Nevada Day in Las Vegas: The State's 162nd Birthday Falls on Halloween Saturday
Nevada became the 36th state on Oct. 31, 1864. The legal holiday was observed Friday, and Saturday brings the Carson City parade and free train rides for kids in Boulder City.
Saturday, Oct. 31, is Nevada's 162nd birthday. Nevada joined the Union as the 36th state on Oct. 31, 1864, in the middle of the Civil War, and Nevada Day commemorates that admission. Because the state has observed the legal holiday on the last Friday in October since 2000 — to give Nevadans a three-day weekend — the closures landed on Friday, Oct. 30 this year, while the birthday itself falls on Halloween Saturday.
On Friday, state, county and city government offices were closed for the holiday, Clark County public school students and UNLV had the day off, and Springs Preserve marked the celebration with free admission for Nevada residents from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., including the Nevada State Museum. Voters were not locked out of the election, though: ballot drop-off at Las Vegas City Hall stayed available from Oct. 30 through Nov. 1, ahead of Election Day on Tuesday.
The statewide party centers on Carson City on Saturday, where the Nevada Day Parade steps off at 10 a.m. from William Street and North Carson Street under the theme "Pumpkins, Pioneers and Tall Tales," with Steven Saylor as Grand Marshal. Closer to Las Vegas, the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Boulder City is giving children 17 and under free train rides this weekend — at 10 a.m. and noon on Saturday, and at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. on Sunday and Monday.