The community tradition kicks off at noon and will feature a full day of family fun, food, music, and entertainment, ending with Jamestown’s biggest fireworks show of the summer at 8:30 p.m.

The Main Stage Music Venue begins with the Jamestown Municipal Band performing on the Main Stage, with four other bands following to offer music all day right up until the fireworks.

The food court will also begin serving customers at noon offering a variety of options of meals, snacks and treats and the collection of more than 35 craft vendors at the craft show. Festival goers can also look forward to the exciting return of Southern Tier Wrestling.

Children will also be a main priority this year as the JAMFL league will host a city wide scrimmage beginning at 2 p.m. There will be a performance by Dancing with Victoria and Nick Nambretti will bring his magic talents to the festival. Children will have the opportunity to play in a kids game area and have their face painted.

Crowds are pictured at past Jamestown Labor Day festivals. This year’s festival takes place Sunday from noon to 8:30 p.m., when the city’s annual Labor Day fireworks takes place.

Pepsi Bingo once again makes its return to the Jamestown Festival beginning at 2 p.m. under the pavilion.

A highlight of the afternoon will be the presentation of the George Ritzer Labor Award, honoring Erica Ericson for her contributions and dedication to the community. Ericson is a lifelong Jamestown resident and third-generation union member who has worked as a senior assembly technician at the city’s New Flyer plant since 2016. Ericson helped organized labor be approved in the city plant after speaking with a coworker and then an IUE organizer. IUE is an affiliate of CWA focusing on industrial labor.

Ericson, according to the Ritzer Labor Award Committee, was instrumental to getting the labor union certified in the Jamestown plant, is a charter member and the only president of IUE-CWA Local 81500 as well as serving as treasurer for the Jamestown Central Labor Council. Ericson has been working on getting national agreement standardizing working conditions, including health care, PTO and attendance policies, across all American New Flyer plants.

In her spare time, Ericson said she enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with friends and family, particularly going to concerts with her daughter

The celebration concludes with a fireworks display at 8:30 p.m.

“The Labor Day Festival is the last big celebration of what has been a spectacular summer in Chautauqua County. For approximately 8,000 community members to come together to enjoy various activities all in the name of celebrating our workforce with the special addition of highlighting some children’s organizations is what community is all about,” said Patrick Smeraldo, president of Collaborative Children’s Solutions.

The Jamestown Labor Day Festival is made possible from the support of its community sponsors: the city of Jamestown, local IBEW 106, Ahlstrom Schaeffer, Pepsi of Jamestown, the Southern Chautauqua Federal Credit Union and Collaborative Children’s Solutions.