Dearborn’s annual Homecoming festival could draw all-time record crowds this August, thanks to the city’s decision to hire pop star recording artist/actor Rick Springfield as the headline act.

Rick Springfield will take the stage at Dearborn Homecoming on Aug. 8 at 8:30 p.m.

While none of the Grammy-award winner’s songs are in my iPod, Springfield’s appearance on Aug. 8 at 8:30 p.m. at Ford Field Park will greatly benefit the many nonprofit groups that operate fundraising booths at the festival. These organizations rely on strong attendance, which generates booth traffic and sales. Many of those proceeds then go back to fund their respective community causes. Over the three-day weekend, some groups will gross as much as $14,000 and gain valuable name recognition for their organizations.

There are some residents balking at the city’s approval to pay Springfield $40,000 for his performance at this year’s Homecoming, but when you step back and examine the bigger picture the check written to the Australian-born singer has a more positive impact than it may appear.

Drawing people to the Dearborn Homecoming is only accomplished by providing the right attractions. The standard festival with a few beer tents and five minutes worth of fireworks won’t get anywhere close to the average 150,000 people who attend the Dearborn Homecoming over its three day period.

Take a look at Novi. That city this year cancelled its equivalent of the Dearborn Homecoming due to poor attendance.

Dearborn is fortunate in that it has many generous sponsors that have contributed some $90,000 this year to help offset the city’s operational costs of producing the festival - an event that is considered by many neighboring communities to be the benchmark festival in Metro Detroit. The sponsorship program allows Dearborn to keep the costs to families down, offering some of the lowest prices of any Metro Detroit festival.

Keep in mind, Dearborn is able to leverage these sponsorships due to its historical attendance figures and the market to which it appeals. The basis of any corporate sponsorship is to get your name in front of as many of the right eyeballs as possible. Homecoming is the perfect setting for this and continues to be a valuable investment for businesses. In addition to sponsorship contributions, Dearborn also receives approximately $35,000 via carnival revenues. (An added bonus this year is that families can now purchase online discounted ride tickets in advance of the festival.)

Sponsorships and other revenues, however, don’t cover all the associated costs of Homecoming.  We taxpayers have to do some of that lifting, too. Even so, what Dearborn can’t afford to do is scale back Homecoming to the point where it becomes just another festival or, worse yet, is cancelled. Scaling back during these tough economic times when some people can’t afford to go and pay for a concert or even take their children to an amusement park is the wrong time for cost-cutting. From where we sit, Dearborn Homecoming is the best event our city puts on each year. People can and will complain about the city spending money but the reality is that it costs money (yes, our tax dollars) to produce a quality event.  And people today, probably more than ever, need a nice event to go to these days. Plain and simple.

Homecoming fireworks cost money, too. To the tune of $22,000 per night, $12,500 of which is covered by sponsors each night. A Dearborn Homecoming without fireworks? Unthinkable. The same should be said of a headline music act. Dearborn has had K.C. and the Sunshine Band, Eddie Money and the Commodores perform in recent years. All of which came with a pretty big price tag (the Commodores were more than Springfield, for instance) and drew major crowds.

Springfield may not be my kind of music but he is followed by thousands of other people who will travel from across the state for the free blanket-space and concert in Dearborn. And while these fans are waiting, they will be spending their money at one of the 28 nonprofit, Dearborn-based organizations who operate booths at the festival.

So here’s to a successful Dearborn Homecoming. If you’d like a copy of all Dearborn Homecoming events, you can pick one up at various locations throughout Dearborn or by clicking HERE.

With an eye towards introducing people to its more than 180 businesses, the East Dearborn Downtown Development Authority (EDDDA) and Smooth Jazz V 98.7 FM are teaming up to launch their own series of Wednesday concerts at City Hall Park beginning July 22.

In all, there will be five free concerts in July and August.  The concerts will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday evenings, July 22, 29 and August 12, 19 and 26.  The July 22 concert will feature Detroit jazz artist, Alexander Zonjic & Friends.

Performances by other well known Detroit area jazz artists include David Myles & the Mylestones, Jessie Coleman, Penny Wells and The Brothers Groove.

The five concerts will be in addition to the Dearborn Recreation Department’s “Music Under the Stars” concert that will be held at 7:30 p.m. July 30, also at City Hall Park.  The city’s Music Under the Stars series of concerts takes place at various locations throughout Dearborn during the summer and have been well received by residents.

EDDDA Director Michael Boettcher says area businesses have been looking for a reasons to stay open later and the free outdoor summer concerts provide an opportunity to possibly attract new customers.

To learn more about all the EDDDA has to offer, you can visit their new website by clicking HERE.

Dearborn School Supt. Superintendent Brian J. Whiston is making some personnel changes at Dearborn’s middle and elementary schools.

Whiston appointed three new principals at the middle school level last week. His selections must now be approved by the School Board, whose next meeting is in July. The moves at the middle school come as a result of recent retirements.

The changes at the middle schools look like this:

1. Shannon Peterson is named Bryant Middle School principal. She previously was assistant principal at the school.
2. Scott Casebolt is named O.L. Smith Middle School principal. He was an assistant principal at Fordson High School and a former O.L. Smith assistant principal.
3. Majed Fadlallah is named Salina Intermediate School principal. He was assistant principal at Salina and a former assistant principal at Fordson.

The changes at the elementary school level look like this:

1. Radewin Awada, previously DuVall Elementary principal, is named Oakman Elementary principal.
2. Veronica Jakubus, previously Long Elementary principal, is named DuVall Elementary principal.
3. Kathleen Klee, previously Snow Elementary principal, is named Long Elementary principal.
4. Glenn Maleyko, previously Salina Intermediate principal, is named Snow Elementary principal.

If you haven’t visited the Henry Ford Estate recently, one of Dearborn’s unique landmarks, here is a new reason to do so.

The Artists’ Society of Dearborn has been invited by the Henry Ford Estate to exhibit original works of art created by its members of and about the grounds of the estate. Capturing the Beauty: The Landscape of Henry Ford Estate will display work in many media throughout the home and The Pool Restaurant from June 30th-Aug. 31.

An opening reception is set for Tuesday, June 30th from 6-8 pm at the Estate. All are invited. 

From a modest beginning in 1949 when 25 individuals interested in art met in Pansy Taylor’s living room, The Artists’ Society of Dearborn continues to grow. Its members share and develop through art, while contributing to our community. The Artists’ Society of Dearborn is an umbrella member of The Dearborn Community Arts Council.

Henry Ford Estate-Fair Lane, A National Historic Landmark, is located on the campus of the University of Michigan-Dearborn. This national treasure is an exceptional historic site that sheds light on our history and helps explain our past. Rich with technical and architectural wonders, the 31,000-square-foot estate was the family home of Henry Ford and his wife, Clara, for more than 30 years.

The Estate stands as a reminder of Dearborn’s part in shaping the history of the world. It’s a unique landmark where one can celebrate, dine, shop and explore. Tours are available Tuesday - Sunday 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. The Pool Restaurant is open Tuesday - Friday from 11 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. for lunch. For more information please call 313-593-5590 or visit www.henryfordestate.org

New retail is headed into vacant AT&T store.

The long vacant AT&T store on Michigan Avenue is expected to soon have a new retail tenant. Yes, we said retail not restaurant.

While it isn’t yet clear what type of retail will go into the vacant space, we have been told that the space has been leased to a new tenant.

We will chase down the who and the when. But it certainly is a bit of good news for the building at 22137 Michigan Ave., located on a very visible part of Michigan Avenue.

Stay tuned.

Get ready for some major traffic headaches Monday along a quarter mile stretch of Michigan Avenue in the west Dearborn business district.

Traffic along Michigan Avenue will be reduced to one lane in each direction from Monroe to 700 feet east of Brady to accommodate the city’s storm sewer separation project along Michigan Avenue.

Construction begins Monday, June 22, and will last about seven weeks.

The sewer separation is part of the City’s Combined Sewer Overflow Control Project, which is mandated by the federal government.

The majority of the construction over the seven weeks will take place from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. to reduce the inconvenience created by this improvement project. However, some of the work may be performed during the day, such as concrete paving.

With Dearborn’s 14th annual Arab International Festival now smoothly underway this weekend, we thought it might be worth reflecting for a moment on the media controversy unnecessarily created about our city by an evangelical Christian group from Anaheim, California.

Websites and newspapers across the country carried the story about the Christian group’s lawsuit against Dearborn, alleging the city violated its rights by restricting access to the annual festival that draws some 300,000 people.

Dearborn, however, did not violate anyone’s rights. This was never about an Arab festival or a city having issues with the group, Arabic Christian Perspective. It was simply about maintaining safety and crowd control, which is the city’s job.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds agreed, denying the group permission to hand out literature on the sidewalks. “It appears to be a legitimate governmental interest for crowd control and safety,” Edmunds said in denying the request. “The festival area is more akin to a fair than a normal city street.”

As it is, the city of Dearborn, which does not run the festival, is allowing the group to hand out literate at the entrance to the festival this weekend.

The reality is that Arabic Christian Perspective was trying to make this something it was not — a violation of free speech rights. This wasn’t about being denied the right to convert Muslims to Christianity. This was about grabbing headlines and creating controversy. On those two fronts, the group can claim success.

One simple fact seemingly lost by most media outlets was that this group could have simply purchased space to be at the festival for just $150, the same amount three other Christian groups and some 137 other organizations paid to be inside the festival area.

If this were simply about proselytizing efforts, the group, which claims to have spent $50,000 on printed materials for use in Dearborn, surely could have afforded an additional $150 to have a booth at the festival. We wonder what the group would have done if festival organizers simply paid the booth fee for them and told them to come for free.

We hope the group will respect Dearborn’s laws in the future. And, next time, simply get a table.

At full capacity with cats, the Dearborn Animal Shelter is asking cat lovers to step up to ease the strain during June’s Adopt-a-Cat month and the shelter’s Feline Family Fun Day on Saturday, June 20.

“We’re at our limit,” said Elaine Greene, Friends executive director. “(We have) 211 cats at the shelter and 97 more in foster care.”

Cat overpopulation is a perennial summer problem. However, the Dearborn Animal Shelter’ overflowing capacity is due in part to an unexpected situation. “We were called in to rescue over 40 cats from a single resident,” Greene said. “So, of course, we made room for them.”

The additional felines now are overcrowding the shelter’s “Cat House. Educating the community about cat awareness is an essential element of Adopt-a-Cat month and the Feline Family Fun Day.

 ”Throughout the year we encourage owners to spay and neuter their cats and to microchip them,” Greene said. “This June we want to put a giant spotlight on cat concerns. We will also be extending our special cat adoption rate of $20 through June 30. We’re doing everything we possibly can to help cats in need.”

Greene also is encouraging residents to become part of the Dearborn Animal Shelter’s Bed & Breakfast Foster Family program. “We could not be successful without our wonderful foster families. We train families in cat care and supply them with kitty essentials, but they provide the love.”

Betty is one of many cats the Dearborn Animal Shelter is searching to find a home.

Those planning to attend Feline Family Fun Day this Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. can take part in a number of activities, including free Kitty 101 classes to help novice cat owners learn how to live with and care for cats; a Kitten Garden sale featuring cat-friendly plants; and Kids Kitty Krafts, such as face painting and sifting for prizes. At noon, Roary, the Detroit Lions mascot, will join the festivities. From 1:00 until 3:00, Dr. Shera Dickey from St. Julian’s Cat Care Clinic will be on hand to answer your cat questions. Dr. Dickey is the Dearborn Animal Shelter’s local cat expert and will provide tips on creative ways to enrich your cat’s indoor environment.

In honor of Adopt-a-Cat month, the Animal Shelter will reduce the cost of adoption for cats four months and older to just $20.00. This is a 75 percent adoption fee reduction and includes all the usual benefits: spay/neuter, microchipping, vaccinations, kitty comforter, and training DVD.  The first 15 cat adopters on June 20 will receive a “stimulus bonus”: a kitty starter kit, which includes litter box, litter, scoop, food samples, and toys.

If you are interested in becoming a foster family, please contact the Dearborn Animal Shelter at (313) 943-2697 or stop by the Dearborn Animal Shelter, located at 2661 Greenfield Rd.. Donations and inquiries may also be made online at www.DearbornAnimals.org

In an effort to insure the construction of a new six-story parking deck planned for the Dearborn Town Center is on solid ground, a new process will be “felt and heard” by businesses and residents in the area beginning Wednesday and continuing through Friday.

As part of the preparation work for the City’s public parking structure that will accompany the medical facility, the Dailey Company will be driving test piles from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday.

Pile driving involves hammering large steel units into the ground to hold foundations and structural supports. Noise and vibrations associated with pile driving operations are inevitable.

The testing is a preview of the construction of the deck. Pile driving for the parking deck is expected to begin late August and last about four weeks.

Residents or businesses with questions can call Cindy Grimwade in the city’s Economic and Community Development Department at 943-2180 ext. 6.

This new early testing procedure of the ground should prevent a repeat of the additional work that was done during construction several years ago of the city’s two parking decks at the West Village Commons. During that construction, additional steel units had to be driven into the ground so the structural supports could go deep enough to find a solid foundation. This unexpected work added cost and development time to that project.

If you plan on voting in Dearborn’s August. 4 city primary you’ll need to be a registered voter. The voter registration deadline for the primary is Tuesday, July 7.

This is an important primary as we have 25 candidates vying for seven City Council seats. The top 14 vote getters will proceed to the general election. So if you aren’t a registered voter, please get out and do so before the deadline.

The voter registration deadline for the November 3 city general election is Monday, October 5.