Some 340 million people around the country are celebrating Labor Day this weekend, but in Park City things are slightly different. Well, it’s not wildly different. There’s still the barbecues, the delightful lack of work and the jovial vibes that come with a well-earned day off, but it’s called Miners Day in an homage to the miners who carved a lifestyle right out of the ground here in the Wasatch Mountains. The centerpiece of Miners Day weekend is the annual Running of the Balls—which bears little resemblance to the perilous event in Pamplona to which its name alludes—during which attendees vie for victory as a chaotic cascade of golf balls races down Main Street.
At 10:30 a.m. on Monday September 4, just before the Miners Day Parade begins, 15,000 golf balls will be set loose upon a specially made track running down Main Street from Java Cow to the Post Office. That’s a lot of golf balls, and as any hack who’s cracked a few down the cart path knows things can get pretty wild when golf balls pick up steam on pavement. Each golf ball is assigned to a person who—fancying fortune and triumph—purchases balls in the hopes of winning one of several significant prizes including season passes to Park City Mountain and Deer Valley, a set of Rossignol skis, and a host of gift certificates for dining, lodging and spa sessions.
Balls can be purchased for $10 each, in packs of 3 for $20, eight for $50, and 20 for $100 by visiting buyballs.org. Proceeds from the ball run benefit the Park City Rotary’s Community Grants and Scholarship programs. New for this year’s edition, Park City Rotary is partnering with Manscaped, a men’s grooming company, to double down on those double entendres and contribute to a good cause. Manscaped is selling 150 purple balls for the event, which put people in contention to win one of two $1,000-valued prize packages. Park City Rotary will be donating $1,000 to the Testicular Cancer Society on behalf of Manscaped.
There’s a whole lot more to Miners Day than just the Running of the Balls. The Miner’s Day Bark City 5K run—which dogs are welcome at, hence the name—starts at 8:00 a.m. The crowd favorite mucking and drilling demonstration will take place throughout the day at City Park near the skatepark, where attendees can witness the techniques that people used to get at all that silver ore back in the day
For a complete schedule of events and to purchase balls, visit the Miners Day website.
