Labor Day Festival is ready and primed for another party weekend

The Hamtramck Labor Day Festival is all set to return Sept. 5-7.

 
By Charles Sercombe
In two weeks from now, Hamtramck will once again roll out the barrels.
Barrels of beer, that is, for the 36th Hamtramck Labor Day Festival.
Yes, summer is coming to an end — well figuratively speaking, since fall doesn’t officially arrive until Sept. 23.
Co-organizers Shannon Lowell and Konrad Maziarz say that the festival, which will be held Sept. 5-7, is “coming along.”
“What we’ve done well in the past, we’ll do even better,” Lowell said.
The music line-up once again includes the very best of the local rock and alternative scene, featuring the Detroit Cobras (Monday at 9 p.m.), the Bill Bondsmen (Sunday, 6 p.m.) Tunde Olaniran (Saturday, 9 p.m.) and everyone’s favorite party band, the Polish Muslims (Sunday, 7 p.m.)
Some locals are also on tap, including Steve Cherry, who will spin records on Saturday at 1 p.m. and the Devious Ones on Sunday at 3 p.m.
Not everyone is happy with the line-up. There has been some blowback on the festival’s Facebook page about the lack of polka bands.
Maziarz said the booking of live music was handled by volunteers from the Hamtramck Music Festival, and that it came down to some polka bands not being available and others simply wanting too much money.
The festival also features food and arts vendors as well as midway rides and games.
One new wrinkle popped up this year when the city said it was going to charge for water and require a $6,000 deposit on three water meters. After some negotiation, it appears the city won’t require a deposit on the meters.
Maziarz estimated that the festival uses $500 to $1,000 worth of water – mostly used for filling 55-gallon containers to weigh down vendor tents.
In all, it costs anywhere from $80,000 to $95,000 to pull off the festival. Unlike many other city festivals, this one relies on volunteers and is not city-sponsored.
That relationship has long been a point of contention ever since the festival began in 1980 (the festival was cancelled one year when former Emergency Manger Lou Schimmel was in charge of the city).
A highlight of the weekend is the annual Polish Day Parade, held on Labor Day, Sept. 7 at 1:30 p.m.
This year’s festival T-shirt theme is dedicated to the creator of Hamtramck Disneyland, Dmytro Szylak, who died on May 1 at the age of 92. His whimsical creation of whirligigs mounted on top of his Klinger house (which also spans over to a neighboring house he owned) has attracted visitors from all over the world and spawned countless media stories and documentaries.
Also happening on Labor Day (Sept. 7) is a 5k run, called the “Golab-K” (at 10 a.m.), and later that day the Hamtramck Yacht Race on Jos. Campau.
We’ll let organizers explain both events:
“Golabki: A cabbage roll common in Polish cuisine made from lightly boiled cabbage leaves wrapped around pork or beef, chopped onions, and rice baked in a casserole dish in a tomato sauce.
“Golab-K: An awesome 5K race common to Polish Labor Day Festivals held in Hamtramck.
“The fun course takes you through parks, a stadium and past historic sites. We created a unique run because you deserve it! Awards to top male and female racers and top finishers in age groups.”
You can register for the event online (at the Facebook page for the festival) or on the day of starting at 8 a.m., in the parking lot in front of Glory Foods on Jos. Campau and Holbrook.
The yacht race is explained as thus:
“(It’s) a competition involving push-carts that look like canoes on wheels, the race pits patrons of different bars against each other in a race down Joseph Campau.
“Adding flavor to the festivity, the race is announced by Hamtramck’s own City Clerk, August Gitschlag, and The Admiral, Tom Stackpoole. Once the contest begins, it is pure unadulterated madness as the teams from race toward the finish line as spectators on either side splash them with buckets of water, shoot them with squirt guns and pelt them with water balloons.
“For their victory, they are awarded a wooden captain’s wheel, which, much like the Stanley Cup, will be inscribed with the bar’s name and given to the winning team until next year’s competition.”
New this year will be Bloody Marys served on Sunday (until they last). McClure Pickles has donated its special mixer just for the day.
Of course the best part of the three-day festival is just hanging with friends and watching people go by.