Party on then hit the road (the day after)

By Ian Perrotta

What could be better than having fun and helping out a good cause? On a Saturday evening or a Sunday afternoon in Hamtramck, the answer is nothing.

The fun to be had involves the upcoming Festival Fundraiser and Hamtramck Road Rally, and the help for a good cause goes towards the Hamtramck Labor Day Festival. For anyone who doesn’t know, the festival was in danger of being canceled until a group of residents stepped forward and volunteered to put it on.

Of course, putting on a festival is no small feat, and it also requires a lot of money. In order to help pay for the festival, organizers have devised a few ways to raise some cash. Both are happening this coming weekend.

Next Saturday (Aug. 7) from 7 p.m. to midnight there will be a Polynesian-themed fundraiser featuring a special performance by Danny D at The Hamtramck Review office, located at 3020 Caniff. Tickets for the event are $15 in advance or $20 at the door and all proceeds go toward the festival. The cost of entry includes a buffet of food from Royal Kebab and PLAV Post 10 as well as everyone’s favorite thing – an open bar.

On the following Sunday (Aug. 8), the festival committee will bring back an old Hamtramck tradition with the revival of the Road Rally. The event is a city-wide scavenger hunt in which participants get a bag of clues and hunt for them with a camera. After finding what a clue means (an example might show a picture of Mickey Mouse, with the answer being Hamtramck Disneyland), teams will snap a photo of the hint’s answer, and the team with the most correct answers at the end of the rally will win a prize basket full of goods from and certificates to Hamtramck businesses.

The event will cost $15 per person or $50 for a team of four and the sign up deadline is Aug. 4. Registration forms are available at the Polish Art Center, located at 9539 Jos. Campau. The rally starts at 3 p.m. at the Queen of Apostles Activity Center parking lot and runs until 5 p.m., at which time there will be an after party.

“It’s a really great way to get to find out about the city and get to know your neighbors,” says Kathleen Bittner, a festival organizer. “Everyone should do it.”