By Charles Sercombe

          Music fans swarmed into Hamtramck on Friday night for the 16^th annual Metro Times Hamtramck Blowout.

          We here at The Review got off to a bit of a late start so we kept it simple. After picking up press passes at PNA Hall, we stuck around a caught the venomous rap thrash of Snakewing in the lounge.

          We then ambled over to the main hall and watched Child Bite whip up the crowd. Thrash metal/punk isn’t necessarily our liking, but dang if we couldn’t take our eyes off this bearded group of fellas. Intense, man, intense … in a scary Charlie Manson sort of way.

          Having downed a couple of beers, we then decided to go off the beaten path and see what was happening at our favorite Hamtramck dive, Kelly’s Bar.

          Yow, were we in for a treat. The Whiskey Charmers, with the sultry crooning of Carrie Shepard, is now our most favorite band. We’ll be coming back for seconds whenever and wherever they play next. Good old American rootsy tunes that you can stomp to.

          And right on Brad over at Kelly’s for having a sense of humor and coming up with the silliest drink of the weekend: Blowout Juice.

          We noticed one thing about the night. There seemed to be a downtick in attendance compared to previous years.

          One sage observer said maybe that’s a good thing cause you didn’t have to bump shoulders with anyone.

          “It’s more personable,” sayeth he.

          Well, for true music lovers, yes, fewer crowds mean more breathing room. But we have to wonder if the worries of some bar owners may come true. With the Blowout being expanded another week into Ferndale, does that mean fewer folks will venture down here?

          We’re crossing our fingers that Saturday will prove that worry wrong.

By Charles Sercombe

Without a doubt, Hamtramck owns Paczki Day.

Thousands of visitors jammed into bakeries and bars to experience Hamtramck’s version of Mardi Gras.

And the party went from early morning to late at night.

Once again Hamtramck’s favorite party band, The Polish Muslims, managed to survive a marathon performance, playing three sets at three different locations.

Among the party throng was Congressman Gary Peters, who has become a frequent visitor to the city now that it is in his Congressional District.

Peters is certainly a Hamtramck kind of guy and loves to socialize. This was his first visit to the city on Paczki Day. He walked around with Mayor Karen Majewski and met up with several city officials, including Councilmember Anam Miah, who posed for a photo with the Congressman.

On his Facebook page, Peters said: “I had a great time yesterday morning celebrating Paczki Day in Hamtramck — thanks to everyone that joined us!”

This year’s Paczki Day started off with what will hopefully become a tradition. On Saturday, the Tour de Troit organization hosted a 5K run through the city, attracting about 1,200 runners.

That event dovetailed nicely with the other tradition: The Countdown to Paczki Day party, held in a heated tent pitched in the parking lot of the strip mall on Jos. Campau and Holbrook.

For Hamtramck’s two remaining bakeries, Fat Tuesday meant a fat bank account by the end of the day. Paczki lovers were willing to stand for two hours and more to make their purchase.

Over at New Palace Bakery, Richard Samielewski said the holiday has grown quite a bit since he was hired as a baker in 1978.

“Every year it gets more and more,” he said.

Sounds like a good way to describe the day: “More and more.”

By Charles Sercombe

If there is one thing you can say about Hamtramck veterans, they are true to tradition.

Forget about holding a ceremony on the “observed” Veterans Day. Hamtramck veterans get together on the actual day, no matter what day of the week.

And so on Sunday, veterans here once again met at PLAV Post 10 to commemorate the sacrifice our country’s veterans have made for over 200 years. They started out the ceremony with a champagne toast and an honor guard rifle volley.

This year’s Veteran of the Year is Jerome Balcerzak, who served in the army during the 1950s.

“There are a lot of people who deserve this more than I do,” Balcerzak said.

Spoken in true Hamtramck humble roots.

After that, it was time for a hearty Polish breakfast. Joining the vets this year were veterans from a nursing home in Highland Park.

Once again, Hamtramck’s reputation for generosity and friendship was on display.

By Charles Sercombe

Throw together cold, rainy weather, eight different kinds of soup, Polish folk dancers and a rockin’ polka band and what do you get?

It doesn’t matter what kind of weather it is, it’s a Hamtramck party.

St. Florian’s first-ever Soup Festival was smashing success last Sunday. Hundreds of parishioners and party lovers turned out for the all-day event.

Besides hearty soups, the parish dished up Polish favorites. Looks like this festival will be a bookend to St. Florian’s spring Strawberry Festival.

By Charles Sercombe

Last Friday afternoon and evening, you’d think there was a crazy street party happening on Jos. Campau.
Oh wait, there was.

Hamtramck took part in the worldwide art movement to celebrate parks and creativity by holding a PARK(ing) celebration.

Say what?

Yeah, it’s a highfalutin sounding way to say, hey creative folks, you can occupy a street parking space and do your thing.

In Hamtramck, that resulted in musicians holding jam sessions, a mini art gallery being set up, a reading room and a one-hole mini golf court.

Adjacent to this happening was the introduction of Hamtramck’s dog park, held in an empty lot near Belmont.

We caught up with Ben Yonko who was ambling down the avenue, and he asked a reporter what was going on.

After a brief explanation, Yonko nodded in agreement and liked the idea of people taking the place of cars.
“I’m sick and tired of seeing cars,” he said.

Honk if you agree with Ben.

By Charles Sercombe

What a way to start a party.

Monday was a big day for the Labor Day Festival. It kicked off with a “canoe” race on Campau, followed by the Polish Day Parade and then a sausage eating contest.

After all that, it was polka time.

And after that, it was time to head home and get back to reality. If you missed the festival this year, you missed a good one. Even the weather cooperated with three days of sunny skies and comfy temperatures.

By Charles Sercombe

Sunday was another great day at the Hamtramck Labor day Festival.

In fact, people started streaming in even earlier than usual, probably thanks to a Channel 7 WXYZ feature earlier in the day.

And Sunday being Sunday, it was more a family day.

The highlight of the afternoon was rockin’ performance by Michael Hurtt and His Haunted Hearts.

And of course, the crowd favorite, The Polish Muslims, kicked the whole thing into higher gear in the evening.

Come back on Monday for the Polish Day Parade, which starts at 1:30 p.m.

By Charles Sercombe

You couldn’t ask for better weather to kick off this year’s Hamtramck Labor Day Festival.

It was a sunny day with mild temps, making it just perfect to drink a few brews and people-watch.

We’ll see you out on the festival grounds today.

By Charles Sercombe

Last Saturday was a day for cool cats.

The sixth annual Hamtramck Hustle, sponsored by the Dead Last Car Club, may have hit the turning point of being a very small-scale car show to a full-blown party.

This was no ordinary classic car show. Most of the cars were what some might think as old rust buckets.
But how wrong they are.

These cars are 60-plus years old — and older — and most were hand modified. Yes, for some owners, the look was to keep them unpainted and maybe a little rusty. But boy were those engines jacked up.

No matter, the show was a good mix of classic cars and what are called “rat rods.”

For kicks, organizers held a carburetor cover race, which are carburetor covers put on wheels. There’s a homemade raised slot that the carbs are placed on, and down they go. Hey, it’s a diversion.

For many of the guys and gals, this is more than just a car show – it’s a way of life. The guys, dressed in jeans and boots with greased back hair, were a throwback to the greasers of the 1950s.

The gals were dressed like something like Betty Page.

Hubba-hubba.

Later, gator.

By Ian Perrotta

If you went to last weekend’s Bangladeshi Festival, you definitely weren’t alone — after four years of closing down Conant for the weekend, the event’s turnout was the largest yet.

Hosted by the Bangladesh Association of Michigan, the festival was a showcase of Bengali food, fashion and culture that was highlighted with musical performances and accentuated by vendors lining the street.

Now in its 13th year, the festival began as a small event in Jayne Field. Like the Bangladeshi community that it celebrates, since then it has taken root, flourished and become an institution.

For those of you who didn’t make it, enjoy the pictures and mark your calendar for next year.