In 1847 after a grueling journey, Brigham Young led the first group of trail-tested pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley and famously declared, “This is the right place.” And the Wasatch Back is a great place to be for Pioneer Day.
On July 23 and 24, Kamas will have a Pioneer Day program and ranch rodeo as a part of its Fiesta Days celebration. In Park City, Summit Community Gardens will have its own take on pioneer traditions with a "pie and beer" celebration starting at 5 p.m. featuring music by Pickpockets Bluegrass.
But there’s nowhere in the Wasatch Back that celebrates Pioneer Day quite like Charleston.
Jana Brown wears two hats. First as the destination sales manager at Heber Valley Chamber and the other, as a local with deep roots. She said the first Pioneer Day celebration dates back to 1899. Many of the traditions have carried over and start at dawn with a bang. Or, rather, several of them.
“The cannons have always been around," Brown said. "My dad did that before. Danny Edwards now does it and he's a native of Charleston. And so they light them off every 10 minutes until 6:30 a.m. So, if you think it's a one-and-done, it's not.”
After that, there will be the Charleston 5K and Fun Run, followed by breakfast, a vintage car show, a vendor market, food trucks and kid’s activities that would be Brother Brigham-approved.
“Those will be like a tug of war, all of the old-style games, the potato sack races, all those fun things that you can't play on video games," said Brown.
There will also be a live auction, parade, a free concert with headliner “Wildwood” and fireworks over Deer Creek Reservoir at dusk.
Brown said Pioneer Day has long been a family favorite.
“Growing up on a farm in Charleston, I remember it being my favorite holiday," she said. "One, because we did something with our family, and with all of our neighbors and everyone in the town. But also because we wouldn't have to haul hay or change sprinklers that day.”
Brown’s father especially loved Pioneer Day.
“My dad was always in a great mood because he was the one that would go and light off the fireworks every year," she said. "So he would manually go and light them off right there in the park. And we would all watch him do it and hope he didn't catch on fire.”
Fast-forward several years later, and some traditions never change.
