Running of the Balls returns to Main Street Park City

Running of the Balls. Photo: Tom Kelly // courtesy of Bari Nan Rothchild

PARK CITY, Utah — Park City Rotary brings a new tower, lots of  prizes, and activities including a mucking and drilling contest, to the community’s annual Miners Day celebrations. The annual Running of the Balls returns to Main Street in Park City, on Sept. 2 at 10:30 a.m, before the Miners Day Parade.

This marks the 21st year that residents and visitors have gathered before the start of the parade to buy balls to enter the race, with an opportunity to win prizes, including season passes at Deer Valley and Park City Mountain, a Delta Airlines gift card, entertainment and event ticket packages, along with certificates for dining, lodging, and spa treatments.

Proceeds from the ball run and its sponsor partners fund Park City Rotary’s Community Grants and Scholarship programs.

“Miners Day is my family’s favorite hometown celebration,” said event chair Kristin Wright in a statement. “It’s an honor to help create that experience for our community. I’m proud to be part of Park City Rotary’s commitment to highlighting the work and spirit of our town’s mining history, while raising money that enables us to give well over $1 million in grants—and counting— to local nonprofit organizations since the founding of our Rotary club.”

The Running of the Balls features a release of nearly 15,000 balls down Main Street via a specially designed track that begins near Java Cow and ends below the Post Office.

The winners are the first few dozen balls into the chute at the end of the track. Balls may be purchased for $10 each, with packages available at three for $20, eight for $50, and 20 for $100, by visiting www.ParkCityMinersDay.org. Balls are also available for purchase on Main Street, on the day of the event.

Wright noted that the club has replaced the tower used in previous ball runs with a structure that is stronger, safer, and pays homage to the community’s mining roots and history.

“It will be exciting to reveal this new piece of a beloved tradition,” Wright added. “Canice Harte worked with Coalville-based Reesco to design, engineer, and build the new Running of the Balls Tower.

Tower 2.0 as Rotarians affectionately call it, maintains the community’s mining heritage, improves user safety, and has a much greater capacity for future growth. Reesco has been a pleasure to work with and they have gone above and beyond what was expected to ensure Tower 2.0 is not only functional but also the centerpiece of the Running of the Balls.”

This year’s Running of the Balls pays homage to the town’s mining history with a special Silver Strike Ball Run. Rotary will sell a maximum of 200 silver golf balls–half online, and half on Main Street—the morning of Sept. 2, beginning at 9:00 a.m. until they sell out or 10:30 a.m., when the Running of the Balls begins. The winner of the Silver Strike receives a travel package valued at $3,000.

Miners Day in Park City is an all-day celebration, with family-friendly activities including breakfast in City Park, served by members of St. Mary’s Church, and a Miners Day Bark City 5K (canine companions welcome), hosted by Park City’s Twilight Rotary Club.

Following the Running of the Balls and the Miners Day Parade, there is a full afternoon of family-friendly activities in City Park, including food trucks, beer/liquor garden, music and kids games.

“One tradition I’m hoping to reboot is the mucking and drilling contest,” Wright added. “We have a few miners who have already signed up, but we are asking people to reach out to miners they know to encourage them to participate.”

For more information and the full Miners Day schedule, click here.