Nevada Day Celebration

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 a unique 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 - 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.

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 events will be spread over three days, from Friday, October 30, through Sunday, November 1. 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., 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 2009 Nevada Day Parade is A Salute to President Lincoln, which will be reflected in the parade. (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 on Nevada Day. 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.

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