WOOD RIVER/EAST ALTON – The Greater Madison County Federation of Labor and the Labor Day Committee said that “it is with a heavy heart” that they have made the decision to cancel this year’s Wood River/East Alton Labor Day Parade, Picnic and Charity Softball Tournament for August 28, 2021, as well as the Granite City Labor Day Parade and Picnic originally scheduled for September 6, 2021.
The GMCFL had hoped with the declining infection and hospitalization rates earlier this year, and with the State reopening, that they could return to a more normal and conventional celebration of Labor Day.
The GMCFL now believes, with new variants and COVID numbers going up again in some areas, that it wouldn’t be “responsible, prudent, or safe” for large gatherings such as a parade or picnic.
They are hopeful to reconvene and celebrate again next year in 2022.
All fees and donations previously given to help defray parade and picnic costs will be refunded. The GMCFL president, B. Dean Webb, says they “sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this cancellation may have caused.”