Don’t forget about the Labor Day Parade (presented by the West Central Illinois Labor Council) at 2 p.m. today in downtown Peoria. The parade will start at the 500 block of Monroe Street, go southwest to Main, then down Main to the riverfront, where there will be a picnic with musical entertainment.

Happy Labor Day, everyone!

UPDATE: I took my son to the parade today. Some random observations:

• We were near the corner of Madison and Main, and from that position, it looked like the parade was well-attended. It wasn’t as well-attended as the Santa Claus Parade, but there were people lining both sides of the street on the parade route.
• I saw Sharon Crews, Terry Knapp, and Hedy Elliott-Gardner (among others) marching in the parade, representing the teachers’ union. Hedy even said “hi”!
• Lots of candy was thrown to the kids. I hate that part of modern parades. And yes, I know everyone will think I’m an old stick-in-the-mud for saying so. To me, it really detracts from the point of the parade (celebrating/recognizing the participants and the organizations they represent), instead turning the event into a competition for candy with parents as referees.
• Speaking of candy, it always amuses me to see union families collecting said candy in Wal-Mart bags. Why any union member would shop at a chain as anti-union as Wal-Mart I’m sure I’ll never know.
• I believe John Vespa was the only Republican in the parade.
• Lots of union workers carried signs from the Illinois AFL-CIO that said “Health Care Can’t Wait.”