SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - If you wanted a good spot to see the Pioneer Day Parade Monday, you had to get a spot early. Thousands of people camped out all night to just to get a front row seat. It’s a tradition that requires many to simply survive until morning.
If you know downtown Salt Lake, usually 1:00 a.m. is pretty quiet. But the night before the parade, it's not. Whether it's tossing a football or playing cards, the goal is to stay awake, or you may look a little different in the morning.
“And nobody needs a Red Bull to stay up, right?” reporter Brian Carlson asked a group of young children camping out.
“No!!!” they replied.
The earlier you arrive, the better spot you get.
“We got here at about five o'clock Sunday night,” said one woman from Layton.
“Midnight,” said a group of teenagers.
“Five in the morning,” said one woman.
“Wait, five in the morning yesterday?” asked Carlson.
“Yup,” she said.
Some spots turn out better than others--overnight sprinklers soaked several folks' sleeping bags on the west side of 200 East.
“Most of them were sleeping, and they woke right up and they were scared. It was so funny,” said one man.
For some simply enduring the night is their favorite part.
“There are people everywhere and everyone is so excited,” said one teenage girl.
“What's your favorite part about the parade?” Carlson asked one boy.
“Everything!” he said.
“You're waiting all night for when they throw candy from the floats?” asked Carlson.
“Yeah, why not?” said one woman.
“You know you can buy it from the store now?” Carlson asked.
“No, it's free when they throw it to you,” she said.
And if staying out all night doesn't ensure you see what you want, others have their own way of getting the most out of the parade.
”What are you doing?” Carlson asked a woman in the middle of the street.
“Chalking, we want the bands to play here,” she said.
“Do you think it's going to work?” Carlson asked.
“Maybe if we're lucky,” she said.
“We'll put in a good word for you,” said Carlson.
“Okay thanks,” she said.
“It's not going to work," Carlson said.
