Time to Celebrate! St. George Turns 162 on January 20

Once upon a time, a group of pioneers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints trekked to the west side of the United States in search of a new home.

While Salt Lake City would become their ultimate destination, some settlers stayed in Southern Utah to start another town, that being St. George.

St. George was founded on January 20, 1862, and in case you haven’t looked at your calendar, this means the residents of St. George will celebrate the town’s 162^nd birthday in a few days.

Often called Heritage Day by city officials, a good number of city businesses and facilities will be celebrated in a couple of different ways.

Arguably the most notable event is the annual root beer social located at the Social Hall on January 20 from noon to 2 p.m.

David Cordero, the marketing director for the city of St. George, said city officials will be present to serve the root beer floats.

Cordero said, “Our city council and some senior staff, we’re working for you. We’re providing free root beer floats, we’re taking the ice cream out, we’re pouring them, we’re handing them out, we’re exchanging pleasantries. I don’t know what it is, and I’m probably jinxing it, but it’s always like the best possible January weather that day. Like, it’s always just beautiful, and there’s sunshine and people are happy.”

If social gatherings aren’t your kind of thing, you have some other celebratory options available to you. The Sand Hollow Aquatic Center will be free to everyone on January 20, and the St. George Recreation Center will also offer free access to their facilities.

You don’t have much of an excuse not to celebrate 162 years of red dirt. So, get out there and live it up.