Top 5: Things to Do in NYC this Labor Day

It’s unfortunate that Labor Day is the symbolic last day of summer, but instead of mourning the close of your favorite season, make sure it ends on a high note. Here are five events happening during the holiday three-day weekend that will help you do just that.

Monday, September 5 at 11 a.m. in Brooklyn

As the climactic end to the five-day long Carnival festival, the annual Caribbean Carnival Parade offers a look at island life without having to board a plane. Approximately two million people attend the bash each year, enjoying costumed participants, steel-pan and calypso bands, and dozens of vendors selling delicious Caribbean foodstuffs along the parade route. For the complete parade experience, you’ll have to wake up early; the pre-parade festivities around 4 a.m. with J’ouvert (“daybreak” in French). Revelers will dress up as political figures or celebrities and douse each other in powdered paint, while steel drums and whistles provide a jovial soundtrack.

Thursday, September 1 through Sunday, September 4 in Manhattan, Brooklyn and on Governor's Island

This four-day event, presented by the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, kicks off on September 1 with One Wheel the West Side — a tour taking single-wheeled cyclists from Battery Park along the West Side Highway to Central Park. Festivities on Friday, September 2, celebrate Brooklyn Unicycle Day with a 13-mile ride from the Brooklyn Bridge to Coney Island. The celebration continues with a free festival on Governor's Island, September 3 – 4 which includes exhibitions of unicycle sumo wrestling, basketball and hockey, plenty of learn-to-ride events plus a DJ and costume contest.

Friday, August 26 – Monday, September 5, 8 p.m. at Lincoln Center Plaza, Manhattan

The Metropolitan Opera's Summer HD Festival presents the company's best past performances projected onto the façade of the historic Metropolitan Opera House in stunning high-def. More than 3,100 first-come-first-served seats will be available each night of the 11-day festival, which kicks off with a screening of Milos Forman's "Amadeus" on August 26. Over Labor Day weekend, three of the most revered operas of all time — "The Merry Widow," Puccini's "Turandot" and Bizet's "Les Pêcheurs de Perles" — will close out the festival.

Monday, August 29 – Sunday, September 11at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, Queens

Nothing quite says late summer in New York like the U.S. Open. Will veterans Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic recover from stunning losses at the Rio Olympics? Or will fresh faces join the pantheon of celebrated U.S. Open winners? Over Labor Day weekend, the Open starts to heat up as participants enter the third round of play. While you're there, check out the new retractable roof at Arthur Ashe stadium which debuts this year, making rain delays a thing of the past on the Tennis Center's main court.

Friday, September 2 – Sunday, September 4 on Randall's Island

If you're a fan of the piercing beats and electronic rhythms of Electronic Dance Music, then the latest edition of Electric Zoo, dubbed Wild Island, is your can't-miss Labor Day weekend destination. For the 8th year, nearly 100 of the world's top EDM DJs and underground talent will light up the East River across five stages. Chart-topping acts Tiesto and Chainsmokers will perform while local food and beverage vendors keep the dancing throngs fed and hydrated.

If you're looking to get out of town for the weekend check out our Top 5: Nearby Summer Getaways!