What a way to end summer …

By Charles Sercombe
Now that was a way to end summer.
Once again, the Hamtramck Labor Day Festival gave us one more weekend to celebrate our so-very-brief break from winter.
And, judging by the size of the crowd on each day, this one appears to be the best festival the city has recently experienced.
Old Mother Nature gave us picture-perfect weather, and threw in a scorcher of a Monday.
The bands and entertainers were once again top-notch, and the big act of the weekend, The Dead Milkmen, packed Jos. Campau up and down.
For vintage clothing lovers, there was no shortage of selections to try on. Food lovers also had plenty to choose from.
As for the parade on Monday, it was once again a joyous display of all things Hamtramck. The only downer was that some city councilmembers had an issue with the display of pride flags, and threatened to withhold permission of a parade next year.

You can read more about that in the story below.
The canoe race earlier on Monday once again attracted the loonies of Hamtramck, and allowed adults and kids to take aim and fire away with water balloons at canoe participants and onlookers.
There was definitely a weird juxtaposition of the canoe race and Michael Hurtt performing on a stage nearby, but hey, Hamtramck is (here’s that word again) weird.
Of special note, on Sunday at the International Big Time Wrestling match, Hamtramck native Pat Frick was honored for her past career in Big Time Wrestling.
Yes, she was a wrestler back in 1974 through 1989. Frick is the last female wrestler from that era.
She had this to say about her career: “Wrestling was very good to me.”
Congrats, Pat!
Here’s a sampling of comments we found on various Facebook pages about the festival:
Kim DeCocco-Sharon: “Wow! Looks like the old days!”
Robert Bandy: “Great job committee. Had a blast, Sunday night’s crowd was HUGE. I’m a traditional Danny D and the Vagabonds, Polish Muslims for 20 years. The music this year was incredible. Thanks for the memories.”
We’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking. ‘Till next year folks.
Posted Sept. 8, 2023