Thousands of spectators lined the streets of downtown Salt Lake City July 24 to "catch the pioneer spirit."

Participants in the annual Days of '47 Parade paid tribute, in one way or another, to the pioneers who settled the Great Basin beginning in 1847. They also honored pioneers of the present and future.President Gordon B. Hinckley and his wife, Marjorie, rode near the front of the parade in a blue convertible.

About 130 entries, 20 from LDS stakes, traversed the parade route, which started on the corner of Main and South Temple and traveled nine blocks south and six blocks east to Liberty Park.

Brigham Young, as portrayed by Salt Lake actor James Arrington, opened the two-hour parade as the grand marshal, followed by a caravan of youth pulling handcarts in the morning sun.

The Farmington Utah stake won both the Days of '47 Sweepstakes award for the most beautiful float and the People's Choice award with its depiction of a space shuttle flying over a blue and green orbiting earth.

Randy Stevenson, float chairman from the Farmington 3rd Ward, Farmington Utah Stake, said his stake wanted to honor changes in technology.

"Pioneering does not ever quit, we are always pioneering new areas," he explained. "I guess if we ever stop pioneering in certain areas then we have stopped growing."

The shuttle and earth on the float moved with the help of seven children, not electricity. Stevenson said it is children that will power the technology of the future.

Members of the Midvale Utah Union Fort stake honored the pioneers for planting seeds of modern technology. Their float, which won the Legacy Award, depicted pioneers throwing golden seeds that transformed into computer disks.

"When the pioneers came here they had foresight, they knew the potential of things to come," explained Marc Alpers, a member of the Union Fort 4th Ward, Midvale Utah Union Fort Stake, who helped build the float. "No, they didn't have computers, but they knew the gospel would literally spread forth the light of the world."

The Salt Lake Parleys Stake won the Theme Award for its depiction of LDS Church missionaries, who are helping the gospel spread across the world. Two figures depicting elders wearing space gear, fashioned as a suit and tie, hovered over the moon-like surface of the float. Dozens of teenagers, dressed as missionaries, walked ahead of the float, each carrying the flag of a country where the Church is currently sharing the gospel.

The Salt Lake Highland Stake took home the Utah Award for its rendition of the pioneers' spirit of adventure, typified by hot air ballooning. The Murray Utah Parkway Stake won the Ensign Award for its float: "A Child's First Parade," depicting a huge child, a hat he made from a newspaper and a reluctant hound dog with his tongue hanging out, on the way to watch their first parade.

The Sandy Utah Granite South Stake, whose float was honored by the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, depicted the Saints "pulling together through hardship."

In addition to LDS entries, scores of floats, marching bands, horse teams, antique cars, horse-drawn wagons and clowns were provided by businesses, civic organizations and other religious groups.

The parade marked the culmination of the between 400 and 800 volunteer work hours it took many of the LDS groups to construct a float.