First Cinco de Mayo event to be held in Ferndale

FERNDALE — A first-of-its-kind event in Ferndale will be held to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

The Cinco de Mayo Ferndale Festival will be held across two days at the beginning of next month. It will take place 5-10 p.m. Friday, May 5, and noon-11 p.m. Saturday, May 6, on East Nine Mile Road between Woodward Avenue and Bermuda Street.

The festival will be organized by Mezcal Mexican Bar and Kitchen, a restaurant that opened last year at 201 E. Nine Mile Road. It will feature live music, including a mariachi band, taco trucks, margaritas, dancers and luchadors.

“There hasn’t been a Cinco de Mayo festival in Ferndale. So we wanted to be the first one and bring the culture and food culture to the Ferndale area,” co-owner Sandra Haro said.

“We’re gonna have different vendors, there’s gonna be some other restaurants that are going to be there. … They’re going to be selling earrings or stuff like that, too. We’re gonna have vendors for food, clothes or little things to buy.”

The festival will be the first time a Cinco de Mayo event will be put on in Ferndale, said Director of Special Events Michael Lary.

“What makes it more interesting is, because it’s organized by a Mexican restaurant that’s authentic, the event will be a true authentic experience,” he said.

Lary said Mezcal, owned and operated by Haro and her brother, Jose Granados, saw an opportunity in Ferndale to open their business, and now, a year after it opened, they feel they can do more in the city with this event.

“We obviously embrace that idea of being inclusive to everyone and also celebrating a part of the community at large,” he said. “Like we celebrate gay pride, we celebrate Juneteenth, here we have an opportunity to celebrate another part of our community that matters, and it’s not just for Ferndale, but it’s for the entire southeast Michigan region.”

Cinco de Mayo is a holiday that reminds Mexican people of their culture, Haro said. While it’s not as big as its Independence Day, which falls on Sept. 16 each year, she said, it’s still important to celebrate.

“We are very excited (for the festival),” Haro stated. “We’re honored that the city of Ferndale let us put this together, and hopefully we put it as they wanted us to be so that way we can do it every year.”