Santa Clara Swiss Days
Thursday, September 23, 2027 – September 25, 2027 · All day
Santa Clara Drive & Heritage Square, Santa Clara
A Company Called Across an Ocean
In October 1861, Brigham Young called dozens of newly converted families at general conference to help settle Utah's southern colonies, and among them was a company of roughly 85 Swiss converts already scattered across northern Utah settlements, ordered south together as a group. They came from both sides of Switzerland's language line — German-speaking cantons including Bern, Zurich and Thurgau, and French-speaking Neuchatel and Vaud among others — many only months removed from the ocean crossing. The company reached the Santa Clara fort on November 28, 1861, joining roughly 20 families already living there. Church leaders sent them specifically for their vineyard experience: Santa Clara's climate and river-bottom soil suited grapes in a way the surrounding desert did not.
The Flood That Erased the First Fort
The company had barely finished its first winter when 44 days of rain sent the Santa Clara River over its banks in January 1862. The settlement's solid-rock fort came apart wall by wall, along with the mills, dams and ditches the settlers had just built. Survivors relocated the townsite roughly three-quarters of a mile downstream to higher ground — the site of modern Santa Clara — and started over. No trace of the original fort survives; everything standing today in town was built after the flood.
Grapes, Not Grain
The Swiss settlers' viticultural know-how paid off. By 1875, Santa Clara-area growers were producing more than 100 grape varieties and roughly three million pounds of fruit a year, and wine became a cash commodity traded to Salt Lake City settlements for flour and potatoes and sold as far as Pioche, Nevada. German immigrant John Naegle took over much of the commercial winemaking by 1866, marketing his product as Utah's best. Not every trade the settlers carried survived the crossing in a form anyone expected: one settler, John Itten, is said to have bartered pieces of his old property back in Bern for instruments to start Santa Clara's first brass band.
The Pioneer Homes Still Standing on Santa Clara Drive
Three of the company's houses still stand along Santa Clara Drive and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Hans George Hafen House at 3003 Santa Clara Drive was built in 1862 by an immigrant from Thurgau canton, making it one of the oldest structures in town. The Frederick and Anna Maria Reber house nearby dates to 1870, and the George and Bertha Graff house, built in 1908 by a farmer of Swiss descent, is the youngest of the three. Between them they trace nearly 50 years of the families who kept building here after the flood.
A Festival Built to Save Them
Swiss Days began in 1990, originally as a fundraiser to help the city preserve its historic buildings before it grew into the heritage celebration it is today. The modern festival runs Thursday through Saturday: a community dinner and opening ceremony introducing the Grand Marshal and Santa Clara royalty starts the week, Friday brings vendor booths, hands-on pioneer activities for kids at Heritage Square, and an evening concert, and Saturday carries the bulk of the program — a 5K, a pancake breakfast, the parade down Santa Clara Drive from the Jacob Hamblin Home to city hall behind the festival's well-known wooden cow standees, a car show at Canyon View Park, and a yodeling contest and Swiss Miss and Mister pageant on the Heritage Square stage. The weekend now draws around 10,000 visitors to a town of under 8,000 residents.
Parking and Getting Around
Downtown Santa Clara has little parking capacity of its own, and the city leans on a shuttle service rather than opening extra lots near Heritage Square. Santa Clara Drive closes along the parade route Saturday morning, so plan to walk the last stretch in from wherever you park. It suits families and anyone drawn to small-town pioneer history more than it does a big-city festival crowd; visitors staying the Ivins-Santa Clara-Kayenta area for the weekend can pair it with a meal or a place to stay nearby.
Frequently asked questions
Where should I park for Swiss Days?
Snow Canyon High School serves as the main overflow lot, with a free shuttle running riders from there to both the city hall hub and the Canyon View Park car show all day. Following the shuttle signs to Snow Canyon High is more reliable than circling downtown for a curbside spot.
Is Swiss Days free to attend?
Swiss Days is a walk-up festival: the street program along Santa Clara Drive and Heritage Square is open to anyone who shows up, with no gate and no wristband. The 5K and the pancake breakfast that follows it are the two pieces that need registering for in advance, because both have a headcount the organizers have to plan around.
Can I bring my dog to Swiss Days?
Leashed dogs are allowed in Santa Clara's parks, but the crowd along the parade route, the car show engines, and the shuttle traffic make Heritage Square and Santa Clara Drive a stressful place for most pets during the festival. Leaving dogs at home is the more common choice.
How early should I get there for the parade?
The parade runs the length of Santa Clara Drive from the Jacob Hamblin Home to city hall, and the shaded stretch near city hall fills first since it doubles as the festival hub. Arriving a half hour or more before the parade steps off, rather than right at the start, is what locals do for a spot with shade.
What is the Swiss Miss and Mister pageant?
It is a Heritage Square stage tradition where younger festivalgoers are introduced in Swiss dress alongside the yodeling contest, distinct from the Grand Marshal and Santa Clara royalty who lead the parade itself.
What happens if it rains during Swiss Days?
Santa Clara's late-September weather is typically dry, but the festival's outdoor events, including the parade and car show, run as scheduled through light rain. Check the city's Swiss Days page directly if a storm is forecast, since only the city can call a weather delay.
Is Swiss Days related to Santa Clara's founding as a whole, or just the Swiss settlers?
It is specifically about the Swiss company that arrived in November 1861, not the earlier 1854 Indian mission families who built the original fort. The two groups merged after the 1862 flood forced everyone to rebuild together on the same new townsite.