Since 1952, the Golden Days Festival in Fairbanks, Alaska, has celebrated the city’s rich gold rush history, sparked by Felix Pedro’s 1902 gold discovery on a creek 12 miles north of E.T. Barnette’s Trading Post, which led to the founding of Fairbanks in 1903. Coordinated by the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce, this week-long event, held annually in mid-July, honors the city’s pioneer spirit and gold rush heritage with Alaska’s largest parade, featuring over 100 floats, marching bands, and vintage vehicles, alongside a vibrant street fair, the Rubber Duckie Race on the Chena River, and unique activities like the Golden Days Jail and Old Tyme Games. The festival, themed around “gold rush,” “Alaskan pioneers,” and “early Fairbanks history,” encourages locals to don Victorian and Wild West attire, fostering community pride and attracting tourists to the “Golden Heart City” for a lively, family-friendly celebration.