Labor Day Concert 2011 Live Stream West Lawn US Capitol Washington DC

The National Symphony Orchestra performs a free Labor Day Concert on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol each year, the Sunday before Labor Day. The annual concert, produced by the Kennedy Center, celebrates the beginning of the 2011–2012 performing arts season with three legends of Washington music: Sousa, Ellington, and the Godfather of Go-Go Chuck Brown. Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September (September 5 in 2011).

The first Labor Day in the United States was observed on September 5, 1882, by the Central Labor Union of New York It became a federal holiday in 1894, when, following the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the U.S. military and U.S. Marshals during the Pullman Strike, President Grover Cleveland put reconciliation with the labor movement as a top political priority. Fearing further conflict, legislation making Labor Day a national holiday was rushed through Congress unanimously and signed into law a mere six days after the end of the strike. The September date originally chosen by the CLU of New York and observed by many of the nation's trade unions for the past several years was selected rather than the more widespread International Workers' Day because Cleveland was concerned that observance of the latter would stir up negative emotions linked to the Haymarket Affair, which it had been observed to commemorate. All U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the territories have made it a statutory holiday.

Traditionally, Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer. In high society, Labor Day is (or was) considered the last day of the year when it is fashionable for women to wear white.

In U.S. sports, Labor Day marks the beginning of the NFL and college football seasons. NCAA teams usually play their first games the week before Labor Day, with the NFL traditionally playing their first game the Thursday following Labor Day. The Southern 500 NASCAR auto race was held that day from 1950 to 1983 in Darlington, South Carolina. At Indianapolis, the National Hot Rod Association hold their finals to the U.S. Nationals drag race. Most school districts that started summer vacation in mid june will resume school near this day (schools that had summer begin near memorial day will have already been in session for about 3 weeks).

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