Labor Day is called Miners Day in Park City. The event, which takes place Monday, Sept. 5, includes a parade on Main Street, the Running of the Balls — a fundraiser for the Park City Rotary Club, which organizes Miners Day — and a revised version of the traditional mucking and drilling showcase.
The Running of the Balls that takes place prior to the Main Street parade is a sight to behold. Thousands of yellow golf balls are let loose down the street in a contained track.
Members of the public can buy a single ball from a Park City Rotary Club member, and the funds will be used for grants that are distributed to local nonprofits.
The highlight of Miners Day is the mucking and drilling competition that demonstrates the work that went on in the mines.
During the mucking segment, competitors use heavy machinery to load rocks, or muck, which is broken up ore, into a bucket. The competitors then load the ore into a cart and dump it as quickly as possible.
Drilling competitors, on the other hand, use large drills and hoses to see how far they can drill two holes in a 10- ton piece of sandstone in the shortest amount of time.
Miners Day started as Miners Union Day in 1898 as a way to honor miners and get them out of the tunnels for a day off. During the 1940s, Miners Union Day combined with Labor Day, and has remained that way ever since.
For information, visit parkcityminersday.org
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