After October 31, 1864, flag makers needed to add another star to the United States flag. Nevada became the 36th state in the Union on that day. Yet in October of 1937, the Nevada residents did not jump at an excuse to celebrate the state’s founding.

The movement toward Nevada Day in the 1870s began when the Pioneer Society sponsored an Admission Day. The Society scheduled the Admission Day activities for October 31st. In 1889, the 25th Anniversary of Nevada’s admission to the United States, the Pioneer Society held a large banquet on the last day of October.

In 1908, as the women of the west began to flex their political muscle, the State Federation of Women’s Clubs launched an effort to make Admission Day a legal holiday in Nevada. The women found that they needed a more powerful voice. No doubt some of the Federation members later joined the “Society of Nevadans.”

In 1914, the 50th Anniversary of Nevada’s admission to the U.S. of A., the residents of Nevada took part in a special celebration. Following that celebration, those filled with the spirit of the moment founded the Society of Nevadans. For the next 20 years that society sponsored an Admission Day in Reno, Nevada.

As decreed by the state legislature in 1933, the October 31st celebration in Nevada abandoned the name “Admission Day.” That put Nevada Day in the vocabulary of the average Nevada resident. After the passage of that decree, Nevada Day in Reno became a festive time for the next five years. Then in 1938 the legislature had the official Nevada Day celebrations moved to Carson City.

In 2003 the Nevada Day celebrations underwent yet another change. That change did not concern the location of the celebrations. Since 2003 the Nevada Day celebrations have always commenced on the last Friday in October.

Are the state residents planning ahead? Have they given thought to Nevada Day in the year of 2014? Nevada residents should enjoy that year’s celebration, one marking 150 years since the entrance of Nevada into the U.S. of A That celebration will follow by just two years a special anniversary in two states south of Nevada—Arizona and New Mexico.

Both Arizona and New Mexico became states in 1912. The residents of those states will celebrate 100 years of statehood in 2012. They will no doubt make the year 2012 a year of festivities.

Can the residents of Nevada plan a Nevada Day celebration that can rival the celebrations likely to take place in Arizona and New Mexico? Each of those three states, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada, competes for tourists. A lively and interesting celebration should bring in lots of tourists.

Can Nevada residents design for 2014 a celebration that can outshine anything offered in 2012? A big and glorious Nevada Day weekend in 2014 would draw tourists to a region that had attracted tourists throughout the year of 2012. A big celebration would guarantee more revenue for the state of Nevada.

Can Nevada residents put together an exciting anniversary celebration? Can Nevada encourage people to arrive in droves for the official Nevada Day events?