Labor Day weekend.
The whole town shows up.

The Summer Triangle. The brightest star nearly overhead is Vega; Deneb sits toward the northeast of it, Altair lower toward the southeast. The Milky Way runs right through the middle of the triangle and down to the south.

The "Teapot" of Sagittarius, about two fists above the horizon (a fist at arm's length is about 10°). With no moon in the evening sky, the Milky Way core pours out of the spout like steam. Give your eyes ten minutes away from phones and it fills in.

Antares, the red heart of Scorpius, a quarter of the way up and sinking earlier each night. The Teapot and Scorpius are on their way out for the year; this is one of the last good weeks for both.

Venus blazes low right after sunset, the first light out and brighter than anything else. Tuesday night it's paired with Spica, a bright blue-white star right next to it. Venus sets by about 8:45. Well above it, orange Arcturus, about halfway up.

The Big Dipper, low and standing on its handle. Follow the arc of the handle and it points you back to Arcturus.

The two stars on the front of the Dipper's bowl point to Polaris, the North Star, a third of the way up. It never moves.

Saturn rises out of the east around 9, a steady cream-colored point that doesn't twinkle. By 11 it's a quarter of the way up. It's a month from opposition, so this is about as bright as Saturn gets. In binoculars steadied on a chair arm you might catch it looking oval; in a small telescope, the rings.

The best sky of the weekend for early risers. A thin crescent moon sits right beside orange Mars in the east around 4 to 5 AM, with very bright Jupiter climbing out of the twilight below them and Saturn over in the southwest. Look for earthshine, the dark part of the moon faintly lit by Earth.