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Naperville parade beats rain to celebrate Labor Day

With a crew of local pilots overhead to launch the festivities, Naperville celebrated Labor Day with the 53rd annual parade during the Last Fling.

The Lima Lima T-34 flight team, based out of Naper Aero Club in the Aero Estates subdivision, conducted several flyovers as the parade began, and the festivities brought crowds to the streets.

Led by the Naperville Jaycees and featuring bands, candy and a variety of other marching groups, the traditional parade took place before a line of storms rolled through in the early afternoon.

Fling organizers closed the sprawling downtown festival about 12:30 p.m. as hazardous weather approached. They reopened the carnival and block party area along Jackson Avenue at 4:45 p.m.

But about 3:30 p.m., they announced Family Fun Land at the Naper Settlement would not reopen on the four-day festival's final day, canceling activities such as a martial arts demonstration, experiments with SciTech Hands On Museum from downtown Aurora and a kids yoga class.

  With Mill Street lined with spectators, the Naperville Municipal Band kicked off Naperville's Labor Day Parade on Monday morning during the 53rd annual Last Fling festival. Jeff Knox/jknox@dailyherald.com
  Two of Naperville's own pilots from the Lima Lima T-34 flight group based at Naper Aero Club in the Aero Estates subdivision did several flyovers of Naperville's Labor Day Parade as the route began Monday morning. Jeff Knox/jknox@dailyherald.com
  The Naperville Municipal Band performs Monday along Mill Street to kick off Naperville's Labor Day Parade as part of the 53rd annual Last Fling festival. Jeff Knox/jknox@dailyherald.com
  Henry Cook, 4, and his brother Tyler, 6, of Naperville check out their candy haul Monday at Naperville's Labor Day Parade during the Last Fling. Jeff Knox/jknox@dailyherald.com
  Umbrellas block the sun along Mill Street as the Naperville Central High School band marches by during the Labor Day Parade in Naperville. The parade concluded before Monday turned stormy in the afternoon, causing the festival to shut down for several hours. Jeff Knox/jknox@dailyherald.com
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