Don’t be alarmed if you saw a giant bull driving a truck down I-15 on Thursday night — it’s just one of the floats for the Days of ’47 Parade, which travels through Salt Lake City on Friday morning.
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After spending a few days on display at the Mountain America Expo Center in Sandy, the floats headed out around midnight and caravanned downtown with the help of the Utah Highway Patrol.
The parade starts at 9 a.m., but people began lining up along the parade route to secure a viewing spot on Thursday afternoon.
The Days of ’47 Parade is one of the oldest parades in the United States. It began in 1849 and has been held annually since, barring the war years and COVID-19 pandemic. It honors the pioneers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who entered the Salt Lake Valley in July 1847.
Each float takes dozens of people months to create and represents a different aspect of this year’s theme: “Like, Learn, Love Pioneers.”
“It is just incredible to see the talent and dedication and love of our pioneers that all of the community puts into creating a float … that will help remember and honor those pioneers,” said Jodene Smith, the parade’s 2026 preview chair.
Those who made the floats exemplify the pioneer spirit, Smith said: “Things go wrong, things don’t go as planned. But they seem to pick up their bootstraps and start over and create an amazing entry for the parade.”
One float from the East Mill Creek North Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ pays tribute not only to the pioneers but also to the history of the parade itself.
The float — which is covered with antique-looking books and a giant copy of the Declaration of Independence — was inspired by an antique book on the life of Brigham Young, the church prophet who led the pioneers to Utah.
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About a week before she was asked to lead the float design, Liz Johnsen’s neighbor showed her the book. She thumbed through it, and it fell open to a page about that first pioneer parade in 1849.
“I thought, ‘Well, if I ever get asked to be in charge of a float, I’ll know what to do,’” she said. “And I closed it and I put it on my bookshelf.”
Johnsen and her committee worked to design a float that celebrated that first parade and the power of books and stories.
“Whenever you read a story out of a book, it comes alive,” she said. “Our whole concept is: We march into the future anchored in our past, anchored to those stories, anchored to those lessons … that we pull out of books.”
Johnsen said pioneer stories offer valuable lessons today.
“Those stories of our past can really help us create a beautiful future.”
How to watch the Days of ’47 Pioneer Day parade
The parade begins at 9 a.m. on Friday, July 24. The starts at South Temple and State Street, runs east to 200 East, turns south to 900 South, then turns east to 600 East.
A map of road closures is available at the Days of ’47 website.
Attendees can camp out along the route, although parade organizers also ask that visitors clean up after themselves and respect local property.
The weather is expected to be hot and sunny, so attendees should hydrate and bring extra water.
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Those watching from home can view on KSL TV-5 or watch the KSL livestream.