I just celebrated my first Labor Day weekend, y'all, and with it the last
weekend of the summer! I have to say, whoever came up with this
holiday was a genius. Where else do you get a long weekend to
celebrate the last warm days before the fall? I know, I know,
officially we are celebrating the social and economic achievements of
the workers and labor unions in the US, which, don't get me wrong, is
a great reason to celebrate too. But honestly, it always seemed a
little strange to me that the US and Canada set their own date for
Labor Day, while the whole world dedicates May 1st to the
workers. I understand that President Cleveland had his reasons, but
come on! We all know that the REAL reason behind this date, is to
have one last big summer party. People in Cincinnati understand that
perfectly by organizing a huge river-fest on Labor Day weekend. Its
big highlight: the fireworks! Of course, I had to go and check it
out.
It seemed like at least half the city
had the same idea. Obviously, this number is a rough guestimate, but
judging by the time it took to get into and (especially!!!) out of
the parking lot, I am sure it was somewhere close to a bajillion. I
have never seen so many cars in Cincinnati before, not to mention the
masses of people pouring out of them towards Riverfest. From the
parking lot until finally finding a spot to sit down, pretty much
everything I remember is tangled up in a ball of people: people
strolling around, people looking for food, people looking for each
other, people laughing and people yelling, people with mohawks,
people with dreadlocks, people in biker gear, people with ties, and
even people all a-zombied up. On the one hand: sensory overload, on
the other hand: fascinating! I almost forgot that I had come to see
the fireworks. Being a little overwhelmed, I took the first free spot
that I saw, spread out my blanket, and waited. And there it came, the
countdown. Only one more minute until the fireworks (by the way,
maybe somebody can tell me why the fireworks start at 9:05 PM, which
seems like the most random time in the world to start anything). A
final drum roll and the show began: the sky was burning and the river
was on fire. There was glitter, there was gold, there were stars and
even a waterfall. For 30 minutes I was dazzled by the most impressive
pyro show that I have ever seen. What a wonderful way to say goodbye
to summer!
In the end, who cares if Americans
celebrate Labor Day on the wrong date? If they can throw such a great
party, as far as I am concerned, they can celebrate Labor Day any day
they want!
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| Creatures of Labor Day |
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| Majestic view over Newport, Kentucky |
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| Labor Day Weekend sunset over Cincinnati |
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| Let the fireworks begin! |
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| a waterfall made out of fire |
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