Nevada Day is a legal

holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...

in the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It commemorates the state's October 31, 1864

admission to the Union Admission may refer to: Arts and media * "Admissions" (''CSI: NY''), an episode of ''CSI: NY'' * ''Admissions'' (film), a 2011 short film starring James Cromwell * ''Admission'' (film), a 2013 comedy film * ''Admission'', a 2019 album by Florida s ...

. The first known observance of Nevada Day (originally known as Admission Day) was by the Pacific Coast Pioneer society during the 1870s. The

Nevada Legislature The Nevada Legislature is a bicameral body, consisting of the lower house, the Assembly, with 42 members, and the upper house, the Senate, with 21. With a total of 63 seats, the Legislature is the third-smallest bicameral state legislature in ...

established it as a state holiday in 1933. It was originally observed on October 31. To give it a three-day weekend, in 2000 Nevada Day was moved to the last Friday in October.

Observance

On this holiday all state, county and city government offices are closed, along with most schools and libraries. Some private businesses, like banks, also closed at their discretion. In Nevada's capital,

Carson City Carson City is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the List of cities in Nevada, sixth largest ...

, a parade is held through the heart of downtown, as well as a carnival and several other events. In 2000, the Nevada Legislature decided to celebrate the holiday on a Friday, hoping that a three-day weekend would generate more interest. Nevada Day is now observed on the last Friday in October. But most of the big events in Carson City, including the parade, occur on the following Saturday. This was shortly followed by

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

and

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adding up to three Nevada Days throughout the year in addition to the actual holiday which are determined by city council vote during the first week of each legislative year. Until 2000,

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

was observed in Carson City, Douglas County, Lyon County, and

Storey County Storey County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,104, making it the third-least populous county, but one of the fastest-growing economies in Nevada. In 2018, over 18,000 people were emplo ...

on October 30, so as to not conflict with the holiday. Since 2000, Carson City's newspaper, ''

Nevada Appeal The ''Nevada Appeal'' is a twice-weekly newspaper published in Carson City, Nevada, by Pacific Publishing Company. The paper has sister publications across northern Nevada: *''Lahontan Valley News'' & Fallon Eagle Standard (Fallon, Nevada) *''N ...

'', has sponsored a month-long "treasure hunt" each year in October (except for 2003 and 2004) to celebrate Nevada Day. Beginning on the first Monday, a clue is posted each weekday on a web site set up for the contest which helps narrow down the search area. The clues all have to do with Nevada history so it encourages people to study the state's history in order to find the "treasure". Upon finding it, the treasure (a small plaque referred to as a "medallion") can be redeemed for up to $1000. In 2003, 2008, and 2014 the legal holiday for Nevada Day fell on October 31, the actual day of admission. In 2017, the state's first major professional sports team, the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

’s

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. Founded in 2017 as an expan ...

, observed Nevada Day with a matinee game. They continue this tradition each year.

In popular culture

In 2006, Nevada Day, and the Nevada town of Pahrump, were central to the plot in "Nevada Day", a two-part episode of the

Aaron Sorkin Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born June 9, 1961) is an American playwright, screenwriter and film director. Born in New York City, he developed a passion for writing at an early age. Sorkin has earned an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, five Primetime E ...

television drama ''

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'' is an American comedy-drama television series created and primarily written by Aaron Sorkin. The series was about the production of a live comedy series, similar to ''Saturday Night Live''. Produced by Warner B ...

''. John Goodman received a

Primetime Emmy The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime E ...

award for his role as Judge Robert Bebe in the episode. Part One was originally slated to air on Nevada Day, October 31, but was delayed a week and aired on November 6. Part Two followed a week later on November 13. The 2010 Nevada Day celebration was mentioned on th
Colbert Report
in reference to Colbert's "March to Keep Fear Alive Insanity Bus" held on the same day as the 2010 Nevada Day parade.

References

External links

NevadaDay.com
* Nevada Appeal, October 19, 2008
Is there anything traditional about Nevada Day?
{{U.S. Holidays Nevada culture State holidays in the United States October observances Holidays and observances by scheduling (nth weekday of the month) Friday observances 1933 establishments in Nevada