Midway Swiss Days

By DARREN ALFF on September 5, 2010

girls from switzerland making funny faces

Today I rode my motorcycle to Midway, Utah, paid $3.00 for parking, and then walked to Midway’s Main Street just in time to witness the Swiss Days Parade. I took photos during the parade and afterward walked around the area where hundreds of booths had been set up and people were selling all different kinds of arts and crafts. While there were plenty of Swiss flags hanging throughout the grounds of the Swiss Days festivities, I was unable to find even a single person who spoke German. What I did find, however, were thousands and thousands of Mormons. The booths that seemed to be doing the most business were the ones selling Mormon paintings and plaques. In addition to the art and craft booths there was also live music and lots of food – none of which seemed to be particularly Austrian, German or Swiss. The event as a whole was fun, but after having lived and traveled through German speaking Europe, I was hoping for a more authentic Swiss experience.

Categorised under General, Travel
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05Sep

2 Comments

  1. ViCreative

    sooo cool! love the picture!!

    Vicky
    (new post: 1st Video | …and I’m off again! & follow me)

    Permalink
    September 5, 2010 @ 11:54 am
  2. Todd

    Darren,

    I’m not sure how I got to your blog–I was doing research on how to cap a pot rock stone wall (I’m an architect) and saw the Swiss Miss picture.

    Next time you stop by I can get you in contact with the six people I know who speak German (three of those are native Germans and Austrians).

    Swiss Days, like all American festivals, architecture, art, etc. that imitates European is a poor substitute for the original. I try to avoid the disappointment by not making the comparison. Instead I try to see the beauty–if there is any–in the American interpretation. In this case, Swiss immigrants made up fewer than 9% of Midway’s population. The English made up over 40% with the Dutch making up the next largest group at slightly over 10%. Sixty years ago the Homestead Resort decided to put on a Swiss festival as a marketing tool. Despite the authenticity, it is a fun experience to have your city population grow 3500% for two days a year.

    ps – My daughter is the one in the center. (Her ancestry does include the Swiss and we are recent transplants to Midway).

    -Todd

    Permalink
    October 8, 2010 @ 5:17 pm

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