Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers.
In the late 1800s, at the height of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, the average American worked 12-hour days and seven-day weeks in order to eke out a basic living. On September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square in New York City, holding the first Labor Day parade in U.S. history.
The idea of a “workingmen’s holiday,” celebrated on the first Monday in September, caught on in other industrial centers across the country, and many states passed legislation recognizing it. On June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed it into law.
Labor Day is still celebrated in cities and towns across the United States with parades, picnics, barbecues, fireworks displays and other public gatherings. For many Americans, particularly children and young adults, it represents the end of the summer and the start of the back-to-school season. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968 changed several holidays to ensure they would always be observed on Mondays so that federal employees could have more three-day weekends.
In honor of this day we would like to give a special shout out to the women and the men who work every day – at home, on a farm, in a factory, in an office, above ground or underground – pat yourself on the back for a job well done and enjoy your day off.
It’s Fair Weekend !!
Champlain Valley Fair
At the same location since 1923, the Champlain Valley Fair has been the signature event that says summer is over and school is starting!
Attendance that first year was 57,000 people. Attendance now tops the 125,000 mark. Between the food, the barns, the Blue Ribbon winners, the crafters and the music – both free on the small stages and headliners in the grandstand– there are many good reasons to visit the Champlain Valley Fair!