Are you ready for Labor Day? If not, don't worry about a thing. We've got ideas for your holiday get-together, suggestions on fun things to do in Washtenaw County, and tools to plan your trip if you're going out of town.

Things to do • Plan your weekend

RECIPE IDEAS Plan your Labor Day picnic or cookout with these recipes and resources, from our contributors and elsewhere:

Salads and sides:

• Avocado stuffed with corn and barley salad • Chilled melon salad with Thai basil • Corn and barley salad with chipotle-lime dressing • Creole okra • Fresh herb vichyssoise with shrimp • Heirloom tomato gazpacho with shrimp, crab & herbed croutons • Quinoa and '3' • Tomato and black bean salad • Tomato stuffed with cottage cheese salad • Zucchini-parmesan fritters with pine nut dipping sauce

Main dishes:

• Crispy baked cod with dill over lemon-garlic spinach • Fresh tomato pie • Grilled Asian tuna with wasabi butter • Grilled black sea bass in a fresh herb blanket • Grilled blue cheese burgers • Grilled chicken with pasta and pesto • Grilled chicken with plum salsa • Grilled chicken thighs with anchovy crust • Grilled duck breasts with Michigan cherry sauce • Grilled flatbread with artichoke hearts, goat cheese and tomatoes • Grilled turkey salisbury steaks • Pomegranate lamb and grape kebobs over fruit-spiked couscous • Planked fish with caper-tarragon sauce • Stuffed '8-ball' squash • Thai shrimp and pineapple kebobs • Tomato-basil pie

Baked goods and desserts:

• Banana cake with chocolate frosting • Carrot bread • Carrot & ginger sorbet • Cowboy cookies • Elvis muffins • Grandgirl's fresh apple cake from Georgia • Peach cake with cream cheese frosting • Ricotta topped with honey, blueberries and thyme • Watermelon agua frescas

Tips, Tricks and Tools:

• About.com: Healthy grilling • All Recipes: Save time by freezing make-ahead meals • All Recipes: Labor Day guide • AOL Food: Grilling tips and techniques • AOL Food: How to avoid grilling disasters • Food Network: Grilling central • Grilling Companion: Get kids involved with grilling • Kitchen Daily: Green grilling • Real Simple: Essential grilling tools checklist

Recipe ideas • Plan your weekend

THINGS TO DO Looking for fun events to enjoy over Labor Day weekend? Try these happenings in and near Washtenaw County.

Ongoing

• "Faux Real" (through September 5) • "Boeing-Boeing" (through September 11) • Jeremy Wheeler art show (through September 12) • "Beauty In Our Eyes: Photography by the Michigan Chinese Photo Club" (through September 14) • "In the Studio" (through September 27) • "Breaking Traditions" art quilt exhibit (through September 30) • Horse-drawn hayrides (weekends in September) • Silver Maples hosts Chelsea Painters Exhibit (through October 15) • "On Beauty and the Everyday: The prints of James McNeill Whistler" (through November 28)

Thursday, September 2

• American Red Cross Blood Drive • Artscapade 2010 • Depot Town Cruise Night • "Do You Remember the Shape of the Trees.." (through September 5) • Gary Quackenbush | AnnArbor.com preview • "Woman Before a Glass" (through September 5) • Poetic Debauchery Poetry Slam | AnnArbor.com story

Friday, September 3

• Ann Arbor Soul Club • Dirty Americans | AnnArbor.com story • Little Island Lake • Shabbat in the Park • Swing Dance Party

Saturday, September 4

• University of Michigan football vs. Connecticut | Buy tickets online | Watch on ABC/ESPN2 | Hear at Michigan Sports Network/Sirius channel 125/XM channel 102 • Eastern Michigan University football vs. Army | Buy tickets online | Hear live at WEMU • Beasts on the Beach • Bluescasters • Bone Heads End of Summer Bash • Clinton Rotary Club's 2010 Ribs & Blues Fest • Swing & Hustle night

Sunday, September 5

• Country Style Breakfast • Dancing in the Streets | AnnArbor.com preview • "Gone with the Wind" (also September 7) • Saline Community Fair (continues through September 11)

Monday, September 6

• Ann Arbor Democratic Party 2010 Labor Day Picnic at Elks Lodge • "Casablanca"

Out of town picks Labor Day weekend events elsewhere in Michigan:

• Big Rapids: Riverdays Festival (September 2-6) | Labor Day Arts and Crafts Festival (September 6) • Copper Harbor: Fat Tire Festival (September 5) • Detroit: Detroit Jazz Fest (September 3-6) - AnnArbor.com story about shuttle to Jazz Fest | Labor Day Parade (September 6) • East Lansing: Llamafest (September 3-5) • Elkton: Autumnfest (September 2-6) • Escanaba: U.P. Steam & Gas Engine Association Show • Farwell: Farwell Labor Day Celebration (September 3-6) • Grand Rapids: Grand Crossings (September 6) • Lexington: Bluewater Folk Society Thumbfest (September 4) • Mackinac Island: Labor Day Jazz Weekend (September 3-6) • Marquette: Marquette Area Blues Fest (September 4-5) • Muskegon: Shoreline Spectacular (September 3-6) • Newaygo: Logging Festival (September 3-5) • Norway: Dickinson County Fair (September 1-6) • Port Austin: Art in the Park (September 4-5) • Romeo: Michigan Peach Festival (September 2-6) • Royal Oak: Ford Art, Beats and Eats (September 3-6) • St. Ignace: Arts Dockside (September 4-5) | Mackinac Bridge Walk (September 6) • Three Rivers: Harmony Festival (September 5)

Want more local ideas? Browse our complete event listings or visit a Washtenaw County park.

Recipe ideas • Things to do

PLAN YOUR WEEKEND Going out of town for Labor Day weekend? These tools will help plan your trip:

• AAA Fuel Gauge Report • Gadling: Top 5 Ways to Avoid Labor Day Vacation Hassle • Google Maps • Michigan.org • Michigan Recreation & Camping • Michigan Department of Transportation Construction, Lane Closures & Restrictions • Rand McNally TripMaker® Planning Tool • TripIt travel itinerary and trip planner • Weather forecasts

Chrysta Cherrie is the entertainment producer/copy editor for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at chrystacherrie@annarbor.com or 734-623-2526, and follow her on Twitter @chrystacherrie.

Hamburger photo by Flickr user LFL16. Labor day fireworks photo by Flickr user Quiddle. Roadtrip photo by Flickr user Azuquin.