SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Most people are gathering Friday in Utah to celebrate the state's Mormon heritage at Pioneer Day parades featuring floats, carriages and women in prairie dresses. A few gathered on patios and lawns near the parade route in Salt Lake City, sipping beer and munching on pies in a nod to the roots of the faux holiday that began 10 to 15 years ago. Many businesses and government offices close for the state holiday, which celebrates the date in 1847 when Mormon pioneers ended their treacherous journey from Illinois and discovered the Salt Lake Valley. In downtown Salt Lake City, hundreds of Mormon families sat along a parade route underneath canopies, drinking juice and soda and cheering as horse-drawn carriages and floats commemorated the pioneers' journey. [...] few Mormons seem to mind, instead focusing on their own celebrations honoring the sacrifices of those who made the dangerous trek in search of religious freedom.