HURRICANE – This Labor Day weekend the city of Hurricane invites everyone to attend its annual Peach Days celebration.
On Friday, September 3, and Saturday, September 4, downtown Hurricane comes alive with fun-filled events for the whole family. Come and learn about the area's pioneer heritage, sit back and watch the parade, cheer on the competitors in this year's fiddling contest, test the many recipes vying to win the Peach Cook-off, or come to hear the governor speak, there's something for everyone at this year's Peach Day Celebration.
"Everyone's welcome to join," said Vera Hirschi, a member of the executive board which oversees the Peach Days celebration. "It's like a hometown reunion," she added.
There will be "continuous entertainment," Hirschi said, which is reflected by the roster of musical guests that will be on stage and the legion of events and activities that will be taking place throughout the two-day fair.
Notable activities include, but are by no means limited to: the fiddling competition – discover who has the fastest fiddler; the Peach Days Parade – sit back and enjoy the floats pass on by; the Peach Cook-off – where recipes are prepared and tested in a battle for peachy supremacy; Pioneer Corner – here visitors can learn about pioneer crafts and lifestyles; a rodeo – see how long that cowboy can ride that bull.
Governor Gary Herbert also makes a special appearance at Peach Days on Friday night. Food and commercial booths will also be at Peach Days.
Peach Days is "a celebration of our heritage," said Hirschi, echoing the overall theme of the celebration. She added that: "We Hurricane people are very proud of our heritage."
The Peach Days celebration has been a part of the Hurricane area in one form another for the last one hundred years. It began as the "Fruit Festival" in 1909, with the name later changing to "Peach Days" in 1911. Year by year the event grew larger and became increasingly proper throughout the county, until it actually became the Washington County Fair in 1951. With the County Fair relocating from Hurricane to the new county fairgrounds in the 1990s, Hurricane residents began to miss the atmosphere of the small town celebration that had left their community. It was a short-lived absence, however, as the city revived the old Peach Days event in 1999, which has been growing ever since.
Peach Days officially begins at 10 a.m. on Friday, September 3, at the new Hurricane Community Center (formerly the old Hurricane Elementary School). For more information on Hurricane City's Peach Days Celebration and related events, visit the Hurricane City website at: http://www.cityofhurricane.com/categories/about/events/peach-days/
