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History buffs, awake!

And you’d better make it early if you want to join the annual Labor Day trek from the San Gabriel Mission to Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles.

The nine-mile “Walk Into History” gets under way Monday at 6 a.m.

Sponsored by Los Pobladores, descendants of the families who founded El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles in 1781, the walk is designed to commemorate their voyage and to celebrate the city of Los Angeles’ 209th birthday.

The walkers will be accompanied by some 20th-Century protection--a van that drives along to help latter-day settlers with physical needs and fatigue.

Once the walkers get to Olvera Street’s Old Plaza, they will be greeted with a trumpet fanfare and a birthday party for old Los Angeles.

The festivities wrap up around 3:30 p.m.

The walk is free. Walkers need to arrange their own rides back

to the San Gabriel Mission, 537 W. Mission Road, San Gabriel.

For those interested in a little less laborious Labor Day, the city of Claremont is sponsoring a celebration Monday complete with live music, pony rides, family games, a volleyball tournament, food booths and a chili cook-off.

The cook-off is one of those rare events designed not for chili connoisseurs but for the average pinto-bean-and-hamburger kind of cook. Awards will be handed out for “best tasting chili,” “spiciest chili” and (apparently for entrants whose recipes let them down) “best decorated booth.”

The festivities begin at 2 p.m. and end with a concert at 7 p.m. by the “Hot Pecans,” a home-grown Claremont quintet that specializes in ‘30s and ‘40s swing music. The place is Memorial Park, 840 N. Indian Hill Blvd., Claremont. Admission is free.