It can’t be Labor Day Weekend already. It feels like Memorial Day Weekend was last weekend, and now we’re staring at the end of the summer.
Yet, that’s our reality. By this time next week, the kids will be back in school, and we’ll be looking at the leaves on the trees to watch for any change in their colors.
Before we start digging out our winter clothes and check our snow blowers to see if they will start, this is a good time for us to try to get out and enjoy what few days we have left before the fall season unofficially begins. (For those of you who are calendar freaks, fall officially begins Sept. 23, but we all recognize Labor Day as the point where we change seasons.)
Haven’t been to the Saratoga Race Course yet? You have until Labor Day to get there, and then the nation’s oldest racetrack closes up for the long, hard winter. And while you’re there, take in the Final Stretch Music Festival Aug. 30 and 31 in downtown Saratoga Springs. There will be a lot of music on the streets performed by acts such as Solid Smoke and Rich Ortiz. The music starts at 7 p.m. each evening and runs to 11 p.m.
Want to get in touch with your Scottish heritage or — if you have no Scottish ancestry — experience part of the Scots’ culture? The annual Scottish Games takes over the Altamont Fairgrounds this weekend. For more details, see Dania Bianchi’s feature story on the front page of our Spotlight on Living section. Just beware of the haggis, if you have a weak constitution.
How about a trip down nostalgia lane? This is one of the last weekends Hoffman’s Playland in Latham is open. The 62-year-old family-owned amusement park is slated to close for good Sept. 13. After that, you’ll have to trek to The Great Escape in Lake George or one of the regional county fairs to indulge your hunger for thrill rides.
Speaking of county fairs, the annual Schaghticoke Fair is going now through Labor Day in northern Rensselaer County. Besides midway rides and all the agricultural displays, you’ll find truck and tractor pulls, a visit from Ballston Spa’s Double M Rodeo and demolition derbies at the grandstand. The fairgrounds are open until 10 p.m. each day.
Got a hankering for a “Jackburger?” Jumpin’ Jacks, Scotia’s legendary drive-in restaurant, is closing soon for the season. Soon after, more outdoor food stands will be doing the same thing. So if you want some cheap eats while the weather is still warm, we suggest you get out there and visit your favorite food stand.
It also won’t be long before community pools will be drained and closed until next summer. Same thing goes for outdoor mini golf places, batting cages and drive-in movie theaters. Basically, anything that has to do with enjoying the summer sun will soon fade with the daytime temperatures.
This is why you need to take advantage of these last few days of summer before they’re gone. If you don’t, you won’t have another chance until Memorial Day Weekend 2015 — a good nine months away.
Get out there and have some fun now, for soon you’ll be raking leaves and searching for your down comforters.