All Systems Go for Arab International Festival

The Dearborn Arab International Festival will happen as scheduled this year.

, the festival will take place June 17-19 on Warren Avenue after organizers and the city agreed to a deal, according to a press release sent out Friday evening.

The American Arab Chamber of Commerce, the organizers of the festival, said it has hired a private company to assist the city with cleanup.

In addition, the chamber said the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department and the will provide security for the event, which started in 1995 and has become a Dearborn tradition.

“The festival is on schedule,” Fay Beydoun, the executive director of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce, said in the release. “We are working with the city to alleviate some of the city’s cost and address their concerns.”

The chamber has said that the festival draws an estimated 300,000 people and generates $7 million toward the local economy.

The city said that the event costs $59,000 each year, primarily for police and public works staffing.

"We are exploring every avenue to lower the cost on the city and on us by partnering with different agencies, adjusting the components of the festival,” Beydoun said. “The dividends are often difficult to calculate, but this is the highest profile event the city of Dearborn can point to as a celebration of our rich cultural diversity.”

Florida Pastor Terry Jones is still planning on as well on June 17, as announced earlier this month.