Park City Announces July 4th Parade Awards

Park City’s annual Fourth of July parade drew thousands of residents and visitors, who lined chairs on Main Street to watch.

More than 70 entities participated in this year’s sustainable stars and stripes-themed parade, with awards presented to participants in six categories

Community Spirit Awards went to floats from the Park City Community Foundation and the National Ability Center.

The foundation hosts Live PC Give PC every year, raising millions of dollars for local nonprofits. It has participated in the parade for 14 years, and this year its members wore neon orange and marched with signs promoting Live PC Give PC 2024.

The National Ability Center works to empower people with disabilities. The center’s parade included a vintage police car leading a group of supporters holding a sign that read, “NAC Loves Park City.”

The Frog Prince and Spa Depot of Utah floats won the award for humor and funk. Local metal sculptor Zafod Beatlebrox built the Frog Prince art car from an old camper van. The float features the face of a giant green frog with big purple lips and a gold crown.

Spa Depot was participating in the Park City parade for the first time. Its float featured a “mobile patio” with two empty hot tubs, pool floats and a dancing duck mascot. The float’s riders were dressed in clothing that matched the duck motifs.

The WILS Foundation described its parade as a simple float, with red, white and blue banners. But the wilderness skills group wowed the crowd with the addition of a live band and won the audience engagement and community favorite awards. A crowd of students from the Park City High School mountain bike team followed the float on their bikes.

The annual youth award went to the Park City Ice Miners and the Park City Soccer Club. The Ice Miners float featured young athletes with hockey sticks, roller skates and rubber pucks. The Soccer Club had placed a flatbed trailer on top with turf, pop-up goals and suspended soccer balls.

Four organizations shared the Heritage, Traditions and History Award: the Park City Police Department with its 1977 open police jeep; the Park City Fire Department, with an honor guard, engine and ambulance; the Egyptian Theater’s colorful “Rock of Ages” promotional float; and the Park City Sailing Association with its new motorboat.

Deer Valley, which participated in 43 parades, presented a float made from repurposed decorations and recycled materials to win the environmental and sustainability award. The resort shared the honor with the Stein Collection. Its “Bee Stein Sustainable!” float featured a large bee with flapping wings, real flowers and a melting star ice sculpture spraying the flowers.

While not every float could win an award, all contributed to Park City’s jovial and increasingly popular parade.