This year’s Labor Day weekend, Friday, Aug. 29 through, Monday, Sept. 1, will feature a parade of Quad Cities festivals and events complete with music, food, fun, flea markets, karting races, salutes to labor and more.
Among the highlights again are:
Xtream Grand Prix
Downtown Rock Island will host the 30th running of the Xtream Grand Prix, the world’s largest karting street race. On Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 30-31, races will run through the streets of that city which will also play host to food, fun and entertainment.
This year the race – which a Visit Quad Cities Datify study said has attracted as many as 20,000 spectators – will return to the downtown course it had used for in the first 28 Grand Prix races after being relocated in 2024 by road construction.
Soul of the City
The Martin Luther King Community Center will present Soul of the City 2025.
This free, annual family-friendly celebration of community, culture, and connection runs from 5 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at Franklin Field, 1251 9th St., Rock Island.
Festivities include the Soul of the City Parade, food trucks, vendors and community resource booths. Block Party highlights include: emcee Marshall Glover, Jesse White Tumblers, Funktastic Five, MLK’s Boxing Club and Dynamic Status Gems Dance Team, six of the QC’s most sought after DJs, a new Kidz Zone, West End Rib Festival & Contest and the National Society for Black Engineers (NSBE) creating GoCarts for kids.
Milan Harvest Festival
The annual Milan Harvest Festival is hosting some new attractions on Labor Day weekend as well as food, fun and music. The festival began on Thursday, Aug. 28, and will run through Monday, Sept. 1, at Camden Park.
Organizers promise this year’s five-day party is bigger and brighter than ever. It will feature a battle of the high school bands as well as carnival rides, food vendors, disc golf, bingo, regional live music and more. It also includes the two nighttime spectacles: a drone light show and the annual fireworks display.
QC loves a parade
The annual Labor Day holiday would not be complete without parades and this Monday two other metro Quad Cities staples will step off once again: the popular Quad City Labor Day Parade in East Moline will start at 11 a.m. and at 9:30 a.m., Monday, Rock Island downtown’s 41st Annual Labor Day Parade – Rockin’ the Arts!
Regional festivals on tap
QC regional Labor Day celebrations include the 53rd Annual Orion (Illinois) Fall Festival today through Sunday and Kewanee (Illinois) Hog Days from Friday through Monday. The annual parties are again serving up small-town fun, food, parades, entertainment, car shows, carnivals and more
