In Our Opinion … This weekend is the city’s time to shine

Once again, Hamtramck will welcome a few thousand visitors this weekend for the annual Labor Day Festival.
This festival has been running almost every year since 1980, and it’s gone through plenty of ups and downs.
There have been good years, bad years and so-so years, but lately we’ve enjoyed a string of successes. We’re not the biggest festival that happens in the state, but we are definitely the most “Hamtramcky.”
And that means weird, and in all the right ways.
As usual, festival organizers had to jump through some last-minute hoops thanks to the city council, but, also as usual, the festival will still go on. This yearly dance between city officials and festival volunteer organizers has been happening since the inception of the event.
We’ll chalk it up to just being one of those quirks of the city.
Nevertheless, the festival is about the city coming together and enjoying the last moments of summer. It’s also when Hamtramck truly shines.
So, let’s all enjoy the weekend — and reflect on what ties our community together, and defines us.
Here’s to good times.
Posted Sept. 4, 2026