Each September, the nation commemorates the unofficial end of summer with Labor Day barbecues and other outdoor activities. In Park City, it’s Miners Day that takes center stage, attracting around 20,000 people to celebrate and honor the area’s rich mining history.
This year, Miners Day is Sept. 2. It includes a host of activities the whole family can enjoy. The day begins with a breakfast in City Park, followed by a dog-friendly 5K run and, after the Running of the Balls (more on that below), a parade down Historic Main Street. Food trucks and a beer garden are stationed in the park, with children’s games and live music creating a festive atmosphere throughout the day.
Miners Day Origins
The term Miners Day originated as Miners Union Day in 1898 to honor miners by giving them a day off, according to Kristin Wright, of the Park City Rotary Club, which organizes the event, and Sandra Morrison, longtime director of the Park City Historical Society. In the 1940s, Miners Union Day merged with the nationally celebrated Labor Day holiday.
To help event-goers better understand the area’s mining history, exhibits featuring Park City’s past will be on display at Miners Hospital. Mucking and drilling demonstrations will be held as well. Showcasing such skills dates to the original Miners Union Day festivities, where competitions were held in Swede Alley. The demonstrations remain a popular attraction today in City Park. Mucking involved heavy machinery to load rocks (muck, or break up ore) into a bucket. Drilling demonstrations use a slab of sandstone to show how miners drilled into the walls of the mines.
The Miners Day goal each year is twofold: Provide a fun community event and maximize funds generated for nonprofits. Proceeds from merchandise sales and Running of the Balls purchases are earmarked for grants that are distributed to local nonprofits.
Running of the Balls
Pamplona hosts Running of the Bulls. Park City organizes Running of the Balls. It’s a fast-paced, see-it-to-believe-it event that creates excitement and raises funds for local nonprofits. The first Miners Day running happened in 2008 amid September snowflakes.
Today, thousands of contestants gather to watch upwards of 15,000 numbered golf balls plummet from a custom tower and race down a track equal to the length of three city blocks. Those that make it to the landing chute first qualify for prizes (including season ski passes). As the event gained popularity, organizers fine-tuned the production. Trevor Adrian is credited with building the tower that releases the balls into a chute for ordered retrieval. Software created by Ari Loannides now generates numbers randomly to match contestants with pre-numbered balls, eliminating the task of hand-writing numbers on thousands of golf balls. And Corrie Forsling, former Miner Days chair, was a “driving force for getting the event organized and modernized,” Wright explains.
Helpful Tips
Organizers offer some tips to help participants get the most out of Miners Day:
Purchase your balls for Running of the Balls online at parkcityminersday.org.
Get a good spot to scream as thousands of golf balls chase members of Park City High’s Interact Club, just as bulls chase patrons in Pamplona.
Check the weather forecast in advance and prepare for potential inclement weather in the mountain town (Miners Day saw snow in 2008).