20 Things To Do This Labor Day Weekend ☀️

It is a long weekend for most of us, and Nocatee saved the best for last — both waterparks stay open all day Monday for the Labor Day Celebration, foam parties and live music included. Before that, Monster Jam rolls into Jacksonville for three shows, and the Pit Party beforehand puts your kids close enough to touch Grave Digger. Then Sunday brings back Cinemark's gloriously ridiculous Bring Your Own Bucket Day, where $5 fills any container you can carry with popcorn. Start scouting the house for something bucket-shaped. 👇

Labor Day Celebration at Splash & Spray
📍 Splash and Spray Waterparks, Nocatee (Cartable 🛒)
🕐 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM | Monday
🎟️ Free for Residents (Resident ID required)
👪 All ages
🔗 More info here

Both waterparks run 10 to 6 with live music — the Honey Hounds at Spray, Big Jeff at Splash — plus foam parties at 11:00 AM and noon. Resident ID cards are required for everyone in your household, and each household can bring up to six guests.

Monster Jam
📍 Veterans Memorial Arena, 300 A. Philip Randolph Blvd, Jacksonville (~33 min 🚗)
🕐 Sat 1:00 PM & 7:00 PM / Sun 1:00 PM | Saturday & Sunday
🎟️ See event link — every fan age 2 and up needs a ticket
👪 All ages
🔗 More info here

Grave Digger, El Toro Loco and Sparkle Smash headline three shows across the weekend. The Pit Party runs 10:30 AM to noon before both matinees — that is where kids get autographs and photos with the trucks and drivers, and it takes a separate pass.

Bring Your Own Bucket Day
📍 Cinemark Durbin Park & XD, 435 Durbin Pavilion Dr, St. Johns (~20 min 🚗)
🕐 All day | Sunday
🎟️ $5
👪 All ages
🔗 More info here

Bring any clean container up to 400 oz. and Cinemark fills it with popcorn for $5 — no movie ticket needed. One day only, so let the kids pick the most absurd thing in the house that still counts as a bucket.

Free Cummer Museum Admission: 904 Day
📍 Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, 829 Riverside Ave, Jacksonville (~35 min 🚗)
🕐 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
🎟️ Free — no registration, first come first served
👪 All ages
🔗 More info here

Admission is free for 904 Day, with live music and lawn games out in the riverfront gardens and every gallery open inside. The gardens alone are worth the trip with little ones.

Sweet Beginnings: Rosh Hashanah Stories & Apple Tasting
📍 Bartram Trail Branch Library, 60 Davis Pond Blvd, Fruit Cove (~27 min 🚗)
🕐 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
🎟️ Free | Registration required
🧒 Ages 1–5
🔗 More info here

Songs, stories and a honey-and-apple tasting to welcome the Jewish New Year. A sweet, low-key hour built for toddlers and preschoolers.

Families Unplugged: Fall Scarecrow Faces Craft
📍 YMCA at Nocatee, 400 Colonnade Dr, Ponte Vedra (~6 min 🚗)
🕐 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM
🎟️ Free for members and non-members | Registration required
🧒 Ages 2+
🔗 More info here

Phones down, glue sticks out — families make fall scarecrow faces together to kick off the season. It really is free for everyone, but there are only 15 spots, so register ahead.

904 Day at Riverfront Plaza
📍 Riverfront Plaza, 2 W Independent Dr, Downtown Jacksonville (~35 min 🚗)
🕐 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM
🎟️ Free (parking $5 at the Water St. Garage, free on the street after 6:00 PM)
👪 All ages
🔗 More info here

Face painting, bubbles and 904-themed interactive art for the kids, plus food and dessert trucks and live music on the riverfront. It doubles as this month's First Friday downtown.

Florida License-Free Saltwater Fishing Day
📍 Anywhere on the Florida coast — the Vilano Beach Pier and the Guana Dam are the close options
🕐 All day
🎟️ Free — no fishing license needed
👪 All ages
🔗 More info here

Saturday is one of Florida's handful of license-free saltwater fishing days, so anyone can drop a line without buying a license first. Size, season and bag limits all still apply.

Home Depot Kids Workshop: School Bus Organizer
📍 Participating Home Depot stores — nearest is 1750 US-1 S, St. Augustine (~25 min 🚗)
🕐 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM (three one-hour slots)
🎟️ Free
🧒 Ages 5–12
🔗 More info here

Kids build a wooden school bus organizer to take home, and the apron and pin come with it. Register online to lock in a time slot — walk-ins depend on leftover kits.

Guided Exploration Hike
📍 GTM Research Reserve, Trailhead Pavilion west of the Guana Dam (~23 min 🚗)
🕐 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
🎟️ $3 per vehicle
👪 All ages
🔗 More info here

A naturalist-led walk through the Guana peninsula covering the estuary's wildlife and the area's history. Bring water, closed shoes and bug spray.

SUPER Saturday at the Zoo
📍 Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens (~40 min 🚗)
🕐 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
🎟️ Included with Zoo admission — $9.04 off general admission Sept 4–7, no code needed
👪 All ages
🔗 More info here

Superheroes, princesses and mermaids take over the Zoo for character meet-and-greets, story times and a scavenger hunt. Finish the hunt and you earn a free Spooktacular ticket.

Monster Jam
📍 Veterans Memorial Arena, 300 A. Philip Randolph Blvd, Jacksonville (~33 min 🚗)
🕐 Sat 1:00 PM & 7:00 PM / Sun 1:00 PM (Pit Party 10:30 AM before both matinees)
🎟️ See event link — every fan age 2 and up needs a ticket
👪 All ages
🔗 More info here

Grave Digger, El Toro Loco and Sparkle Smash headline three shows across the weekend. The Pit Party is where kids get autographs and photos with the trucks and drivers, and it needs a separate pass on top of the event ticket.

Annual Aviles Street Festival
📍 Aviles Street, downtown St. Augustine (~27 min 🚗)
🕐 4:00 PM – 9:00 PM
🎟️ Free
👪 All ages
🔗 More info here

Spanish Heritage Month on the oldest street in the country, with flamenco dancers, live music, sword-dueling demonstrations and food. Free, no tickets, and the sword fighting alone sells most kids on the drive.

Prime Night Out: Video Games & Karaoke
📍 Prime Sports Arena, 104 Liberty Center Pl, St. Augustine (~27 min 🚗)
🕐 5:30 PM – 10:30 PM
🎟️ $50 per child
🧒 Ages 5–13
🔗 More info here

Five hours of drop-off fun — pickup games, arcade time, karaoke and video games — with pizza and a screening of TMNT: Mutant Mayhem to close it out.

Kids Night Out - Mario Night
📍 the link, 425 Town Plaza Ave, Ponte Vedra Beach (~10 min 🚗)
🕐 5:30 PM – 9:30 PM
🎟️ Member $50 / Non-Member $60
🧒 Ages 5–11
🔗 More info here

A device-free drop-off night of Mario themed games and supervised fun while you get the evening to yourself!

Neon Night at the link
📍 the link, 425 Town Plaza Ave, Ponte Vedra Beach (~10 min 🚗)
🕐 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
🎟️ Free for members / $25 drop-in for non-members
🧒 Ages 13+
🔗 More info here

A teens-only night of music, glow and neon everything. Tell them to wear the brightest thing they own — parking at the link is free.

Gnarly Charley's Surf Series
📍 St. Augustine Pier, St. Augustine Beach (~43 min 🚗)
🕐 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM
🎟️ See event link (free to watch from the beach)
🧒 Ages 7 & under through 16 & under
🔗 More info here

Youth surfers compete across push, foam board, longboard and bodyboard divisions all day. If your kids are not competing, it is still a great morning of watching other kids rip.

Bring Your Own Bucket Movie Day
📍 Cinemark Durbin Park & XD, 435 Durbin Pavilion Dr, St. Johns (~20 min 🚗)
🕐 All day
🎟️ $5
👪 All ages
🔗 More info here

Bring any clean container up to 400 oz. and Cinemark fills it with popcorn for $5 — no movie ticket needed. One day only, so let the kids pick the most absurd thing in the house that still counts as a bucket.

Vulture Awareness Day
📍 Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens (~40 min 🚗)
🕐 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
🎟️ Included with Zoo admission
👪 All ages
🔗 More info here

Hands-on activities about why vultures matter, a special enrichment session for the birds at noon, then a talk from the animal care team. Doing the activities earns raffle entries for a behind-the-scenes flamingo encounter.

Special Needs Art Club
📍 The Art Studio, 370A A1A Beach Blvd, St. Augustine Beach (~43 min 🚗)
🕐 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
🎟️ Free | Pre-registration required
👪 Kids & families
🔗 More info here

An inclusive, low-pressure art hour with every supply provided. Spots are limited and you need to pre-register with Mandy ahead of time.

Labor Day Celebration at Splash & Spray
📍 Splash and Spray Waterparks, Nocatee (Cartable 🛒)
🕐 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
🎟️ Free for Residents (Resident ID required)
👪 All ages
🔗 More info here

Both waterparks run 10 to 6 with live music — the Honey Hounds at Spray, Big Jeff at Splash — plus foam parties at 11:00 AM and noon. Resident ID cards are required for everyone in your household, and each household can bring up to six guests.

904 Celebration at the Jacksonville Zoo
📍 Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens, 370 Zoo Pkwy (~40 min 🚗)
🕐 Zoo hours, through Monday
🎟️ $9.04 off general admission Sept 4–7 — applied automatically, no code needed
👪 All ages
🔗 More info here

The Zoo's 904 Day discount runs all the way through Labor Day, so Monday is the cheapest day of the long weekend to go. Book online and the $9.04 comes off at checkout on its own.

Junior Pizzaiolo Class
📍 V Pizza — Palm Valley (~10 min 🚗) or St. Augustine (~25 min 🚗)
🕐 4:30 PM
🎟️ $20 per child
👪 All ages (adult help required for under 4)
🔗 More info here

Kids stretch, top and bake their own Neapolitan pizza and learn what makes it different from the usual slice. Classes cap at 15 kids and the ticket covers the pizza and a drink — worth a quick call to confirm the Labor Day session.