St. Louis, U.S.A. — The second annual Veterans Festival in Forest Park is set for Labor Day weekend September 1-3. Admission to the Festival is free from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Veterans Village at Forest Park—the 1,293-acre jewel of the St. Louis metropolitan area one of St. Louis’ most treasured resources. The Veterans Festival committee announced that Anheuser-Busch is the premier sponsor of the event.

The mission of the Veterans Festival in Forest Park is to salute the sacrifices these brave men and women have made for our country and community.  The Veterans Festival aims to promote awareness of the resources and services available to Veterans and their families.

“Over 500,000 Veterans make Missouri their home.  As the young men and women deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan return home, we want them to be aware of the services and support that are available to them,” says Festival Chairman Dave Morgan.

Veterans Festival Founder Robert Hermann says, “The goal of this Veterans Festival is to bring our community together in honor of all Missouri Veterans who have served their country so bravely and selflessly in numerous wars and conflicts in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.”

“Veterans helping Veterans, that’s what we do,” Morgan continued.

Proceeds from the Veterans Festival in Forest Park go to officers’ service programs at the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion and Disabled American Veterans.

Activities and Events

Veterans Village, near the Muny, will be the centerpiece of the three-day Festival featuring family activities, concerts, and exhibits throughout Forest Park including:

• special offers and events for Veterans and their families all weekend at the St. Louis Zoo, Art Museum, History Museum, Science Center and off-site at the Missouri Botanical Garden
• Veteran resources and services in the Veterans’ Village
• a parade led by the majestic Budweiser Clydesdales on Saturday and will remain on site for photos with guests
• hundreds of vintage automobiles on display
• golf tournament
• a tennis tournament at the Dwight Davis tennis courts
• military equipment both modern and dating back more than 100 years including Special Ops aircraft and a 30-foot Coast Guard Vessel
• bands performing, rock, country, bluegrass, jazz and other popular musical styles
• battle reenactments
• festival food and refreshment vendors
• Veterans Festival 10-mile run
• win a 2012 Harley-Davidson Softail motorcycle

The Veterans’ event expects to draw more than 1/2 million people to a weekend of sports, arts, games, history and fun throughout Forest Park — all to honor the men and women who have nobly and selflessly served our nation.

For more information on the Festival visit http://www.vfstl.com/

Image Courtesy of  Anthony Correia / Shutterstock.com

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Chicago, U.S.A. – The start of summer also marks the beginning of the “100 Deadliest Days for Teens”— the time between Memorial Day and Labor Day that is traditionally the deadliest for teen drivers. Automobile accidents are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, and more teens are killed on the road during summer than any other time of year.

But parents can do more than just stand by and worry this summer; when it comes to safe driving, parents have more influence over their teens’ behavior than they might expect, say experts featured on BeSmartBeWell.com/Teen-Driving in a series of new videos produced by the health and wellness website.

“Parents play a key role in preventing teen crashes. When asked whose opinions they listen to, teens most often said their parents,” says Erin Sauber-Schatz, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the CDC and one of the experts featured on BeSmartBeWell.com/Teen-Driving.

Parents can turn to BeSmartBeWell.com, where experts and real-life parents provide practical advice for starting conversations about safe driving and getting teens the driving experience they need to be safe behind the wheel.

Be clear and be involved

Teens who think their parents will be upset with them if they engage in risky driving are less likely to take risks when behind the wheel. That is why it’s important for parents to communicate their expectations for safe driving clearly.

Tanya, a mom featured on BeSmartBeWell.com/Teen-Driving, has been very clear with her teen daughter about driving rules and what happens when the rules are violated.

“It’s important to let her know the consequences. If she doesn’t follow through, she’ll know what I expect from her,” Tanya says. “She’ll know what she’s supposed to do, what’s wrong and what’s right.” Watch Tanya and her daughter negotiate their family’s rules of the road.

Tanya also makes sure Daija gets lots of supervised driving practice, essential for keeping teens safe behind the wheel. “You should be driving with your teen as much as possible,” says Flaura Winston, M.D., director of the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and one of the experts featured on BeSmartBeWell.com/Teen-Driving. “The more hours the better, and in a variety of conditions.”

Not sure how to begin?

A parent-teen driver agreement can help parents start a conversation about safe driving. A teen driver agreement lists driving rules – like always wear a seat belt, never text and drive, etc. – and spells out consequences for violating those rules.

Negotiating the terms of the agreement together helps parents communicate their expectations, and garners teen buy-in, says the CDC’s Sauber-Schatz in a video on BeSmartBeWell.com/Teen-Driving. ”It lets the teens and parents work together to set up the consequences.”

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As Labor Day Weekend marked the unofficial end of summer, millions of participant and spectators celebrated in Brooklyn during the annual West Indian American Parade & Carnival. The Labor Day Carnival Parade is an outdoor festival that highlights the cultures of nations across the West Indies.

The 2011 West Indian American Parade & Carnival took place on September 5 and showcased a day packed with music, dance, and international cuisine The show stopping performances during this year’s 43^rd annual parade was one of the biggest ever seen in Brooklyn. The parade route ran along busy Eastern Parkway.

With a combination of many Caribbean cultures coming together for the parade, this yearly festivity is one of the largest cultural events in all of New York City. The celebrations began in Brooklyn a few days prior to the main parade that took place on Labor Day. Countries including Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados were represented, along with a variety of other Caribbean nations.

The original West Indian American Parade & Carnival started in Harlem in the 1940’s, but was then moved to its current home in Brooklyn in the 1960’s. Remaining on the same route, Eastern Parkway annually lights up with the sights and sounds of the Caribbean.

The parade gets its foundation from the traditions of carnivals throughout the Caribbean, where bright costumes and days of exciting music fill up the streets in preparation for Lent. Although this custom has been redirected towards the time around Labor Day, the beauty of these cultures are still a yearly tradition in Brooklyn.

The parade’s signature theme is to bring out the unique cultural traditions of each country through ornately colorful floats that make their way down Eastern Parkway. Thousands of participants dressed up in vibrant costumes and danced atop the decorated floats. The colors of the rainbow were displayed on Caribbean influenced designs, and often included large headpieces flanked with feathers.

Months of preparation go into the designs of the f loats and costumes to make the West Indian American Parade & Carnival one of the most detailed and radiant festival throughout New York City. Along with the sights of the parade were the distinct sounds of the festival. Caribbean music was played throughout the duration of the parade.

Everything from Jamaican reggae to Trinidadian calypso could be heard along Eastern Parkway. One of the highlights of the parade was the abundance of steel drums. Many groups skillfully playing the steel drums performed and competed for the title of the best steel drum band of the year.

The energetic music from guitars, drums, congas, and other instruments got the massive crowds dancing their way through the parade. The tastes of Caribbean cuisine were also a main event during the parade. As is true for many cultures around the world, food is one of the main examples of how uniquely different these countries can be.

Local cooks and chefs came together to serve plates of delicious food from their home countries. Vendors lined the street selling dishes of oxtail, jerk chicken, coconut bread and fried plantains, among many other choices. The array of cultural cuisine was astounding and was a great display of the local food in the Caribbean.

Over three million people enjoyed this year’s West Indian American Parade & Carnival. A large population of New York City inhabitants comes from Caribbean nations. The parade was bursting at the seams with excitement and pride in their distinct cultures.

The annual parade brought participants and onlookers dressed in costumes and with painted faces to Eastern Parkway, and enjoyed a weekend long celebration of the Caribbean.

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Republicans found a new fake controversy to jump on. Just when you thought they might actually talk about jobs and the economy, they found a new distraction-James Hoffa telling people to vote out the Tea Party.

During a Labor Day rally, Teamsters President James Hoffa called out the Tea Party. “We’ve got to keep an eye on the battle that we face — a war on workers. And you see it everywhere. It is the Tea Party, and there’s only one way to beat and win that war — the one thing about working people is we like a good fight.”

Hoffa went on. “President Obama, this is your army, we are ready to march. But everybody here’s got to vote. If we go back, and keep the eye on the prize, let’s take these sons-of-bitches out.” However, that is not the version Fox News likes to recount, over and over. Sort of like the Black Panthers thing during 2008.

Fox edits out the part about voting so it sounds like Hoffa is inciting violence. Not the kind of violence that Palin incites with a crosshair, but still…

The Republicans are demanding that President Barack Obama apologize for Hoffa’s remarks. Upon taking the microphone afterwards, did President Obama condemn this call to violence against Republicans? No. In fact, President Obama did the opposite: he praised Mr. Hoffa,” read a fundraising email by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC).

Executive Director Rich Jesmer continued, “By failing to condemn them, President Obama once again demonstrated a failure of leadership. And President Obama knows this.” Fox and Friends host Gretchen Carlson used her show to rally against the comments as well.

Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz was a guest on Fox and Friends to discuss Obama’s job plan, but of course Carlson pounced on Wassserman Schultz about Hoffa’s comments. Wasserman Schultz declined to comment on Hoffa’s remarks but Carlson continued to press about the “violent language.”

Wasserman Schultz eventually had enough and turned on Carlson. “How many times have you called out coarse language at Tea Party rallies on this network. Almost never,” the congresswoman said. Hoffa has stood by his remarks and is refusing to apologize. “We didn’t start this war — the right wing did,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

“My comments on Labor Day in Detroit echo the anger and frustration of American workers who are under attack by corporate-funded politicians who want to destroy the middle class. We’re tired of seeing good-paying jobs shipped overseas. This fight is about the economy, it’s about jobs and it’s about rebuilding America.

As I said yesterday in Detroit, we all have to vote in order to take these anti-worker politicians out of office.”

Image Courtesy of  http://www.facebook.com/jimhoffa

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Politics remains staunchly divided in Wisconsin and the local Labor Day parade is just another example of the divide. After the vote earlier in the year in Wisconsin led by Republicans to limit collective bargaining rights, a Wisconsin union has voted to ban Republican politicians from a local Labor Day parade. The Marathon County Central Labor Council, which sponsors the parade, includes some 30 local unions.

Council President Randy Radtke said in a statement on the group’s website that politicians are only welcome at the festivities if they have demonstrated support for workers’ rights.

“It should come as no surprise that organizers choose not to invite elected officials who have openly attacked worker’s rights or stood idly by while their political party fought to strip public workers of their right to collectively bargain,” Radtke said.

“It is a time for working families to come together to celebrate their hard work and a time where we recognize the labor movement for all they have given us — the weekend, the 40 hour work week, child labor protection, a safe work environment.”

Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.), a federal congressman representing Wausau released a statement decrying the vote. “Having walked in this parade in past years, Congressman Duffy was hoping that for a moment, we could set our differences aside and simply have some fun in a family-friendly event,” a Duffy spokesperson said.

“[The congressman] walks in a lot of parades, and staff called to register a spot last week and was informed in colorful language that no Republicans were being allowed to participate this year,” added Duffy Chief of Staff Brandon Moody in an email to The Huffington Post.

In February, 14 Democratic state senators fled the state in order to prevent a vote on the controversial collective bargaining bill. Thousands of protesters flocked to the state capital in Wisconsin to protest the legislation. Through a last-minute budgetary and possible illegal move, Republicans were able to pass the measure without any Democrats present. All but one GOP state senator voted for it.

Radtke said the reaction to his decision has been mixed, with “some negative comments but mostly it has been overwhelmingly positive.” Other politicians who won’t be welcome at the parade include state Sen. Pam Galloway (R-Wausau) and state Rep. Jerry Petrowski (R-Marathon).

Image Courtesy of  Shaun Greiner

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