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Payson » Carving her way through traffic along Main Street in a golf cart, Coralee Wilson waved and shouted hellos to friends or siblings on the street and lawns.
The organizer of Payson's 80th Annual Golden Onion Days had just gotten word that one of the floats from Monday's parade was parked in the wrong place and blocking traffic.
"Here you walk 10 feet and you run into someone you know," Wilson said, hollering another greeting. "It's just kind of what makes us Payson."
The four-day celebration -- familiar fare for the city's 18,000 residents and those in neighboring Utah County communities -- is a deeply rooted tradition. Onions may no longer be the city's main crop, but the festival and its name have stuck.
Lynn Francom, 78, on Monday recalled those fields of onions and making floats with the title theme. It had been 15 years since she last had attended one of the celebrations, and seeing it all again brought a flood of memories.
For the Morrises, Onion Days is a family affair that keeps getting bigger. This year 120 family members gathered for the event.
"One day we got together and we decided to come see the parade and have breakfast," said Raymond Morris, who grew up in Payson.
The celebration, said to be one of Utah's largest Labor Day weekend gatherings, has amassed a number of traditions through the years. The kettle corn, carnival rides and various competitions attract large numbers, but mainstays such as the city band, theater troupe and parade remain main events.
"It seems that, once we grab on to something, we hold on to it real tight," Wilson said. "We are so steeped in tradition. We don't let go."
The band, for instance, has been belting out tunes for more than a century. To get off the waiting list, someone has to quit or die, Wilson joked.
On Monday, hundreds took a seat for the band's last concert of the season. "We're happy and tickled to be here," the band's announcer said, welcoming the crowd.
The younger generation doesn't always know Payson's history, Wilson said, so the long-timers pass along the stories.
The crowds can be bigger nowadays, and there are more business ads, but the celebration remains pretty much the same.
"That's what we like," Wilson said. "We like to keep our traditions."
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