A ripe weekend for a party

By Ian Perrotta

If ideas are like seeds, then it only took six weeks for the Hamtramck Harvest Fest to bloom into fruition. This weekend (Oct. 16 and 17) the event comes to life.

In an attempt to help revitalize the city by having special events, the organizers behind this year’s successful Labor Day Festival – Kathleen Bittner and Rachel Karpinski Srodek – came up with the idea to hold an Oktoberfest-like party to continue drawing outsiders into Hamtramck.

The Harvest Fest will be held in the municipal parking lot between Polish Village Cafe and Polonia Restaurant. Beginning with the tapping of a beer keg by Mayor Karen Majewski at noon on Saturday, it will run until 10 p.m. that night and on Sunday from noon until 8 p.m.

Tickets are $5 for adults for the entire weekend, $2 for kids ages 11-17 and free for kids 10 and under. Inside there will be food, drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic), games and entertainment – including some of Hamtramck’s favorites like the Polish Muslims and Danny D.

There also will be souvenir glasses available. For $10 you can get a boot-shaped mug full of beer, and the choices won’t be bad, either. There will be two German beers, a Polish beer, and a couple Oktoberfest brews to choose from.

One final thing to note – on Sunday Greg Kowalski of the Hamtramck Historical Commission will be giving two historic Hamtramck Volksmarch Tours. The first tour will be at 2 p.m. and will last for 45 minutes, and the second tour begins at 3 p.m.