Photo by Howard Owens
Here’s hoping that the extended weather forecast is off base for this weekend, because organizers are bringing back the car cruise to this year’s Labor Daze, Jamie Lindsley says.
The cruise is set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in the village of Oakfield.
“We are looking forward to a great turnout of classic cars thanks to help from some experienced car cruise and show aficionados,” said Lindsley, Oakfield Betterment Committee chair.
So pay no nevermind to a chance of rain on Saturday, and dress accordingly for a day of fun, food, music and mingling. Labor Daze is arguably the area's -- and certainly Genesee County's -- biggest three-day Labor Day weekend festival going.
Another new activity is Carrie’s Kids Parade, promoted as one of the highlights of the Labor Daze regular parade to hit the street on Monday morning.
“We wanted to give kids their own special parade for them to participate in and show creativity and enthusiasm,” Lindsley said. “It is named after OBC’s dear friend Carrie Gilbert Desjardins, who was a longstanding member and always displayed love and commitment to her community, especially the children.”
There will be a Vietnam memorial dedication in Triangle Park immediately following the parade.
“The Oakfield Historical Society had a fundraising campaign to raise money to put this memorial in place amongst the other memorials in the park, and honor the men and women who served in Vietnam,” she said.
Other new elements this year are:
Exciting new raffles, including a Sportsman’s Raffle, a Mega (high-value items) Raffle, a 50/50 and basket raffles.
New musical performers, including Mayday Buffalo, a four-piece rock band from Buffalo playing music from the 1960s through today; Eaglez Tribute Band to the ever-popular Eagles country rock band; the local rock band from Orleans County, Salvatore, playing all your favorites; and Terry Buchwald’s return after seven years with a tribute to Elvis (see related story).
What prompted the committee to bring back Elvis after all these years? And why did you seek out Salvatore as a new performer?
“This is the celebration of the 40th anniversary of Labor Daze, and we wanted to have a retro feel. Everyone loves Elvis, from children and families to young adults and their grandparents. Terry Buchwald is an energetic performer and gets the crowd involved,” Lindsley said. “Salvatore is new to Labor Daze, but were our featured performers at our Total Eclipse at the Park viewing party. Their music was so good, we just had to invite them to Labor Daze.”
Since this is the 40th celebration, are you aiming for a fresh event or settling on old favorites for attendees?
“It’s a mix of both. Some returning favorites as well as new talent. The tradition of Labor Daze is so important to Oakfield. In fact, the Labor Day parade has its roots going all the way back to 1947,” she said. “Community worship service Sunday morning is open to all, regardless of denomination.”
Committee members are always learning year to year about what they may need for the following event, and this year is no exception, Lindsley said. The last Kids Fun Day was so successful, they now know to have more people on hand to help out for this year’s kids’ day, set from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at Elroy Parkins Park, 37 Drake St.
"We were thrilled at the huge turnout and plan to have eight to 12 people there at all times to help run the games, contests, bounce houses and more,” she said. “We also learned that people of all ages love the pony rides and that we should have concessions at Kids Fun Day too.”
Registration for the 5K Hornet Hustle (9 a.m. Saturday) is outpacing last year's, which is exciting for committee members, she said. Spectators are encouraged to line the street and cheer for participants. Wear your blue and gold, a costume or anything OA Hornets-related.
The parade is also taking shape (10 a.m. Monday), with participants including fire departments, marching bands, classic cars, tractors, sports teams, county fair queen and princess pageant winners.
Not to leave out the other entertainment, Hazzard County was named a 2023 Western New York Top Country Band and features modern country hits with a few surprises; Batavia Players will be performing musical selections; Dance Images of Oakfield will take to the stage for a performance; Genesee Ted plans to crank up the honky tonk country rock, psychedelic era rock, blues, harmonies and Grateful Dead; Dave Viterna Group will do some blues and rock; Russ Peters Group has the contemporary Christian music covered, and Songbirds is a tribute to Fleetwood Mac.
Think all of this might make you hungry? Fear not, because there will be food vendors galore, with Italian sausage, peppers and onions, blooming onions, specialty grilled cheese sandwiches, pulled pork, fried chicken, hot dog stuffed pretzels, roast beef, authentic African cuisine and custom cookies, cupcakes and desserts.
You can walk it all off by shopping at the 50 or so arts and crafts vendors selling handmade wood products, sterling silver jewelry, custom shirts, terrariums, Buffalo Bills gear, crochet goods, flasks and tumblers, honey products, hard cider, handpainted purses, and more.
While Labor Daze is a community-building event, committee members want to remind folks to please don’t bring pets or alcoholic beverages and don’t smoke in the park during the three-day event.
“It’s family-friendly; there is no admission fee, so everyone can attend and enjoy without worrying about costs. We have more food choices than ever before, including the Oakfield Betterment booth and many of our local nonprofits. Anyone who loves music, food, community, making new friends, seeing old friends, arts and crafts vendors, classic cars, buying raffle tickets, will have a great time,” Lindsley said. “People who have never experienced Labor Daze will enjoy the small-town charm with first-rate live music. We’ve had people from all over the country that happened to be driving through Oakfield stop in because they were drawn to the festive atmosphere.”
For more information or to register for the Hornet Hustle or the parade, go to oakfieldbetterment.com.
The committee has been very pleased with this year’s supporters, which have helped to make the event possible, Lindsley said.
"We could not do this without our amazing sponsors, our volunteers, donors, the wonderful Oakfield Fire Department, the Village Board and Town Board, and all the other local organizations that come together to support this tradition,” she said. “Thank you for helping us continue to put on free events for Oakfield and beyond.”
For the entire Labor Daze schedule, go HERE.
If you’d like to volunteer at the committee’s food stand and/or to clean up, contact jamie@oakfieldbetterment.com
