From the action of the Michigan Wrestling Orgainization to great food to art fairs, the Hadley Township Fourth of July Celebration was one heck of a bash, say locals.
Longtime resident Lou Berard, owner of Lou’s Auto Repair, 4449 Hadley Road, said this year’s celebration was the biggest he’d seen in ten years.
‘The (Hadley) Lions Club basically ran out of food,? said Berard, who is treasurer of the Hadley Lions.
Area busisnesses agreed.
‘There were a lot of people here,? agreed Kelly Smith, owner of Le Fleur Decor, 3442 Hadley Road. ‘I don’t know how many. I was in shock.?
Le Fleur Decor had an art fair during the festivities, and featured 15 artists selling their work.
‘It was huge. It was non-stop all day,? said Smith. ‘People came out from all over. We think (there were) at least 600 people.?
The art fair was such a success, Smith said she plans to have another one in September during Hadley’s Harvest Festival.
Mike Madeja said he watched the happenings from his shop, The Parlor, 3527 Hadley Road.
‘We had a kids parade at 10 a.m.,? said Madeja. ‘All the kids that decorated their bikes up got a free ice cream voucher (for The Parlor) from the Hadley Lions Club.?
Madeja estimated 130 vouchers were given to kids, half of which have already been redeemed.
The main parade went through town at noon, circling the area with horseback riders, carriages, floats, antique tractors, custom cars and more.
‘The Hadley Township Mill was open and they had a lot of people there,? said Madeja, ? and Hadley Community Church had a kid’s fun fair; That went over really big. There was a craft show at Town Hall and the boy scouts had a pancake breakfast.?
Both Madeja and Berard agreed that a performance by the Michigan Wrestling Association was a highlight of the day.
‘The wrestling thing was the biggest draw,? said Berard. ? They probably had a 150 people at the parking and lot? watching the performance.
Berard said there were no problems due to the perceived violence of wrestling.