The Miss Utah Organization announced that the beloved Show Us Your Shoes contestant parade will have a new home at This Is The Place Heritage Park in Salt Lake City.
The parade will kick off the Miss Utah competition week on Tuesday, June 10th at 6:30 pm at the plaza at This Is The Place. Contestants will showcase costumes and unique shoe designs representing their title, service initiatives, or interests. The contestants are not judged and the event is free to the public. Food trucks and an autograph signing with the 2025 contestants will take place after the parade.
Show Us Your Shoes Parade History
In 1954, Miss America featured its first “Illuminated Night Parade”, down the boardwalk where millions watched from home on their televisions. By 1960, as more Americans owned cars, getting to Atlantic City to see the pageant was getting even easier. Thousands of people would fill Boardwalk Hall to see the crowning of a new Miss America. Hundreds of thousands could watch the parade from the Boardwalk. The parade was always the public’s favorite. Spectators would pack the terraces of homes and businesses. They’d shout and wave at their favorite competitors and scream even louder, if their favorite waved back. The crowd was part of the show.
During the 1970’s folks watching the Miss America Parade from the balconies saw the contestants sitting atop the convertibles went barefoot or wore slippers and shouted, “SHOW US YOUR SHOES!”
Future Miss America contestants heard about this. When asked to show their feet, the women revealed decorated or novelty shoes. A tradition was born! If there was one event you couldn’t miss, folks would say, it was the parade! We are thrilled to honor and continue this tradition in Utah, and we hope you enjoy seeing some fun, unique representations of communities around our state.