Labor Day is always our end-of-summer weekend. We take the last dip in the pool, have our last long weekend until Thanksgiving, and enjoy parties and festivals. We have this vague thought that it’s a break from labor, but that was what it was meant to be in 1894 when it became a federal holiday after workers participating in the Pullman Strike were killed by the U.S. Military and U.S. Marshals. This is your weekend to get out and play.
So what’s on your Labor Day calendar? What are you going to get out and do?
If you want something cool to do, four events hold promise: the Geauga County Fair, the Polish Festival, the Oktoberfest, and the Cleveland National Air Show.
The oldest county fair in Ohio begins tomorrow, Thu 9/1, and continues through Mon 9/5. The Grandstand shows draw people like anchor stores draw people to the malls. Choose your day based on what you want to see at the Grandstand. On Thu 9/1 and Sat 9/3, hold your breath at the Demolition Derby at 8:30PM; on Fri 9/2, watch the TNA Live Wrestling at 8PM; on Sun 9/4, check out the Truck Pull at 6PM; and on Mon 9/5, get thrilled when the US FMX Championship Series catches everyone’s attention. Rides, food, exhibits, and music get you playing all weekend long.
It’s always a pleasure to visit Tremont, and you have an excuse to do that this weekend when the St. John Cantius Polish Festival, complete with pierogies and polka, livens up the neighborhood. Find the festival on the old college campus at 906 College Avenue in this near west side location. The old church was founded in 1898, so there’s a lot of Polish culture imbedded in the walls. The festival begins on Fri 9/2 and continues through Sun 9/4 during what you would expect for festival hours—afternoon and evening.
I confess to never having been to the Cleveland Labor Day Oktoberfest at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds, even though it’s a Cleveland tradition. I’m distracted by the lack of a Taste of Cleveland celebration this year, but space is at a premium this year with the Mall dug up for the medical mart, the east bank torn up for the mixed-use development, and the west banks torn up for the coming aquarium. Information about the Oktoberfest was easy to find at http://ClevelandOktoberfest.com. You’ll find lots of beer and many traditional German-clad women at what is dubbed “Ohio’s Largest Outdoor Festival.” Food, art, culture, music, sporting events, a Bavarian bazaar, and a marionette show will go well with a local micro-beer. This festival runs Fri 9/2 through Sun 9/5.
If you work downtown, you’ll hear the noise while you’re reading this edition of Cool Cleveland. The Cleveland National Air Show’s performers practice around our skyscrapers until it’s time to be official this weekend. You can see it free from Edgewater and other lakefront locations, but if you buy a ticket and go into the show, you’ll have the thrills of seeing planes up close and hearing the explanations of what’s going on. This year’s event (Sat 9/3, Sun 9/4, and Mon 9/5) features the Air Force Thunderbolts. For more information, click here: http://ClevelandAirShow.com. For a preview, head to the Women’s Aerospace Museum at Burke Lakefront Airport for their annual fund-raising wine tasting.
If what you really want to do is experience the end of summer in your own intimate way, you don’t have to celebrate the end-of-summer with festivals. Walk, bike, hike, photograph, sketch, and love the park systems in Northeast Ohio. You can take a short stroll at French Creek Reservation, enjoy beautiful gardens at Holden Arboretum, or wear yourself out with a 50-mile bike ride on the Tow Path from the Cleveland Metroparks, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and Summit County Metroparks.
Clean the garage next weekend. It’s national Play Day Weekend.
Claudia Taller’s book Ohio’s Lake Erie Wineries was just released by Arcadia Publishing. Find out more about the book by going to http://OhioLakeErieWineries.blogspot.com and order it through Claudia by sending an e-mail to claudia.taller@yahoo.com.