SALT LAKE CITY — We are just a couple of days away from the big Days of '47 Parade in Salt Lake City, and people got a sneak peek on Friday and Saturday of floats that will travel down the streets on Monday.
“It’s a fun tradition to celebrate our unique heritage here in Utah,” said Jeff Adams.
Adams and his daughter, Tessa, were some of the hundreds at the Mountain American Expo Center in Sandy on Saturday, touring the floats on display.
EVENT LIST: Celebrate Pioneer Day in Utah with events all weekend!
“We have 30 floats here today — not all the floats, but it’s most of the floats for the parade,” said Tom Colligan, co-chair of the float preview party. “So you can come up and see all of the hard work that folks have put in to build their float.”
The parade is to celebrate Pioneer Day in Utah.
“It was 1847 when the first Mormon pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, and then they celebrated," Colligan said. "In 1849 was the very first parade, and we’ve had a parade every year since then commemorating the arrival of the Mormon pioneers.”
This year’s theme is "Pioneer Stories... Values to Build On."
“It helps remind me to never give up, even when times are tough... Stay strong like the pioneers,” said Tofilamoa Nalesoni, who lives in Taylorsville and attended the preview party.
People got to see the floats, get a closer look at them, and learn from some of the groups about why they designed their floats the way they did and what went into making them.
“It’s really actually fun to be out here because I get to see all of these like floats,” said Harmony.
People got a voting form when they walked in and can pick their favorite float. There are awards for people’s choice and children’s choice as well. “It’s super fun, I get to celebrate my ancestors, all the pioneers and the 24th of July,” said Genevieve.
One of the floats represented the Salt Lake Utah Tongan Stake. “It’s so awesome having them learn about our attire, our culture in general and just being interested in like the different designs and what they mean to us, is a lot. It’s awesome,” said Ofa Halaufia.
