Hundreds gather to celebrate Las Vegas Days Parade ‘reverse’ style

by: Victoria Saha, Lucas Wright

Posted: May 15, 2021 / 6:08 PM PDT
/ Updated: May 15, 2021 / 6:11 PM PDT

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – Hundreds came out on Saturday to celebrate the city’s birthday with the Las Vegas Day Parade in “reverse” style.

The Las Vegas tradition has made some adjustments due to the pandemic.

This year’s Las Vegas Days Parade came with the same excitement, but with a unique spin where residents drove through the parade instead of the artists.

This year’s Reverse Parade, officially known as “Helldorado Days,” brought hundreds to the streets of Las Vegas, making up for the event that was canceled last year due to the pandemic.

“It’s been a bit sparse in the past few years,” said Chris Eecklor. “I don’t know if it’s the COVID or the advertising, but there are a lot of people here, that’s unbelievable.”

Whether you were traveling by bike, your car, or on foot, you could walk through the parade while the performers stayed in place.

“It’s like a huge parade, we haven’t been to an amusement park lately so it’s going to be exciting,” said Dylan Eecklor.

It seemed like residents were celebrating the birth of the city and slowly breaking free of pandemic restrictions.

“It’s like a celebration, like we just got through the worst and now the city is alive again and it gives us artists a chance to come out and show our art,” said Sara Ives, owner of the Downtown Dance Conservatory.

“It’s wonderful to be back in public and celebrate our town again after a year of closure and have our kids come out and perform,” said Lynn Eecklor.

Some of the residents we spoke to say they prefer this reverse parade because they have so many convenient ways to enjoy it.