Virginia Tech's "Highty Tighties" are frequent participants in the parade. Photo: Carolyn Gay |
Buena Vista Labor Day Festival
Buena Vista's Labor Day Festival dates to the
mid-1960s, when the city bought the Glen Maury farm, planning to
convert it to a community park. To celebrate the work done by the
many volunteers who cleared the land, built picnic shelters, and
hiking trails, a Labor Day parade was organized to march from
downtown Buena Vista to new Glen Maury Park. It attracted thousands
of people from the region; its success ensured the event would
become a Buena Vistan tradition. Local politicians invited
governors and Senators (both state and national) to participate,
and the festival began to serve as the kickoff for Virginia's fall
political campaigns -- giving rise to Buena Vistan conventional
wisdom: "It you're a candidate and you're not in Buena Vista on
Labor Day, you won't win the election." Project documentation
comprises a report, photographs with accompanying descriptions, a
collection of parade programs, several videotapes, a campaign
brochure depicting the parade on its cover, and newspaper coverage
from 1971-1999.
Originally submitted by: Bob Goodlatte, Representative (6th District).
More Local Legacies... |
|
|
The Local Legacies project provides a "snapshot" of American Culture as it was expressed in spring of 2000. Consequently, it is not being updated with new or revised information with the exception of "Related Website" links.
|