Hamtramck Labor Day Festival

It’s often said that this festival, founded in 1980, the year Dodge Main closed, was created to help cheer up a city in the throes of deindustrialization. From today’s vantage point, it marks a transition point, as Hamtramck became less known for cars produced in factories and more known for music produced in its profusion of bars. It’s no coincidence the “Hamtramck Blowout” started there. There’s always a thoughtful lineup of music, affordable beer tents, and a midway’s worth of rides, all without the kind of overbearing corporate sponsorship you’ll find elsewhere. Also, visitors can step just beyond the fair into the many bars and restaurants just off the beaten path. Don’t forget to bring your water balloons and squirt guns to the canoe races at noon on Monday. nternational star and hometown-son-made-good Duane the Jet Black Eel, as well as the Craig Brown Band, Tunde Olaniran, Bevlove, Tony Valla of Fortune Records fame will perform. Oh, and of course the Polish Muslims will headline Sunday Night, and Stewartista Danny D — yes, a Rod Stewart impersonator —will do his thing.

Sept. 2-4, on Joseph Campau in Hamtramck; See hamtownfest.com for details and a full schedule of performances.