September 9, 1895 marked another milestone for Sacramento when the powerhouse at Folsom sent 3000 crackling kilowatts 22 miles to the Capital City, the world's first long-distance transmission of power. Ever since a successful energy relay in July of that year, Sacramento prepared for the "Electric Carnival", a parade of lighted floats around the city accompanied by music and an estimated 25,000 electric lamps of all colors. The Capitol Dome was lit as the parade came in sight of it and residents stared in wonder as Sacramento entered the 20th Century almost five years early. Many of the floats in the parade were designed and built in the Southern Pacific shops on flatcars powered by streetcars and this remnant of a commemorative ribbon from that long-ago day may have been earned by one of those S.P. workers.
