Handcart Days is Bountiful's celebration of the pioneers who reached the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, and it has been running since 1950. It is two days long and entirely volunteer-run: a Friday night of food, games and a free concert in Bountiful City Park, then a Saturday that starts with races, fills Main Street with a parade its organizers call the second largest in Utah, and ends with fireworks. For Utah Valley families it is the big Pioneer Day parade north of Salt Lake County, and it usually falls on a different day from Salt Lake's own.
When it is, and why the dates move
Handcart Days has always sat close to July 24, but not always on the same side of it. For years it came before the holiday; in 2025 the organizers moved it after, to July 25 and 26, so it would no longer collide with the Days of '47 parade in Salt Lake City. The 2026 festival followed that pattern, on Friday, July 24, and Saturday, July 25. The organizers have already posted 2027: July 16 and 17, the weekend before the holiday.
The practical point for a family choosing between parades is that Handcart Days and the Days of '47 are now scheduled not to overlap, so in most years you can see both.
Friday: the park
Friday evening belongs to Bountiful City Park, at 400 North and 200 West. In 2026 the park activities ran from 5 to 9 p.m. and the concessions until 9:30: games and activities for children, food booths, and at 8 p.m. a free concert, which in 2026 was Jenny Oaks Baker and Family Four. In 2025 the executive committee's president described the scene simply: get a scone and a soda, watch the concert, and let the children play in the bounce houses and get their faces painted. The scones and the corn come from volunteers cooking in the July heat.
Saturday: the races, the parade and the fireworks
The day starts early. South Davis Recreation runs the Handcart Days races on Saturday morning, finishing before the parade; in 2025 that meant a 1K, a 5K and a half marathon between 5:30 and 9 a.m. The organizers note that the races belong to the recreation center, not to the Handcart Days committee.
The parade steps off at 9 a.m. and runs about 1.8 miles down Main Street to Bountiful City Park. It is big: around 100 entries in 2026, with the committee turning some applicants away, and in 2026 a theme of Faith and Freedom that honored both the pioneers and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The 2026 grand marshal was Greg Putz, honored for years of running monthly community dinners. Along the way the route passes the Bountiful Tabernacle, pictured at the top of this page.
Parade seating has a firm rule. Chairs may not be set out along the route before 9 p.m. the night before unless someone is sitting in them, and anything left out earlier can be removed by the police.
After the parade the park reopens for a second round of games and activities, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in 2026. The festival ends at 10 p.m. with Bountiful City's fireworks at Mueller Park Junior High, 955 East 1800 South.
The pioneer heritage
The theme each year points back to 1847, and a festival volunteer told the Davis Journal in 2026 that the celebration is meant for everyone in the area, of all denominations. The heritage shows up in the parade, which in 2024 carried the Days of '47 royalty down Main Street, and in the park, where past festivals have included mountain man and Native American demonstrations.
Bountiful's own pioneer history is close at hand. The Bountiful Tabernacle, at Main and Center streets, was begun in 1857; work stopped during the Utah War, when grain was stored in its foundation, and the finished building was dedicated in March 1863 by Heber C. Kimball, with Brigham Young presiding. Utah's state history office calls it the oldest chapel in continuous use in the state, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who runs it
Handcart Days is a nonprofit run by volunteers. In 2025 the organizers counted about 100 people planning year-round and about 800 more working the parade, the games and the food booths during the festival, with help from the city, its park crews, police and fire departments.
Getting there from Utah County
OpenStreetMap routing puts Bountiful City Hall about 54 miles and 62 minutes from downtown Provo without traffic. For the parade, plan to arrive well before 9 a.m.; Main Street is closed for the route, and the crowds are large. The nearest FrontRunner stop is Woods Cross station, on the valley floor west of downtown Bountiful, so most Utah Valley families drive.
For the rest of what Bountiful and its neighbors offer, from Mueller Park to the Bountiful Davis Art Center, see Things to Do in Bountiful and South Davis County.
Practical notes
- Chairs after 9 p.m. Friday only. The police can remove anything set out earlier.
- Bring cash or a card for the booths. The scones and corn are part of the point.
- The fireworks are elsewhere. They launch from Mueller Park Junior High, not from the park, so choose a viewing spot in advance.
- Check the year's dates. They move around July 24, and 2027 is set for July 16 and 17.
Related Guides
- Things to Do in Bountiful and South Davis County
- Pioneer Day, Explained
- Davis County Summer Festivals
- The Bountiful Chalk Art Festival
- Draper Days
- West Jordan's Western Stampede
- SoJo Summerfest
Frequently Asked Questions
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