By: Tolly Wright, David Goldberg and Helen Dugan
Don’t know how to spend the upcoming three-day weekend? We have the best things to do on Labor day and other related Labor Day events right here. Go day-glo crazy at a summer music festival, celebrate Caribbean culture at the annual West Indian American Day Carnival, cheer hard at the U.S. Open and make your day extra sandy by hitting our favorite New York beaches. Whether you’re an indoor type or looking for things to do outside, we have the perfect itinerary for Labor Day weekend.

Photograph: Bennett Sell-Kline
Clubs
New York’s biggest electronic music festival turns the urban jungle into a party animal’s playground. Experience the EDM madness as headliners Marshmello, Mar+in Garrix, Tiësto and more perform amid epic stage effects and art. Read more.

Relive one of the greatest summer love stories of all time at this delightful screening event for “dance people.” Sing along to “Hungry Eyes,” let Patrick Swayze teach you how to dance (and how to love), and live your best Catskills fantasy with a delicious margarita in hand. Read more.

Photograph: Dylan Johnson
Riis Beach’s summer-long shindig is all about laying back with ice cold drinks and getting down to chill music, and for those of us who aren’t in the restaurant or service industry, a chance to be horizontal on the sand on a Monday is too good to pass up. Good food and tunes await at the Riis Bathhouse Pavilion starting at noon on Labor Day. Read more.

Photograph: Matthew Stockman
While you may not remember what you did on Labor Day Weekends past, take a swing and make this year memorable by seeing the champions slay it on the tennis court. Added bonus: You’ll be the Instagram winner of Tuesday morning. Read more.

Photograph: Filip Wolak
For some, Labor Day is just another Monday off, but the costumed gods and goddesses of this wild parade spend the whole year hot-gluing feathers and stones to their magnificent outfits. Party all the way down Eastern Parkway and enjoy technicolor floats representing countries like Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobego while you indulge in jerk chicken and other delicacies. Read more.

Photograph: Courtesy Rebecca MB. Pearson
Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit
This city tradition feels fresh every spring when artists following in the footsteps of Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning set up shop in the park. Hundreds of exhibitors, from NYU students to artists who remember the Village as a creative enclave, display their paintings, sculptures, photography, jewelry and woodcraft. The show takes place on University Place starting at E 13th St. Read more.

Photograph: Courtesy Erica Camille
Dance to the musical stylings of New York staple Eli Escobar, eat barbecue fare from Guacuco, sip tropical cocktails, marvel at circus arts performers and frolic in a rooftop hot tub at this daylong Labor Day soiree at House of Yes. Bleach those whites beforehand and hit the dance floor looking crisp—never mind what shape your outfit will be in twelve hours later. Read more. Buy.

Photograph: Courtesy Carly Hoogendyk
An Inconvenient Talk Show
Rollie Williams invites you beyond the same old sets of your average comedy show at this bizarro political show. The gonzo comedian plays a rode-hard Al Gore interviewing comedians and real scientists about climate change, with Eric André style shenanigans abounding. For the September edition, he’s joined by Eudora Peterson, Jeremy Bent and Karen Chee, along with NASA’s own Dr. Gavin Schmidt. Read more.

Fabian Leow
FYI: Labor Day is your last chance to immerse yourself in the world of this post-Edwardian TV phenomenon. Check out more than 50 original costumes, along with Downton Abbey sets and gawk at the table settings, authentic artifacts and more at this comprehensive exhibition.