Labor Day Weekend is the unofficial end of the summer, and there are parties all around the country to help say goodbye with a bang. Want to skip the backyard barbecue and check out someplace exciting? There are major end-of-the-season fêtes in Fire Island, Provincetown, Rehoboth Beach, and Saugatuck/Douglas, where gaggles of gays gather to mix and mingle and lounge on the sandy beaches in speedos, as they salute the end of the summer season.
That season ends quickly—in Fire Islandfrom, the day after Labor Day is known as “Tumbleweed Tuesday,” as the area empties so quickly of visitors. But not before Andy Cohen has a chance to take a twirl around the dance floor in the Fire Island Pines:
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There are also special events happening around the U.S. to end the summer in style. Check out some of our favorites, listed here:
Splash Days, Austin, Tex.
Lake Travis is the crown jewel of Austin, the capital of Texas, and the chilly water is perfect for a swimming party on a hot summer day. Splash Days takes over Hippie Hollow, the clothing-optional cove in Lake Travis, on Sunday: boat owners tie their boats to each other into rows of floating day-drinkers, and fill their boats with local college boys who are happy to stand around in their little swimsuits in exchange for free drinks. A party barge blasts music throughout the cove for all to enjoy. And then shenanigans continue in Austin’s bars, to keep the party going.
Southern Decadence, New Orleans, La.
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One of the hottest parties of the year is in one of the hottest, literally, cities: Southern Decadence takes over the streets of the French Quarter in New Orleans every Labor Day Weekend, where over 250,000 partiers who mix and mingle in the bars and on the streets in the summer heat of the Deep South. A concert and festival is scheduled for Saturday at 6:30 p.m., and the traditional parade is Sunday at 2 p.m., but the festivities flow through the whole weekend and into Monday.
Atlanta Black Pride
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Labor Day Weekend in Atlanta brings the largest black pride festival in the U.S., and events range all over the city day and night. The largest is Pure Heat, a community festival in Piedmont Park on Sunday, but there are parties every night all weekend. Milan Christopher (above) will host a party on Saturday, 8/31, should you wish to catch a glimpse of him. Read our story about Atlanta Black Pride here.
Laguna Beach, Calif.
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Laguna Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in North America, and West Street Beach towards the southern end has traditionally welcomed the gay crowds for big holiday parties. There is a group on Facebook that organizes a party, Labor Gay/God’s & Goddesses 2019, but people from all over Southern California know to come to West Street Beach on Labor Day, and wear their favorite Speedos.
Burning Man, Black Rock Desert, Nevada
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Taking Labor Day Weekend to the next level, Burning Man is a modern-day legend, a mecca for the hipster generation, who converge upon the desert and achieve a higher plane of existence through artistic expression and the ingestion of mind-altering edibles. People build a city out of nothing and creat art for the sake of art, they meet new like-minded friends, and they have the time of their lives while wandering around in the middle of nowhere. Although they call all that empty space “The Playa.”
The gay, lesbian, transgender, and genderqueer presence has been a cornerstone of Burning Man’s popularity, and it is safe to say that a heterosexual or two have discovered the joys of pansexual fun while there.
For those who do not attend Burning Man, it is also fun to hang out in Reno and watch the dusty, dirty people emerge from The Playa, check into hotels to pull themselves back together, and wash off a week of dirt. (For traffic updates, check the Burning Man Traffic Twitter feed.)
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