Metro East Labor Day events begin with softball on Aug. 23

Labor Day events in the Metro-East this year will begin Aug. 23 with a softball tournament and finish off with two parades on Labor Day, Sept. 4. The first parade will be Aug. 26 in Alton.

The annual James Stanley Memorial Charity Labor Day Softball Tournament, sponsored by the Greater Madison County Federation of Labor, will be played on Wednesday, Aug. 23 and Saturday, Aug. 26 at Gordon F. Moore Community Park, Alton.

All affiliated and non-affiliated unions in the St. Louis region and Metro-East are invited to place teams in the tournament, to be held at Gordon F. Moore Community Park in Alton. The cost per team is $150, and proceeds will go to the charity group that is chosen by the winning team.

The $150 fee to the Federation is due before the captains’ meeting at 6 p.m., Aug. 16 at the Machinists Center, 161 N. Shamrock St., East Alton IL 62024. All teams are asked to send someone to that meeting for rules and bracket selection.

Picnic donations will also be accepted. Please provide the union name, coach or contact name, address and phone number. For questions, call Federation President B. Dean Webb at (618) 259-8558.   

Also on Aug. 26 will be the annual Alton Labor Day Parade, which will step off at 10 a.m. from the old Alton High School Pit Area on College Avenue and proceed eastward on a route through the city and returning. The parade will be followed by a picnic at Gordon Moore Community Park with live music, kids’ games and balloon artists plus free food and drink.

ON LABOR DAY

On Labor Day itself, both Granite City and Belleville will hold their annual parades. The Federation will sponsor the 37th Annual Granite City Labor Day Parade, beginning at 10 a.m. downtown and proceeding one mile north to Wilson Park for a picnic with live music, speeches, food, refreshments and kids’ activities.

The Southwestern Illinois Central Labor Council will sponsor the Labor Day Parade in Belleville, stepping off at 10 a.m. at Hough Park along 3rd Street and returning there for the annual picnic, where the first $500 worth of rides will be free. Music, drinks and food all will be provided. For more information, contact Bill Thurston at (618) 758-3513.