Festival to feature food, cars, music and fireworks

MT. CLEMENS

Festival to feature food, cars, music and fireworks

January 28, 2007
Mt. Clemens is preparing to introduce a summer festival that organizers hope will become a signature event for the county and perhaps the region.

The Stars Stripes Festival, set for June 29-July 1, is to include bands, dozens of food vendors, classic cars and fireworks. Its goal is to attract more than 250,000 visitors.
And perhaps the best feature is that it will be free.

Joe Nieporte, a co-owner of the Emerald Theatre, has been toying with the idea for the festival for more than three years. He said Friday that the festival would try to rival attendance figures of big festivals in Detroit and Oakland County.
"We're hoping this will be the signature event in Macomb County," Nieporte said.

"There's really nothing in Macomb County. Everything is in Detroit or Oakland County."
Nieporte, who said he has gotten plenty of interest from potential sponsors despite the region's sluggish economy, expects to have bands lined up in the coming months.

With the county courthouse serving as the anchor of Main Street, the city has ample foot traffic on weekdays. More than a dozen bars and restaurants help keep some of those people downtown at night. But Arthur Mullen, executive director of the Mt.

Clemens Downtown Development Authority, expects the festival to attract people who otherwise might not come to the city.
"That's exactly why we're very excited about it," Mullen said last week. "We see it as a great opportunity to showcase Mt.

Clemens to people who don't usually see the city."
Grace Shore, president of the Central Macomb County Chamber of Commerce, said Friday that the momentum for Mt. Clemens' downtown has been building for more than two decades.

She expects the new festival to raise the profile of the burgeoning downtown.
"For almost 20 years we've been working to make Mt. Clemens a destination," said Shore, who has worked with the chamber for 28 years.

"This will just take it to the next level. It's an all-encompassing festival."
Mt.

Clemens has its Bath City Festival, which celebrates the city's history of bathhouses, as well as an art fair and several Girls' Night Out events. An ice-sculpting event is scheduled next weekend.
"We've always had fairs and festivals and art shows and riverfront concerts," Shore said.

"We're a viable downtown -- one of the few. It's a destination entertainment center.