Omaha celebrates Labor Day with September Fest Parade

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Omaha continues its Labor Day celebration Monday morning with the city’s annual September Fest Parade.

The parade through downtown Omaha is the city’s largest. There were many Omaha labor unions marching in Monday’s salute to labor.

Organizers say the four-day September Fest event attracts people from a five-state area, and there was plenty of entertainment for the whole family.

“We think it’s just wonderful for the community and we’re happy to be a part of it, and excited to be done and have the nice weather today,” said Beth Wooten of Omaha.

“It’s good for everybody to be able to come out and be together and spend the day supporting our labor.”

Many people had the day off, so they were able to enjoy today’s parade.

But for some people who went to work today, being in the right place at the right time, Labor day turned out to be pretty sweet.

The folks at Pettit’s Pastry were there before it all started opening their doors at 5 a.m.

The line to get into the bakery was a long one with lots of people waiting for their Labor Day breakfast.

Bakery owner Mark Pettit says working on Labor Day has been paying off for years.

“Labor Day is always fun and exciting,” Mark said. “It brings a lot of people downtown and we can sell a lot of donuts. We have pre-packaged donuts or if you want to wait in line you can go inside and pick out your own special donut that you like.”

So many people were buying donuts before the parade started, that Mark had to call in his daughter Kalli for extra help.

“It’s always nice to see everyone and lift their spirits a little bit by selling some donuts, so it’s always nice to help out,” Kalli said.

For many people waiting for that donut to start the day, it’s a day off from making breakfast, especially if that means scrambling up a lot of eggs.

“That’s just too much work,” said Ruth Bentzinger of Omaha. “We had a big family picnic yesterday so I’m kind of burned out from that.”

“We’ve come down here every year, I can’t even begin to tell you how many years. When I had one grandchild, now I’ve got 12 so you can know how many years that’s been. And this is what we do, we come down to Pettit’s, get donuts and coffee and then we go back and sit.”

The Pettit’s crew has been up early in the morning working on Labor Day so hundreds can start their day off with a sweet breakfast.

“It’s been real busy several years in a row except when COVID was around, but I think people really enjoy just getting out and enjoying life.”

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