What is Nevada Day?
The Nevada Day holiday is our annual event celebrating Nevada's admission to the union as the 36th state on October 31, 1864. Nevada Day as an admission day state holiday is only replicated in two other states - Hawaii and West Virginia. Most state and local government offices in Nevada are closed on the last Friday in October, giving residents an extra holiday during the year.
Nevada Day in 2011 celebrates the 147th anniversary of Nevada statehood with four days of events in Nevada's capital of Carson City, from Thursday, October 27 through Sunday, October 30.
Nevada Day Celebration in Carson City
The Nevada Day Celebration is appropriately centered in Carson City, Nevada's first and only capital city. Various Nevada Day 2011 events will be spread over four days, from Thursday, October 27, through Sunday, October 30. In addition to the annual Nevada Day Parade, other attractions include the annual chili feed, a beard contest, cemetery tour, golf tournament, Governor's Mansion tour, pancake breakfast, steam trains at the Nevada Railroad Museum, pinewood derby, and the RSVP Nevada Day Fair held at Mills Park.
Nevada Day Parade and Nevada State Museum
The biggest event is the Nevada Day Parade on Saturday, running down Carson Street from William Street on the north to Stewart Street on the south. Parade activities begin with a hot air balloon launch at 8 a.m. (weather permitting), followed by military aircraft flyovers from Fallon Naval Air Station and the Nevada Air Guard. The parade itself goes from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The theme for the 2011 Nevada Day Parade is Nevada's Great Outdoors, with co-Grand Marshals Chris Healy of the Nevada Department of Wildlife and Smokey Bear. (Carson Street is Carson City's main drag and also the route of highways US 50 and US 395.)
Admission to the Nevada State Museum in downtown Carson City is free for the Nevada Day Parade. Housed in the old Carson City Mint, 600 N. Carson St., this is actually a terrific museum full of exhibits covering a wide spectrum of Nevada history. Call (775) 687-4810 for information.
Nevada Day Governor's Banquet
The start of the Nevada Day weekend is the Governor's Banquet, to be held at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno on Thursday, October 27. Hosted by Governor Brian Sandoval, the banquet will feature special guest speakers, silent auction, raffle, and live entertainment. Proceeds from the banquet will be divided to equally benefit the victims and families of the recent tragedies at the Carson City IHOP and the Reno Air Races. Tickets are $40 per person for a table service dinner and can be purchased online. There will be a no-host bar starting at 6 p.m., with dinner starting at 7 p.m. Attire is semi-formal. For more information, call (775) 846-1130.
Nevada Day - A Brief History
The first Nevada Day Parade as an official state holiday commemorating Nevada's admission to the union was in 1938, but this wasn't the first event marking the admission date. Newspaper accounts and diary entries by various residents tell of earlier celebrations. The Pacific Coast Pioneer Society appears to have held various parties, including one in 1889 for the 25th anniversary of Nevada's statehood.
Governor Roswell Colcord made October 31 a judicial holiday in 1891, an Admission Day on which no court business was to be transacted. Virginia City and Reno had parades, but apparently no other towns observed the day with official festivities. After numerous interim celebrations, including a parade in Reno in 1914 for Nevada's 50th statehood anniversary and a big celebration in Carson City in 1938, Nevada Day became an official state holiday in 1939 with the passage of legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Peter A. Amodei. At that time, Carson City was specified as the place for the parade and other events surrounding the annual holiday. Except for three years during WWII, Nevada Day has been held in Carson City every year and has become one of Nevada's biggest celebrations.
Starting in 2000, the Nevada State Legislature designated Nevada Day as falling on the last Friday in October, with the parade on the following Saturday.
Why Did Nevada Become a State?
According to former Nevada State Archivist Guy Rocha, the commonly held notion that it was because of our mineral wealth and the need to support the Union during the Civil War is mostly a myth. The real reason was politics - President Lincoln's desire to get re-elected and the need for support to implement programs for rebuilding the Union after the war. Get the rest of the story from Rocha's article, Why Did Nevada Become a State?
Source: Nevada Day website.
