Labor Day Parade (there will be none in 2010) and West Indian Day Parade

Labor Day is the oddest of holidays in New York City. More people will watch pig-racing on Staten Island than the annual Labor Day Parade down Fifth Avenue this year – because this year there will be no Labor Day Parade. Even on years when there is a Labor Day Parade, it no longer happens on Labor Day but a week later.

There are several reasons for this, but the most obvious is that the organizers of the parade wanted to avoid being overshadowed by what has become a much larger event. For many New Yorkers, Labor Day in New York City now means the West Indian-American Day Carnival, the largest annual parade in the city, attracting some two million celebrants and spectators along Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, some of who have been preparing their costumes since last year’s West Indian Day Parade.

Labor Day is now best-known as the end of summer, a last chance to get away for a weekend, a day of barbecues and department store sales. But there was a time when it had a deeper meaning.

A federal holiday that is officially celebrated in all 50 states, Labor Day began in New York City in the 1890’s, a creation of the labor union movement
The first Labor Day Parade occurred in Union Square in 1882.

For those who want to learn more about the history of the labor movement in New York, why not spend Labor Day (or two hours on Labor Day) at the Big Onion Walking Tours’ We Built New York: A Labor History Tour which focuses on “the role that immigrants and the labor movement have played in the growth of New York City.”

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is usually closed on Mondays, is open on Labor Day, with special Holiday Monday Family Programs, although you can also just wander around on your own.

The lovely New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx also has special Labor Day hours.

For those who just want to barbecue, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation has a list of designated barbecuing areas in city parks in all five boroughs. (There are more than 50!)

For those who see a holiday as an opportunity NOT to cook, even barbecue, there is
Restaurant Week, where diners can enjoy a three-course lunch for $24.07 and a three-course dinner for $35 at select restaurants. Restaurant Week has been extended through Sept 6. (Labor Day) this year.

Those more adventurous may be interested in the Asian Feastival which is “a one-day culinary festival and tasting event celebrating local, authentic Asian cuisines in Queens.”
at the Sheraton Laguardia East Hotel at 135-20 39th Ave

Then there is the inevitable West Indian–American Day Carnival from Eastern Pkwy and Schenectady Ave to Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, from noon to 6pm, and is free, although you might have to shake hands with a politician.

That pig-racing I talked about occurs at the Historic Richmond Town Labor Day County Fair