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Annual Labour Day picnic Monday in Rotary Park

The Labour Day Picnic is set for Monday, Sept. 1 in Rotary Park from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Labour Day Picnic is set for Monday, Sept. 1 in Rotary Park from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Shelley Balfour is the secretary of the East Kootenay Labour Council and invites everybody to come down.

"It's open to everyone in Cranbrook, come down and enjoy it," Balfour said. "It's for the family."

The event will feature a bouncy castle, climbing walls and food.

"There are lots of games for the kids and it's free," she said.

"And of course some of the unions will have their booths up."

Labour Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in September since the 1880s.

“It’s about getting the families together on Labour Day,” she said. “Because it was the labour unions that brought Labour Day into being.”

This will be the 13th annual picnic.

“We usually just have kids games and stuff but this year we were able to secure the bouncy castle and the bouncy wall,” she said. “So it’s a little bit more elaborate this year.”

Balfour is also the president of the Cranbrook and District Teachers’ Association.

She said she was not surprised by the meeting on Wednesday between the government and B.C. Teachers’ Federation, with mediator Vince Ready in the middle.

“I’m excited that they are speaking again today (Thursday) with Mr. Ready,” Balfour said. “I’m frustrated that government is talking about a cooling off period. We actually don’t need a cooling off period, we need to get rolling on this. We’ve been cooling off all summer, let’s get the deal done by Tuesday.”