Milwaukee Labor Day celebration features parade and festival
Milwaukee Labor Day celebration features parade and festival
Preparations are already underway at Zeidler Union Square in Milwaukee for the Laborfest 2026 parade taking place Monday.
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee celebrates Labor Day with the return of Laborfest 2026. The main event begins with a downtown parade featuring union workers, followed by festivities at Henry Maier Festival Park.
Milwaukee’s Laborfest 2026 parade kicks off at 11:00 a.m., departing from Zeidler Union Square Park.
Laborfest 2026 parade
What we know:
Volunteers and workers began arriving at the park as early as 6 a.m. Monday morning. Pam Fendt, president of the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, said Laborfest 2026 serves as a festive celebration of worker achievements and a formal rally focused on worker power, collective bargaining rights, and solidarity.
Organizers said this is one of the largest free Labor Day celebrations in the country, and the parade alone has been a tradition since 1983.
The parade will start at Vel R. Phillips and Wisconsin and go to the main gates of Henry Maier Festival Park.
A news release for Laborfest 2026 says the festival includes live music for all ages, children’s activities, bingo, wrestling, a classic car show, and Raffle Grand Prize of $5,000.
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"We're going down Wisconsin Avenue to Water Street to Chicago, then streaming into the festival. You’ll see everything from iron workers to symphony orchestra crews, firefighters, and nurses," said Pam Fendt, president of the Milwaukee Area Labor Council.
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Stephanie Quirk and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from Pam Fendt, the Milwaukee Area Labor Council and a news release.