Festival organizers did an outstanding job despite the short notice

Well done.

The organizers of this year’s Hamtramck Labor Day Festival did an outstanding job. And when you think of the short time frame they had to pull things together, it was an amazing job.

In fact, this festival might be the best ever in recent years, and that’s saying a lot considering we’ve enjoyed some mighty fine festivals.

You could say that Konrad Maziarz and Shannon Lowell raised the bar this year.

It should also be mentioned they certainly didn’t work alone, and an equal amount of praise is due to the following volunteers:

Anna Marie Dinn handled the beverage tents; Emily Kiser put together the popular “canoe races”; Anthony Raucho coordinated the non-food vendors, and John Lopez handled the food vendors; the DDA’s Darren Grow oversaw booking the carnival; Ben Hernandez and Jay Carroll booked the bands; Ana Cukovic was the secretary; and the city’s Community and Economic Development Director Jason Friedmann served as the city’s primary liaison.

While Oakland County’s Arts, Beats & Eats often overshadows Hamtramck’s festival, we remain the real deal. And our festival has the best music line-up.

At the time we went to print it wasn’t known if this year’s festival was a money-maker or a money-loser. Even if we lost money, and even though Hamtramck is struggling financially, it’s important to keep this festival going.

It’s been here for 32 years, and as Councilmember Cathie Gordon noted, we need this festival to lift our spirits. For many residents, this is the only outing they can afford.

Since we’re in a praising mood, let’s also credit Mother Nature for diverting the expected rain fallout from Hurricane Isaac.

Now, let’s get to work on planning next year’s party.