Two thousand, two hundred “Stripling Warriors” marched down Main Street in Bountiful, Utah in the city’s annual Handcart Days parade.
The young men were from more than 18 Latter-day Saint stakes in the Bountiful area.
Their “float” consisted of 220 rows of young men with staff-like spears standing 10 abreast, stretching more than 1,200 feet down the street.
The man behind the event, Cory Hanks, dressed as Helaman in the parade, said he came up with the idea about 15 years ago and thought how cool it would be to put such a group together, not because of the size but because of the meaning.
In preparation for the parade, the community of LDS wards and stakes had at least two practices with the whole group, but individual stakes and wards have been practicing for more than three months. Volunteers cut more than 5,500 yards of fabric and more than 2,200 sticks for the young men.
Bountiful’s 62nd annual Handcart Days Grand Parade this year had more than 85 entries, but the one-time-only “Sons of Helaman” entry was what drew the crowds.
Full Story: Deseret News “Two Thousand Stripling Warriors”