The arrival of Labor Day weekend means things are changing.
It means a last long weekend at the lake for some. It means summer is slipping away for others, although for most kids and parents, the opening of school in mid-August brought the curtain down with a thud on summertime fun. It means football season is well under way.
Labor Day also means Santa-Cali-Gon Days in Independence, part of the Eastern Jackson County festival season that also includes Fair Daze in Grain Valley and Fall Fun Fest and the Barbeque Blaze-Off in Blue Springs. So for a lot of people, Labor Day means a hot dog and a show, while for others it means hours or days of volunteering to help run a booth that’s raising money for non-profits that serve the community throughout the year.
This weekend the Independence Square is transformed into a huge festival ground, where tens of thousands of people daily will walk and gawk and talk, eat and meet and greet. They’ll buy crafts and other items. They’ll hear some good music. It looks as if they have pretty good weather. This is about fun, as it should be. Let’s remember also that the churches, the service clubs, the Scout troops and others serving up the lemonade and ice cream are doing this less for the fun than for the long-term benefits.
Time for fun
Santa-Cali-Gon
(Independence Square)
Today – Noon to 11 p.m.
Saturday – 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Sunday – 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Monday – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Grain Valley Fair Daze
(Behind the Community Center on Main Street)
Sept. 9 (Family Night) – 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. (Carnival opens at 5 p.m.)
Sept. 10 – 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Sept. 11 – 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Barbeque Blaze-Off
(Hidden Valley Sports Complex on Valley View Road in Blue Springs)
Sept. 11 – 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Sept. 12 – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Fall Fun Festival
(Main Street, downtown Blue Springs)
Sept. 17, 18, 19. Parade is Sept. 19.
