In Our Opinion - Sept. 17, 2008

City officials are on the right track in hiring a professional special events coordinator to run the Hamtramck Labor Day Festival.

For several years now the Hamtramck Chamber of Commerce has organized the festival and deserves a round of applause for its effort. It’s time for the city to take responsibility for this major civic event and give it the backing that it richly deserves.

This year’s attendance was clearly down from last year, which has become a trend in recent years.

The festival once attracted crowds that stood almost shoulder-to-shoulder. We realize there are many competing events happening that Labor Day weekend, but Hamtramck’s festival should be attracting far more visitors.

City Manager Bill Cooper is suggesting the City Council act quickly and hire a coordinator because organizing a festival takes several months worth of work. We suggest the council make this a top priority and give Cooper the go-ahead to hire someone.

The city can also use the coordinator to beef up Paczki Day and possibly come up with some other events to bring in more visitors.

Hamtramck is already on the map with the annual “Blowout” in March featuring hundreds of music performers. It would be a double-bonus if we had the coordinator teaming up with Blowout organizers to promote more of the city.

More visitors, of course, means more dollars being spent here. Let’s turn it up a notch this coming year and bring in some professional help.