WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Washington County, Utah)
HURRICANE PEACH DAYS
Hurricane, Utah
HISTORY
Peach Days began as the Dixie Fruit Exhibit & Festival or the Hurricane Fruit Festival in 1909. It was essentially a county fair.In 1910, Hurricane started to hold a separate event called "Elberta Day" while St. George held a "Dixie Field Sports and Fruit Fest". Elberta Day was held each year from 1910 to 1914.
In 1915, the name of the annual festival was changed to Peach Day.
No Peach Days were held in 1916 or 1817 due to the fruit crops being destroyed by storms. Peach Days continued to grow and became the defacto county fair for a number of years. Boxing matches were added in 1923. There was no Peach Days in 1937 due to the lack of fruit that year, but the dedication of the new bridge over the Virgin River between Hurricane and LaVerkin took the place of Peach Days. Parades and beauty pageants were added in 1939.
By the fall of 1950, Peach Days were having severe financial difficulties. A meeting was held in the county courthouse in St. George with about 60 people in attendance, including two representatives from each town in the county. A plea to the county commissioners for financial aide was made. The county agreed to subsidize this important event with the condition that they change the name back from Peach Days to the Washington County Fair. Thus in 1951, the original Peach Days became the Washington County Fair with Hurricane as the nucleus for the fair.
Tom Hirschi, Jarolyn Stout, and other Hurricane residents reintroduced Peach Days as a nostalgic community festival in 1999. They established a theme of "A Celebration of Our Heritage".
Dates: (partial list)
September 2 and 3, 2011 (Friday and Saturday; 13th Annual)
August 31 September 10, 2012 (Friday and Saturday; 14th Annual)
August 30 and 31, 2013 (Friday and Saturday; 15th Annual)
August 29 and 30, 2014 (Friday and Saturday; 16th Annual)
September 4 and 5, 2015 (Friday and Saturday; 17th Annual)
September 1 through 3, 2016 (Thursday through Saturday; 18th annual)
August 30 through September 1, 2018 (Thursday through Saturday; 20th annual)
August 30 through September 4, 2021 (Monday through Saturday; 23th annual)
PHOTOS
TBDREFERENCES
Official Hurricane Peach Days websiteHistory of the Washington County Fair
Includes the history of Peach Days.
'Peach Days' celebrates 20 years with new activities, changes to old favorites
St. George News, August 29, 2018
Hurricane Peach Days is back and bigger than ever
St. George News, August 29, 2021