labor daze

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This year’s 35th annual Labor Days in the park celebration will last for three days from Sept. 1 to 3 and will be held in its original location at Triangle Park in Oakfield.

In prior years, the event has been held in Elroy D. Parkins Town Park in Oakfield, for one day of celebration.

The original Labor Daze was a one-time celebration of the town’s anniversary. The community wanted to turn it into an annual event and a committee was later formed to keep it going.

At a certain point, there was a lack of volunteers, said Jamie Lindsley, the chairperson of the Oakfield Betterment Committee.

“That happens to a lot of volunteer organizations,” Lindsley said. “They appealed to the community to get more volunteers, but that didn’t happen.”

The Town of Oakfield took over, they moved the location, and then the tradition continued.

“It was still a very nice event,” Lindsley said. “We just never really saw the success and public participation at the new location.”

Prior to Labor Daze last year, they decided they would move the location back to Triangle Park and have been working to plan the event ever since.

“We finally have the town and village government officials on board,” Lindsley said. “We knew the first year moving it back, was going to be a lot of work so we were prepared for it.”

Lindsley said there have been lots of volunteers from all walks of life, with the entire community represented.

After deciding to move the location back to Triangle Park, many people expressed interest in the event.

“In the '80s, they used to have a flatbed truck to block off the street and have the bands perform on those,” Lindsley said. “The laws are a bit different now, so we have to go through a much more rigorous process of having the closure of the street approved. We have all of that in the works.”

Also, a professional company will be providing stages, sound and lighting. They’re nationally known, and Lindsley said they’ve really worked with them on the price.

The three-day event will have a magician, face-painting, a 5K race, car cruise, kids' games, dunk tank, a parade, arts and crafts vendors, a DJ, fireworks and more. A full schedule of events and entertainment will be posted on the website when the date gets closer, here. 

All food vendors will be operated by nonprofit organizations, school and community groups. None of the volunteers stand to profit from the event.

“We don’t have any outside people coming in to make money off of this event,” Lindsley said. “It’s all about community organizations and raising money for their needs.”

Funds received from the Kiddie Fun Daze will be going toward a wheelchair ramp for the children’s library.

“The children’s library is on the basement level,” Lindsley said. “We would like it to be accessible for everyone.”

The gazebo in the middle of the park is also being revamped for the event.

“It’s 30 years old and needs some attention,” Lindsley said. “The electric in the park is going to be updated, and the stage, sound and lights will be updated.”

The costs to operate the free, family-friendly, alcohol-free event are significant, and the Oakfield Betterment committee is looking for donations and sponsors.

In the late '80s, the budget to run this event was $6,000, Lindsley said.

“We are keeping it less than that, but it still costs a lot of money to run the festival,” Lindsley said. “We welcome any and all support we can get.”

Donations can be made by check to: Oakfield Betterment Committee, PO Box 2, Oakfield, NY 14125 with “Labor Daze” in the memo line, or directly to the GoFundMe campaign located here. 

“The event is free, there’s a great sense of community, you get to dance in the street, and support a number of great causes,” Lindsley said.

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P.S.: I'm not adopting any of the dogs Volunteers for Animals brought to the parade today. Promise.

Layla and Elizabeth, both 4 years old, dance to the music of the Old Hippies as their float passes by on Main Street in Oakfield during the community's annual Labor Day parade.

Remember Rocky? He's the dog whom authorities say was scaled by hot water. His owner surrendered ownership in court. He's living at the Animal Shelter still. He's one of several dogs Volunteers for Animals walked through the parade, all in need of adoption. Rocky is a sweet, loving canine. Hopefully, he finds a new forever home soon.

Willie Brooks, center with sash, was the Grand Marshall. Brooks is a former county legislator and longtime volunteer and leader in the Oakfield community.

The start of the parade, which tradition preserved as Sheriff Gary Maha leads the way.

Vietnam Veterans of America Color Guard.

The longest line yet of classic cars in the parade.

Legislator Ray Cianfrini tosses candy from the GOP float.

Oakfield-Alabama Hornets football team.

To purchase prints of these photos or those in the slideshow, click here.

Here's a sampling of what there was to see and do and eat at Labor Days in Oakfield today. Festivities continue tomorrow, with the parade at 10 a.m.

Oakfield, as part of its Labor Days celebration, closed out the parade season in Genesee County once again in style, with its biggest parade yet (lasting an hour and 20 minutes).

This year's theme was a salute to agriculture, with Dean Norton, NYS Farm Bureau president, walking this parade as Grand Marshall. He was joined on the route by his family.

To purchase prints, and ensure you'll have copies of these photos years from now, click here.

Photographer Amanda Earl attended Oakfield Labor Days today and sent in these photos.

Tomorrow, 10 a.m., the parade. I hope to see you there.

Participants in the 5K race: Michael Harasimowicz, Justin Harasimowicz, Jennifer Kirkum and Ritchie Kirkum.

Elaine Forti was honored to be Grand Marshal of the Oakfield Labor Days Parade. She was surprised when current and former students started singing the Oakfield-Alabama spirit song, "Nothing Is Going to Stop Us Now." Forti wrote the lyrics for the song in 1988.

Each year, the Oakfield parade seems to grow a little bigger and it's always well attended.

Here are some shots -- including one you've probably never seen before: A City of Batavia Fire Department truck in a parade outside the city. 

To purchase prints of photos, click here.

NOTE: It turns out, not all of the pictures have finished uploading yet ... in progress ...

Here are the winners from Monday's Labor Day parade in Oakfield.

Fire Department Trucks
1st Place – Oakfield Tanker 73
2nd Place – Byron Grass & Brush 37
3rd Place – East Pembroke Grass & Brush 60

Performance Groups
1st Place – Alexander Fire Department Marching Band
2nd Place – Akron Tigers Marching Band
3rd Place – Oakfield-Alabama Central School Marching Band

Floats
1st Place – Oakfield Historical Society
2nd Place – Haxton Memorial Library
3rd Place – GAHA – Batavia Ramparts Hockey
Honorable Mention – Bennett Avenue Preschool
Honorable Mention – Oakfield Boy Scouts Troop #19

Judges Choice Grand Prize Award – B&J School of Dance

Joni Mitchell's line in the song "Big Yellow Taxi" was spot on: "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."

So it was last summer, when the 26th annual Labor Daze celebration had to be cancelled. The reason given was too few volunteers to put together the holiday festival.

The locals did host a small event last year at the Elroy D. Parkins Town Park (Little League Park) with hopes of improving next time around.

Now the Oakfield Betterment Committee has revived itself -- and fully aware that it's going to take a village -- and a town -- to get Labor Daze back on track -- the group is doing just that.

It has enlisted some new volunteers with fresh ideas.

So marks those calenders -- Labor Daze will be at the town park again on Sept. 4 and 5. The celebration has gotten a bit bigger, according to Town Clerk Melissa Haacke, co-chair of the new Oakfield Betterment Committee.

"Well, of course, we're going to still have food vendors and crafters like usual, but we have really expanded our kids activities for this year," Haacke said. "We have two bounce houses coming and a local family that will be bringing in animals for a petting zoo and we contacted Genesee and Orleans County 4-H groups to see if they want to bring in some animals, too."

Since horse and pony rides were popular last year, they'll be offered again. Kids can also play on the playground at the park so parents can worry less about children wandering into traffic.

"We liked the idea that we don't have to close any roads for this," Haacke said.

She gave credit to her Co-chair Kate Manges for taking initiative dring the planning phases, saying, "She really took the bull by the horns."

She explained that in an effort to "get back to their roots," members of the Betterment Committee tried to keep everything as local as possible to showcase the village and town.

To highlight the 60th anniversary of the Oakfield Lions Club, the group will be the Grand Marshal of the parade. Also, the new Oakfield Historical Museum on Maple Avenue will be open to encourage everyone to walk around and visit local businesses.

People can also expect a fireworks display, a car show, Chinese auction and some great raffle items. Prizes include $1,000 cash, a four-pack of season tickets to Darien Lake, a laptop computer from Millennium Computers, a Nook and many more items.

To donate to the Chinese auction or raffle prizes or for vendor information, call Town Clerk Melissa Haacke (948-5835, ext. 20) or e-mail celebration14125@yahoo.com.

It should be no surprise to anyone -- putting together Oakfield's annual Labor Daze celebration is a lot of work.

Too much work for only five people to handle, according Donna Dwyer, last year's co-chair for the event.

That's why there will be no Labor Daze in 2010.

"We considered lots of options and people suggested ideas, but we've been at this long enough to know it was going to be just too tough for a small group of people," Dwyer said.

The event has been a 25-year tradition in Oakfield and is an important part of the fundraising calendar for many local charities, but Dwyer said with some key people stepping away for either health reasons or other personal commitments and the lack of new volunteers stepping forward, putting on the event for 2010 just wasn't realistic.

The Oakfield Betterment Committee will continue to try and recruit volunteers for 2011, but even if several people stepped forward now, it's just too late for 2010, Dwyer said. There is just too much work that has not been completed yet that should be done by this point.

"We would already be behind the eight ball," Dwyer said. "For example, we have to have all of the entertainment booked by the beginning of February."

Mark Colopy, another organizer who oversees the food booths said he was out of town Monday when the committee met and made its decision, but that it makes sense. The group just needs more help.

"We're looking forward with optimism," Colopy said. "This is an important event for the community. It's an important fundraiser for a lot of non-profit groups in the community and it's a great time to get out and see your friends and neighbors. We just didn't have the necessary support to carry it through for 2010."

Watching the Oakfield Labor Daze parade today, I realized that I can identify the stages of my life up to this point by my memories of the annual festivities. I remember being the little girl afraid of the firemen who walked by in masks - being told not to run to the middle of the road for the "far away" pieces of candy.

I used to be the girl who was checking out which boys got cuter over the summer, trying to work up the nerve to go talk to them before school started.

I marched in the Oakfield Marching Band lead by Mr. John Mikulski, my favorite teacher of all time. He used to crack jokes to keep our spirits up as we marched down Main Street. Our town will forever miss the joy he brought us.

I also worked the stands selling salt potatoes for the our senior class, hanging out with the soon-to-be graduates while we chatted about where our lives were going to take us.

Now, I'm watching it all from a distance, taking it all in as the memories come back to me.

It was an eventful parade this morning. The usual tractors, clowns, candy and firetrucks were there. Bands played their jazzy tunes and marched down the street. Strange bikes and vehicles were driven.

Animals were part of the fun, too. There were dogs and two horses in the parade. I'm sure that no one who saw it will forget the graphic display of urination by the mini horse right in front of the post office - let's just say it was another memory for those of us who were there and leave it at that...

Pie sales were in full swing when I visited the United Methodist Church.  Reverend Larry Eastlack was all smiles this morning, but admitted he wasn't the expert on pies.

"It's about how we share together. The fellowship of baking the pies and how we share them with the community is the best part..." said a woman from the church who declined to give her name.

"For a lot of people, the pies bring memories. How their grandmothers used to bake pies, which flavor they bought last year or making elderberry pies when they were younger..." she went on to say.

I'd have to agree. Every event at Labor Daze brings memories for me, whether it be ostrich burgers, deep fried Oreos, or even taking a turn in the bounce house. I'm certain that everyone who attends Labor Daze goes through the same memory lane experience each year. It's things like this event that make a small town a great place to live.

The 25th annual Oakfield Labor Daze gets under way at noon and will feature music, food, games and local arts and crafts.

The weather is expected to be as temparate and clear as a Southern Californian afternoon today and tomorrow (chance of rain on Monday).

Highlights of the weekend:

Today

2 to 3:00 p.m.: Bed Races-Bennett Avenue

6 to 10 p.m.: Battle of the Bands-Triangle Park

Tomorrow

Noon to 3 p.m.: Chicken BBQ-Methodist Church

1:45 to 3:45 p.m.: Charlotte Ritchie

6 to p.m. Joey T & The Formula

Monday

10:30 a.m.: Labor Daze Parade on Main Street

12:15 to 1 p.m.: O-A Jazz Band at Triangle Park

1 p.m.: Pie & Ice Cream at Oakfield United Methodist Church

2:45 to 4:45 p.m.: Craig Wilkins performs Johnny Cash Music

5:30 to to 9:30 p.m.: The Trolls

The weekend closes with a fireworks show at the school after the last performance.

For a complete schedule of events, click here.

Oakfield will not be holding a Community Worship Service this Sunday, normally a feature of its "Labor Daze" celebration, because the issue of gay marriage has caused a rift between churches there.

The Community Betterment Committee's Labor Daze officials, after discussions with Mayor Rick Pastecki and others, opted to cancel the 10:30 a.m. service at Triangle Park on Sunday to avoid any possibility of a "brouhaha," said festival co-chair Donna Dwyer.

The service has been part of the holiday weekend line-up for 24 years -- until now.

The situation devolved from a letter to the editor published in the Daily News on May 22 written by Rev. Larry Eastlack of Oakfield United Methodist Church. It stated that while most evangelical leaders are encouraging their congregations to oppose the "Marriage Equality Act," he differed. The legislation has been passed in several states and New York is considering it, too.

Eastlack's letter said that although most Christians believe homosexuality is incompatible with Biblical teachings, "I believe it is possible to stay true to your religious convictions, whatever they are, and still support legislation that would allow homosexual persons to enjoy all the rights and responsibilities that come with matrimony."

The reverend was unavailable for comment, but his letter created a veritable firestorm in the community and it's still smoldering.

The brigade against his views is led by fundamentalist pastors at Oakfield Community Bible Church, led by Bill Smith, and Mark Perkins, who leads the Oakfield Alabama Baptist Church. They've been coordinating the Community Worship Service for the past several years and wanted to exclude Eastlack from the Community Worship Service this year specifically because of his now publically known views on gay marriage.

(Leaders' "participation" amounts to sitting among other local church representatives and listening to a guest speaker's sermon. Cal Kern, president and general manager of a Christian sports team called Niagara Power Baseball, was scheduled this year.)

They asked to sit down with the reverend and Perkins said they, including Eastlack's associate Dave Phelps, discussed their views cordially and the meeting ended with Eastlack's decision not to participate if that meant creating more strife.

A letter prepared Aug. 10 by Perkins and Smith -- which amounts to an ultimatum to disavow gay marriage or else be shunned -- was given to Eastlack afterward "almost as an afterthought," said Perkins to emphasize the amiable tone at the meeting's conclusion.

The letter rejects the notion of gay marriage as a civil rights issue and the idea that homosexuality is determined genetically. It cites Scripture on the issue and urges Eastlack to change his stance, with this caveat:

"...our Elders have stated that having you take part (in the Sept. 6 service) would send a message to our community and respective congregations that 1. We are in agreement with your stance or 2. We are willing to pretend that unity exists."

The Labor Daze Community Worship Service was heretofore ecumenical in nature, according to residents. But Perkins said the public Sunday service is not supposed to be "a social feel-good message."

"It's meant to send a clear, Biblical Gospel message to people there who might not attend church or otherwise hear it," Perkins said.

The mayor finds the whole thing ugly.

"My personal feeling is that it just saddens me down to my soul," Pastecki said.