Photo by Raiza Giorgi

As summer draws to a close, one of the events people look forward to is the Wagon Days celebration and the iconic Big Hitch Parade.

Ketchum’s history started as an ore-mining town in the late 1800s, and the big hitch wagons served as not only transporting ore and other minerals up and over the mountain trails, but they also brought goods back for local businesses, according to the Wagon Days website.

Wagon Days is the celebration of the areas mining start, and this year’s event will be Sept. 1 – 3 in Ketchum.

There are many activities for people to participate in from concerts to pancake breakfasts and more.

The festivities start Friday, Sept. 1 with visiting the Ore Wagon Museum, Sun Valley Story Hour and Cowboy Poetry at the Ore Wagon Museum at 1 p.m. Finish the evening with the special Grand Marshal reception, honoring former Ketchum Mayor Jerry Seifert from 5:30 – 7 p.m. 480 4th St E in Ketchum.

Saturday morning starts with the Papoose Club Pancake Breakfast from 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. in Ketchum Town Square. There will be the Children’s Activity area with a petting zoo, face painting and more from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. in Town Square as well.

The Eh-Capa Bareback Riders and Escaramuza Charra riding group will be doing horse and culture performances at 10:30 a.m. in Festival Meados, 206 Sun Valley Road.

The Big Hitch Parade starts at 1 p.m. so be sure to get there early to get a spot! There are thousands of spectators that come to watch!

Right after the parade Mickey and the Motorcars will be putting on a free performance at Ketchum Town Square starting at 2:30 p.m.

For Sunday’s activities, the Papoose Club will be serving breakfast again from 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.

The event is marked with the poster that will be available for sale at the Ore Wagon Museum and now available on their website. The art is different each year, submitted by local artists from photographer to painters. This year’s poster art was done by Carol Waller.

For more details on each event, or to learn about the history of wagons and mining era, visit wagondays.com.