Children scramble for candy during the annual Nicolaus Labor Day parade last year. This event is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 2, in Nicolaus starting with a pancake breakfast at 7 a.m. and a parade at 10 a.m.  

NICOLAUS, CA (MPG) - Local schools coming together to raise funds for each of their educational endeavors, this is what the Nicolaus Labor Day Parade is all about, a tradition that has been celebrated for over 30 years.

“There’s four schools and we’re all joining together to make an event that’s just for us, for our schools, and our kids,” said Megan Reese, a Nicoulas native and parade organizer.

Reese helped take over the event planning with her friend and Nicolaus “transplant” Melanie Michel following the pandemic shutdowns of 2020.

“It didn’t seem like anyone wanted to pick it back up, so we were like ‘we can’t let it die,’” said Michel. “We look forward to it every year.”

This year’s event will be held on Monday, Sept. 2, starting with a 7 a.m. pancake breakfast at St. Boniface Parish Hall followed by the 10 a.m. parade. The route will follow its usual path down Nicolaus Avenue from Garden Highway before turning right onto Marcum Road. Guests can expect a variety of entries, vintage cars, horses, community representation, and of course lots of school floats.

Children play in a fountain of water created by fire trucks at the annual Nicolaus Labor Day parade last year. This event is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 2, in Nicolaus starting with a pancake breakfast at 7 a.m. and a parade at 10 a.m.

“That’s always our big rivalry,” laughed Michel, “We have the three elementary schools and the kindergartener’s float is always the big one.”

Aside from Michel and Reese, support and organization for this event comes from the Nicolaus Labor Day Parade committee composed of approximately 15 people from various parent clubs and other educational volunteers.

“The four schools basically come together and at the end we find out how much we’ve made and then divide it by four and each parents club gets the proceeds to then take back to their school.” explained Michel.

Last year, each school was reported to have brought in $6,000 to be used on their own designated projects. These may include renovations such as a new marque or updating an athletic track, whatever the clubs see fit to do.

For the town of Nicolaus, a small community composed of 126 residents, the Labor Day parade easily stands as their biggest event of the year. The whole escape pulls in approximately 2,000 visitors and offers signature festivities such as cornhole, veggie contests, live music, silent auctions, vendor booths, petting zoos, craft corners and the honoring of a local “grandparent of the year.” A full bar will also be open as early as 7 a.m. and will include a traditional drink known as the Gin Fizzy.

Horses and riders are pictured in the annual Nicolaus Labor Day parade last year. This event is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 2, in Nicolaus starting with a pancake breakfast at 7 a.m. and a parade at 10 a.m.

“They’re a tradition for Labor Day and it’s made with egg,” explained Reese. “We have a recipe that we follow that’s been going on for however many years, probably the beginning.”

Nicolaus Avenue, starting at the junction of Garden Highway in Nicolaus, will be closed starting at 8 a.m. for the parade on Sept. 2. This road will be opened back up to traffic around 11:30 a.m., following the parade's conclusion. Marcum Road will remain closed for the day however to support the remaining festivities.