A State Holiday

Yep, that's right. Today, July 24th, is a state holiday. That means our trash won't be picked up today, city offices are closed, banks are closed, some retail stores are closed, and the university cancelled classes and closed offices. The post office is open since that's a federal government institution and some grocery stores and big box stores are also open. Other than that, it's pretty quiet around town.

Why a state holiday, you ask? Well, it's Pioneer Day- a celebration of the first Mormon pioneers that entered the Salt Lake Valley in 1847 with Brigham Young. It was on this date in history that the Mormons decided this was the place to settle after their trek from Illinois.

The day is celebrated with parades, handcart reenactments, fireworks, and more. In fact, at times it seems some towns celebrate Pioneer Day with more activities than 4th of July celebrations. That's the part I don't understand.

Since we're not Mormon, and don't have Mormon ancestors, Pioneer Day doesn't really hold much significance for us. It's a day for us to relax and rest. This year we decided to head over to our nearby park for some of the excitement, namely the "high stakes Bingo" we saw advertised in the newspaper. Since it was free, we thought it sounded like a fun way to kill an hour of time. And who doesn't love winning prizes at Bingo?

This type of Bingo was high stakes because you didn't automatically win a prize once you got Bingo. You had to sing, dance, or make a fool of yourself some other way, and then the audience had to vote if you deserved a prize. I, not being the most outgoing in crowds, was not excited about winning Bingo. Standing up in front of a crowd making a fool of myself is not my idea of a good time. I told Scott, if I won, he had to go up and try to win a prize. Well, sure enough...the 2nd game my card won. Scott proudly ran to the front to see what he had to do for a prize. He had to dance the Lollipop Dance (the one the munchkins did in Wizard of Oz) better than the other 5 people up there. I don't know about you, but I don't even remember what that dance is...neither did he or most of the others.

Needless to say, he didn't win the top prize. His consolation prize was 2 free swim passes to the aquatic center. He was happy with that. I was happy I didn't have to dance in front of the crowd. Here's wishing you a happy Pioneer Day.