Photos from Utah’s Days of ’47 parade

The annual parade through Utah’s capital city celebrates Mormon pioneers’ journey through Emigration Canyon.

Pioneer Day revelers lined Salt Lake City’s streets Thursday morning to see everything from horses and handcarts to motorcycles and jeeps in the Days of ‘47 Parade.

More than 100 participants showcased the “Pioneer Spirit — Pioneer Strong” theme as they walked, drove and rode about two miles from South Temple and State Street to the north entrance of Liberty Park.

Utah’s biggest Pioneer Day event included more than 40 floats, ten bands and everything from beauty queens on horses to Utah National Guard members in a mobile artillery truck.

Spectators gathered early — including setting up their spots Wednesday afternoon — and remained enthusiastic as the parade trailed by for around an hour and a half.

Some of the loudest cheers were for the cleanup crew − golf carts following the horses with a shovel.

With its theme of pioneer spirit and strength, the parade celebrated the 175-year-old tradition honoring the first Mormon pioneers, led by Brigham Young, who journeyed through Emigration Canyon into the Salt Lake Valley in 1847.

Historians say the first celebration of Young’s 1847 arrival actually took place in 1849, though the parade itself has not been held every year since. There was a jubilee in 1897, for the 50th anniversary, and Covered Wagon Days in the 1930s.

In 1942, months after the United States had entered World War II, the July 24th parade was a military spectacle — but the 1944 parade was canceled. And in 2020, the parade was postponed until the following summer because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Events are scheduled to continue throughout Thursday, including an all-day celebration with watermelon eating contests and dancing at This Is the Place Heritage Park and the 31st annual Uniting Communities POWWOW in Liberty Park.