Hurricane celebrates heritage, joined by Gov. Herbert; STGnews Peach Days photo gallery

Written by Sarah Isaacson
September 1, 2013
Peach Days Parade, Peach Days festival, Hurricane, Utah, Aug. 30-31, 2013 | Photo by Jeremy Crawford, St. George News

HURRICANE—The 15th annual Peach Days ended with hundreds of satisfied people, lots of spirit, and memories of delicious peach treats to draw the community back for another round of Peach lemonade, fine art, displays, music and entertainment next year.

The banner theme for the festival was “A Celebration of our Heritage,” and that celebration filled two days packed with activities in addition to the usual fare of exhibits, vendors and entertainment.

Gov. Gary Herbert attended Friday night’s opening ceremonies with his wife and son. Small towns like Hurricane make Utah what it is, he said, and talked about the state’s economy doing well thanks to little towns like Hurricane. Joined by mayors of neighboring municipalities, Hurricane Mayor Tom Hirschi presented the governor with a throw featuring local attractions, welcoming him as a local homeowner – and taxpayer. Golfing and the beauty of Southern Utah were among the things Herbert said he enjoys.

Saturday morning started with a 12k “Fun Run” and morning parade, among other things, drawing crowds early.

“It creates togetherness in the community,” Kristy Stratford said of the festival, “and increases community spirit. That’s what this is about.”

Business owners, amateur chefs, and artists alike sold items and services within the booths set up in the park of the Hurricane Community Center and Main Street.  Wares and offerings ranged from financial consulting services, quilts, homemade handbags, accessories and jewelry to family recipes and home décor.

Peach Days draws a large crowd and people come for different reasons.

“We came out for the quilting,” Gaylene Chastain said.

“I like that Hurricane city puts this effort in,” Stratford said. “It lets kids share their talent and gives beginners and opportunity to advance,” Stratford said of the fine arts.

“We love Peach Days,” MaryAnn Bate, who won a blue ribbon for a piece of her art inspired by Egypt, said.

The sweet and the savory peach creations at the food posts ranged from funnel cake, crepes, scones, peach jams and drinks, to Filipino food and tastes from Hawaii.

Talent that had been preselected earlier in the week after a slew of auditions sang, danced and played live music for the crowd throughout the event.

The evening wrapped with a rodeo and fireworks.

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery. 

St. George News photographer Jeremy Crawford contributed to this report.

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Twitter: @sarahisaacson1

Copyright St. George News, StGeorgeUtah.com Inc., 2013, all rights reserved.

Peach Days Parade, Peach Days festival, Hurricane, Utah, Aug. 30-31, 2013 | Photo by Jeremy Crawford, St. George News
Peach Days Parade, Peach Days festival, Hurricane, Utah, Aug. 30-31, 2013 | Photo by Jeremy Crawford, St. George News

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sarah Isaacson graduated from Utah Valley University with a bachelor's in English, an emphasis in Creative Writing, and a minor in Spanish. She has written for the Daily Herald, published a semi-autobiographical short story called “Melanie” in Touchstones Literary Journal, covered the fitness industry for the Examiner, and in 2012 her first spec for the hit TV series "Shameless" made the top-5 percentile of the Warner Brother’s Television Writer’s Program. Sarah's personal blog is www.sarahtoday.com and her twitter is @SarahIsaacson1

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