Friday, April 18, 2003 | 11:22 a.m.
A Henderson tradition older than the city may be ending.
The annual Heritage Days festival has lost its sponsor, but residents probably won't notice right away. The city's 50th anniversary celebration, occurring this and next month, will include many of the events featured in Heritage Days, including a parade, a chili cook-off and a car show on April 26.
"I think people will probably think that's (Heritage Days)," said 48-year-old Michael Holland, who has driven his 1930 Model A Ford in the parade for the past six years and plans to this year.
"But then next year, they'll notice it's gone," Holland predicted.
However, Holland and some other city residents and officials said they hope and expect that at least parts of the festival will be picked up by other groups in the future.
For 55 years the Henderson Chamber of Commerce put on a 10-day festival in mid-April that featured a beauty pageant, talent show and parade. The festival went by the name Industrial Days until about eight years ago, when its name was changed to Heritage Days.
But the festival was a drain on the chamber's budget and kept chamber employees busy for much of the year, Alice Martz, the chamber's executive director, said.
So about a year ago the chamber board decided to drop Heritage Days and other community events it had organized. Instead the chamber will focus on business development efforts, such as reviewing bills in the state Legislature and providing seminars for city businesses, Martz said.
"We changed our focus. ... Doing a lot of community events will not be part of our efforts," Martz said. "We're changing from an event chamber to a business nurturing chamber.
Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson said he was "just devastated" when he heard the chamber wouldn't be behind Heritage Days anymore.
"It's always been important to me," Gibson said. "It was a change of pace, a celebration and we don't have many real Henderson celebrations. ... When the city was smaller, it was the only thing going on for months. It was the event, the only parade we had."
Henderson native Charles Hawkins, 42, said the festival was a time when the city's residents would all get together.
Hawkins, who owns The Collection Connection in downtown Henderson, said the festival is probably gone forever unless the city takes it over.
But Gibson said that is unlikely because of the money and time needed to put on the festival.
Martz wouldn't say exactly how much the Heritage Days cost the chamber, but she said it was about half of the chamber's annual budget, which is about $600,000 this year.
"I think it will be difficult for others to do it," Gibson said.
If this is the end of Heritage Days, it would be the second time in the past seven years that the Las Vegas Valley has lost a long-established parade. In 1997 the 59-year-old Helldorado parade was canceled, putting an end to the once popular parade along Fremont Street in Las Vegas.
However, others think that at least parts of Heritage Days, such as the parade, might live on under a new sponsor or sponsors.
"As a kid you always went to the parade and everyone who grew up in Henderson was in it at least one year," Councilman Steve Kirk said. "Now I can't say what the future holds. But if it's important to the community, someone will do it."
Councilman Andy Hafen said at least parts of the festival will live on.
"I think just as happened with the Christmas parade, a group or groups will come forward and not let it die," Hafen said, referring to a Foothill High School student group that took over as sponsor for the Christmas parade.
But Hafen said that in recent years Heritage Days seemed to be lacking the energy and crowds he remembers from his youth.
"I think it was more of a parade back then than in recent years," Hafen said.
The mayor said the apparent drop-off in attendance is probably due in part to the many more alternative recreational opportunities available today.
"Now the city is full of parks and activities at the parks and neighborhoods with their own activities, and in the old days you didn't have that," Gibson said.
Holland, however, said eventually at least the parade will return.
"Every town needs something that gathers them together," Holland said. "Every town has its parade, and if it's not this year then it will be the year after. Someone will pick it up. I don't think the town's ready to give it up."
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