Bangladesh Festival in Hamtramck on Conant this weekend!

**RickBeall** · July-24-09, 08:05 PM

Hi Guys,

There is a 2 block Bangladesh festival in Hamtramck Fri, Sat, and Sun this weekend, July 24, 25, 26. It is on Conant at Conant & Caniff.

I didn't know anything about it until they started putting up tents in front of my house today! Ha ha. Thanks for the advance warning guys! Hamtramck has no local newspaper any more, so I didn't know about it, until my wife called me at work and complained about a banging this morning in front of the house. "Uh, well Honey," I told her ....

It's kinda cool, hanging out the window and watching the people walk by. It's like having the circus come to town ... and set up in your yard.

They have a stage at one end, and lots of food booths. And if you want a Sari, this is the place to come!

It is kind of small, 2 blocks, and it is only along one side of the street. There are no rides and no alcohol. Bring your kids and get samosas!

Meanwhile, I am supposed to be painting the basement this weekend. But who can paint when there is a party in your front yard?

Rock on Hamtramck.

**Homer** · July-24-09, 09:32 PM

Dude, you have a great attitude. Party on!

**RickBeall** · July-25-09, 10:55 AM

Last night, after the tents were up but nothing was happening, it was rather fun milling about. There were a lot of people walking up and down the streets, pushing strollers, teenagers on skates, waiting for something to happen. The Bangladeshi people were beaming. Happy and proud I think. Normally they are pretty reserved, but some of the men out with their families looked me in the face and smiled a hello, acting like they were real happy and wanted to shake my hand just because I was there.

Later on, about 1/2 of the tents were filled with food and minor stuff to sell. [[The other half were just empty. I told my wife, quick, lets grab the junk from the basement and sit under a tent and try to sell it. I have 2 old air conditioners that might still work. But we didn't. ) My wife and I had chicken rolls and somethign with chick peas. My wife got caught up in the moment and was real excited.

Later, I sat at my computer doing some stuff, and my wife kept coming in and hanging out the window, watching the people milling below. It ended at 11 pm It appeared that a few Bangladeshi remained as security to keep an eye on things.

And then about 5 am - 10 am it's been raining all night and quiet as a graveyard out there. Not a soul out there in the rain dripping down from the skys which are the color of lead from horizon to horizon.

The church bell is clanging now [[It's not the most musical bell.) It is noon now. The rain stopped around 11 am. Still very quiet. Not even the usual traffic noise. Hey, this must be like what it is like to NOT live on a main street. You kind of miss the snatches of music from the cars stopped at the traffic light.

I don't know what time the event officially starts up today --since I know nothing about the event except that I am in the middle of it.

I do know we will be going out to dinner again. I may be splattered with paint by then.

This is your reporter, reporting from the eye of the storm,

Rick

**RickBeall** · July-25-09, 11:21 AM

12: 20 pm

Booths still empty. No people. But music is eminating from the band shell at the end of the street.

Life stirs.

**RickBeall** · July-25-09, 12:05 PM

1 pm.
The vendor booths are still empty. Lite jazz starts plays. Even the trash from last night is gone.. Is this what a festival would look like after a nuclear war?

A pair of old folks walk down the sidewalk. On the intercom, a young Michael Jackson starts up, with the jackson 5 jammng behind him. This is a quickening of life. At least for Hamtramck.

Your daring reporting,
Risking it all for you,

Rick

**RickBeall** · July-25-09, 12:22 PM

1:19 pm

I heard a crash! I looked out the window. There was a woman pushing a baby carriage.

I think the wind had blown over some tables that were under a tent.

I don't think those tables were there before.

An occasional snatch of a phrase from a passerby drifts up.

Suddenly, Bangladeshi music erupts from the loud speakers!

Rick

**terryh** · July-25-09, 12:49 PM

Great reporting Rick you have peaked my interest. Ive patronized several of the Bangledeshi businesess. Good foof for a great price.

**1KielsonDrive** · July-25-09, 01:21 PM

You'd let a flimsy excuse like painting the basement get in the way of an international party with the Bangli's? C'mon Rick, where's your spirit of brotherhood? Get out there. Dance and sing with the best of them. You can be the spirit of the Poles reaching out to their brethren. Ha! All kidding aside, thanks for the post and your reporting. I was in Hamtown this past week. While there, I spoke to Bangli acquaintances from a past job. They said nothing of the event. Maybe they were unaware also.

**1KielsonDrive** · July-25-09, 01:24 PM

The Citizen has been replaced by the Review. It is, by all appearances, the very same newspaper except, it is now owned and published by John Ulaj, local real estate salesman and member of the Hamtramck, Albanian business community.

**RickBeall** · July-25-09, 01:49 PM

Hey 1KielsonDrive!
Great to hear from you! Dude that coffee or beer or whatever is going to happen.

Concerning "The Reveiw", I salute John for trying to get some sort of paper going. "The Review" started off with some wind in its sails, but I think the wind went away.

Back to reporting!

2:39 pm

Life is stirring. Actually, life is stirring in the bed room. My wife woke up. She said she occasionally heard a bing or a bong, and in her sleep would wait to hear the roar from the crowd. Nothing. She said with the street closed off, things are even quieter than usual. She likes this festival.

She looked at the weather cast and saw rain is predicted off and on all day. We have a few vendors out there now. I reminded her that we were going out later and buy dinner at a booth. She told me that if it rained, she was going to do her hair and we would eat TV dinners.

The music is louder now. There are bursts of sunshine now. The saris of the women look beautiful when they are caught by a stray breeze. So light and colorful.

Everyone come on down! More and more people out there!

And ... and ... it is becoming more dangerous for your intrepid reporter to be reporting from his perch here over the action. It is like the reporters during the start of the Iraq war, photographing the American bomb strikes outside their window. I have to go to the bomb shelter now. .... That is code for "I have to paint the basement, my wife is up".

This is Rick, signing off for now, but hopefully not forever. I just heard a sound. Gotta run. May God be with you!

Rick

**Whaler** · July-25-09, 02:40 PM

Great Job Rick Beall...Maybe you can go down and get some Bangli Blues going ehh...I might see you down there...Peace...Whaler

**rjk** · July-25-09, 02:49 PM

What is the history of the Bangladesh community in the Conant area?

LodgeDodger · July-25-09, 03:12 PM

I bet that's some interesting food...

**tahleel** · July-25-09, 03:36 PM

My girlfriend and I may be going to the festival tomorrow. Hopefully the weather is good!

-Tahleel

Sludgedaddy · July-25-09, 04:10 PM

rjk...The Bengalis began to move into the Hamtramck area in the early 1990's. Most were coming from Archie Bunker's old stomping grounds of Queens New York. They begin to settle around the Carpenter / Conant area ,now refered to as BanglaTown. Compared to the high rent and real estate prices, plus crowded conditions in New York, HamTown looked to them like the wide open dental floss raising spaces of Montana.

Most of the former Euro-gened residents looked upon the arrival of these new comers as a money making real estate opportunity during the housing boom of the 1990's. Getting 80 or 90 K for a house in Hamtown or Detroit was a windfall for expatriots of Hamtown. After Bushia kicked, there was money to be made!

Quite a culture clash ensued when East Europe met East Asia. As more immigrants arrived and did not cut their lawns or maintain their alley ways, Stosh and Sophie fled to the 'burbs in droves .Quite ironic for an ethic group, some of whom immigrated after WW 2, who withstood Hitler and Stalin and who stayed put in the area during White flights heyday. I believe Hamtramck's next Mayor will be an Islamic one.

Using Polish humor, in the vein of Hamtown's Mutants, it is rumored that George Harrison's Concert for Bangladish garnered many one way tickets to Hamtramck.

**RickBeall** · July-25-09, 05:37 PM

Hi Whaler and everyone else! Great to hear from you.

4 pm
Took break from basement and walked up to the party store to get a root beer. There was more people in the party store than at the festival.

6:33 pm
Okay! We have more people. I guess they waited until it got cooler. Lots of colorful clothing. They are giving speaches in Bengali from the band shell, in between bursts of Bengali music. Both my wife and I are hanging out the window. It looks like people are having fun. I'm going to take a quick shower and then down we go for dinner!

Rock On Hamtramck!

**Melody** · July-25-09, 06:58 PM

I was pretty miffed that the city did not let the business owners in the area know about this. It's taking up a lot of the area where our customers park. I think the festival is a great idea and I just popped my head out there and saw a ton of people watching something on stage [[I think it's just a DJ). Food smells great too. I'm still really irritated that no one bothered to tell anyone.

**RickBeall** · July-25-09, 07:01 PM

8:01 pm
Lots of people!

Great food.

Feels like a bazaar in the middle east.

Going back down.

**RickBeall** · July-25-09, 09:26 PM

Hi Melody,

Melody wrote:
>>I was pretty miffed that the city did not let the business owners in the area

Well, my wife felt exactly the same way and reamed out the main organizer, Shahob, pretty bad about that yesterday. So you can know that your issue was heard. Shahob apologized and said the city only granted the permit a week before, and that a whole lot of people were mad at him. This being Hamtramck, probably a recall petition will be filed, eh? ;-) Let's hope not.

10:01 pm
Just came in for the night. We saw people we knew and walked around with them. And ate some more. I'm sitting in my home office right now, and it sounds like there is a very loud party in my living room.

I talked with some Bengali friends, and they said for them, everything always happens late, and socially nothing ever happens before 10 pm. So the fact that the festival looked like tombstone gulch at 4 pm was "perfectly normal". Right now there is Bangladesh music coming in the window. Earlier, we watched someone do a Michael Jackson appreciation by dancing like him to some of his songs. He was pretty good.

It is 10:24 pm

It is hard to believe it is going to end for the night in half an hour. The music is loud, the crowd is festive and cranked. Hmmm. I only saw one garbage can, and there is garbage strewn everywhere. Let's hope the garbage faieries come tonight. They seemed to last night.

**tahleel** · July-25-09, 09:35 PM

Hey Rick,

Me and my girlfriend are planning to head down there tomorrow. Do you know what time it would end? What would be the best time to go there? What would be the best place to park? What would be the best thing to see? Is this like Dally in Alley?

It seems like you're the foremost expert about the festival now.

-Tahleel

**Cooper** · July-25-09, 11:19 PM

I went today around 5 o'clock. Not too many people, not too much going on, but there are Bangladeshi vendors selling saris, fabric, and cheap, delicious food. It's great for a quick lunch. I tried four different things for under $5.

**RickBeall** · July-25-09, 11:28 PM

Hi Taheel,

I don't know what time the festival ends tomorrow. I know their permit allows them to keep the street until 11 pm. I will walk down tomorrow and try and find out what time they are einding. I can tell you that today, nothing started until 6 pm, and that time seems to be engrained in their culture. I know for a Sunday, that may already be late for most of us, since we have to go to work on Monday. So, I'll see what I can find out.

Keep in mind that compared to the Daley, this is a tiny festival. Only 25 tents. . We are fascinated by it because it is like a magic mushroom which grew on our front porch.

**Norwalk** · July-26-09, 08:49 AM

rjk Conant was renamed Bangladesh Ave. a year or so ago as there are many Bangladesh establishments lining Conant. As far as little notice about the festival, there was alot of political infighting an nonsense going on. This is Hamtamck afterall and and an election year to boot. find out more here http://hamtramckstar.com/

**RickBeall** · July-26-09, 10:00 AM

2 am
Click click, rattle rattle.
I look down and see a group of Bangladeshi with rakes cleaning the street.

5 am
Pitter patter. Pitter patter.
There is a light rain on the tent tops.

11:41 am
Dead silence.

**RickBeall** · July-26-09, 11:32 AM

12:27 pm
Zzzzzzzz.

Ha! but it rained! And I missed that important news! This intrepid reporter is kicking himself. I must of missed it when I called Mom.

I talked to someone last night and they said the Hamtramck Review is a going concern and doing better than I thought. I was just looking at their online version. Apparently you can buy it for 25 cents at Cafe 1923 and elsewhere and Chip, the Citizen Reporter, is still writing for the review. Chip of course knows everything about the city. Go John and Chip!

Don't worry, I'm sure it will start up again. But right now there's no venders, no music, no, nothing --just like yesterday at this time.

I still have to go on my fact finding mission for Taheel. But I want to wait until I hear at least one voice out there.