Park.
University Place’s Pioneer Day celebration will shoot off fireworks at 9:30 in Orem, but other events start at 5 p.m.
Michael Camit contributed to this story.
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