Labor Day weekend marks the end of summer – summer jobs and programs are ending, the weather is gradually cooling, and kids are going back to school.  

Around Cleveland, Labor Day goes out with a roar as the Cleveland National Air Show flies into town, bringing all the noise of thunderous fighter jets and large crowds to our area. 

We’ve come up with some other things you can do to celebrate the end of summer in and around Cleveland. And if you want to get the heck out of town and far from the sound of jet engines, we have some suggestions for that too. 

Sticking around Cleveland? This list is for you:

Cleveland Taco Fest

  • When: Friday, Sept. 4, through Monday, Sept. 7
  • Where: Jacobs Pavilion, 2014 Sycamore St., west bank of the Flats
  • Details: Tickets are $10 or you can buy a four-pack for $5 each.   
Wrestlers wearing colorful masks in a ring outdoors in the Flats.
Cleveland Taco Fest Credit: Courtesy of Cleveland Taco Fest

“People come hungry and leave happy,” said John Badanjek, organizer of the Cleveland Taco Fest, now in its third year. The festival features over 30 local taquerias, tequila sampling and build-your-own margaritas, music, a kids’ zone, even a taco-eating competition.  

“Lucha libre” wrestling is one of the festival’s most popular events – wrestlers compete Mexican-style, wearing colorful masks and performing high-energy aerial maneuvers. 

Cleveland Oktoberfest

  • When: Two consecutive weekends, Sept. 4 to 7 and Sept. 11 and 12.
  • Where: Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds, 19201 E. Bagley Road, Middleburg Heights
  • Details: One-day tickets are $20. 
Cleveland Oktoberfest event.
Cleveland Oktoberfest Credit: Cleveland Oktoberfest

Named the best Oktoberfest in America in 2023, the Cleveland Oktoberfest features beer shipped from overseas by Weihenstaphener, the world’s oldest brewery (est. 1040), the largest Glockenspiel clock in the U.S., a German strongman competition and the festival’s much-loved weiner dog races.  

New to Oktoberfest this year, the Verbena Garten will be serving all non-alcoholic beverages, and a female edition of the strongman competition has been added.      

St. Rocco Festival 

  • When: Friday, Sept. 4, through Monday, Sept. 7. 
  • Where: 3205 Fulton Road
  • Details: The 112th annual St. Rocco Festival features Italian food like zeppoli (Italian doughnuts) and sausage sandwiches, music, games and carnival rides. The popular St. Rocco Greasy Pole Climb with a grand prize of $2,500 takes place on Labor Day at 2 p.m. Free to attend.

Great Northern Mall

  • When: Multiple dates
  • Where: 4954 Great Northern Blvd., North Olmsted
  • Details: Great Northern Mall in North Olmsted is running several big events Labor Day weekend. 

Trading card enthusiasts passionate about sports, Pokemon or other trading card games are invited to the Great Northern Card Show Friday, Sept. 4, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The card show is free to attend. 

Photo of The Great Northern Card Show
The Great Northern Card Show Credit: Courtesy of Drew Donovan

“It’s a buy/sell/trade event,” explained Steve Greenberg of Greenie Sports Cards, the show’s organizer. “Everybody will be looking, obviously, to sell. But if customers have cards they want to buy and trade with, they can bring those and talk to the vendors about their cards.”

Get an autograph and photo op with Cleveland Browns linebacker Jared Verse at Great Northern Mall on Saturday, Sept. 5. Tickets start at $25. 

Vinyl collectors are invited to visit 40 tables of records and CDs from punk to funk and everything in between at Great Northern Mall’s Record Riots Monday, Sept. 7, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission starts at $4. 

BLK Pride on 105

  • When: Saturday, Sept. 5, from 2 to 6 p.m.
  • Where: Third Space Reading Room, 1464 E 105th St.
  • Details: Mx. Juneteenth, Third Space Reading Room and the LBGT Community Center of Greater Cleveland welcome all to BLK Pride on 105, a celebration of Black gay liberation and resilience. The celebration will feature a choir performance, poetry, drag, resources for the LGBTQ+ community, food trucks, a cash bar and more.

Go deeper: Labor Day was established in the United States in the late 1800s to celebrate workers and trade unions, which had significant legislative and moral victories in improving working conditions for laborers at that time. Clevelander John Patterson Green is often credited as the Father of Labor Day.

New Wave Dance Party

  • When: Friday, Sept. 4, at 8:30 p.m.
  • Where: The Foundry, 4256 Pearl Road
  • Details: Feeling like a club night? The Foundry hosts a New Wave Dance Party featuring two DJs spinning dance tracks from the 1980s New Wave era like Depeche Mode, the Pet Shop Boys and Blondie. $5 admission. 

Want to find more things to do around Greater Cleveland? We’ve got you covered from big events to neighborhood gatherings. Check it out.

The roar of jet engines not for you? This list is:

Nowhere Else Festival

  • When: Friday, Sept. 4, through Sunday, Sept. 6
  • Where: 190 Townsend Road, Martinsville
  • Details: American folk band from Cincinnati, Over The Rhine, hosts the Nowhere Else Festival on a small farm in Martinsville, Ohio. Attendees camp out for a weekend of folk music and art.   

Ohio Renaissance Festival

  • When: Saturday, Sept. 5, through Monday, Sept. 7
  • Where: 10542 East State Route 73, Waynesville
  • Details: It’s Homecoming Weekend for the Ohio Renaissance Festival. Enjoy live play performances, Renaissance art and vendors, even catch a jousting competition. 

Detroit Jazz Festival

  • When: Friday, Sept. 4, through Monday, Sept. 7
  • Where: Downtown Detroit
  • Details: The Detroit Jazz Festival‘s headlining artists include the jazz bands Artemis and Take 6. 

Arts, Beats, and Eats

  • When: Friday, Sept. 4, through Monday, Sept. 7
  • Where: Royal Oak, Michigan
  • Details: The Arts, Beats, and Eats festival features over 200 musicians, a farm adventure and a fine art fair.

Travel to Amish country

  • When: Any time
  • Where: Geauga county
  • Details: Many Amish communities live just a short distance outside of Cleveland showing visitors a very different way of life while offering foods, gifts, farm tours and other Amish experiences.    

Visit Lily Dale

Colorful houses lining the street in Lily Dale, New York.
Houses lining the street in Lily Dale, New York. Credit: Gennifer Harding-Gosnell Credit: Gennifer Harding-Gosnell
  • When: Any time
  • Where: Western New York
  • Details: Lily Dale is a small town just a couple hours’ drive from Cleveland. The gated community welcomes visitors interested in New Age spiritualism and healing and is home to over 40 practicing mediums. 

Niagara Falls Labor Day Festival

  • When: Friday, Sept. 4, from 5 to 10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 5 and 6, from noon to 10 p.m.; and Monday, Sept. 7 from noon to 6 p.m.
  • Where: Western New York
  • Details: Both a romantic and a family destination, Niagara Falls has thrilled visitors from all over the world for centuries. Niagara Falls, New York, hosts its own Labor Day Festival, plus a peach festival, a car show and a re-enactment from the War of 1812 throughout the weekend. 


Reporter/Audio Producer (she/her)
I create audio stories meant to engage and inform people in a way that pushes beyond media stereotypes. I aim to build trust between local media and the community, striving to teach people “how” to think about life in Cleveland, not “what” to think.