Gabriel Lalonde, a native of Rochester, drove 40 minutes to Walled Lake for the first time for micro wrestling. He said he enjoyed much more.
“Free ice cream, free music, free entertainment, everybody’s happy,” said Lalonde.
Natives of Walled Lake are used to attending the city’s annual festival for the huge firework show that is put on, but this year, residents from neighboring cities came to see the Micro Wrestling Federation.
The Micro Wrestling Federation is a group of dwarfs who are professional wrestlers that tour the country putting on organized wrestling matches for people.
The Micro Wrestling Federation posts content of their wrestlers and wrestling online, that has led to them to develop a fanbase, gathering 1.1 million followers on TikTok, with over 24 million likes.
This content has led the fans to start picking their favorite wrestlers, with some of those fans from TikTok being in attendance at the festival to watch them perform.
One of those fans is Alex Ziolkowski, a Bloomfield Hills native who was introduced to the micro wrestlers through social media and came to watch them perform some of the high-flying stunts he has seen online.
“I’ve never been to any form of organized wrestling but I’ve seen them on Instagram jumping off the top rope and stuff like that, so I am excited for that,” said Ziolkowksi.
This was the 12th annual fireworks festival put on by the city and it took place on June 24, with the fireworks beginning at 10 P.M. The fireworks show is put on by the Walled Lake Civic Fund who raised $35,000 for the fireworks show.
The money the civic fund gathers is strictly by donations and sponsors, with two of the biggest sponsors being Casey’s of Walled Lake and the Greenhouse of Walled Lake.
The festival features food trucks, bounce houses, a petting zoo, and this year, a show from the Micro Wrestling Federation.
Other than these attractions, there is also a donut eating contest.
Part owner of Casey’s, and Walled Lake City Councilmen Casey R. Ambrose is a regular at the festival and said he was looking forward to his chance of participating and winning the donut eating contest, which is hosted by the Greenhouse to raise money for charity.
“I don’t know exactly what time it is, which I should know because I am a part of the donut eating contest,” said Ambrose. “I am actually the champion of last year.”
Ambrose said the city plans to continue hosting this festival for years to come, with plans on making it bigger and more desirable to attend.
“It gets bigger and bigger every year because people really like to see it within the community,” said Ambrose. “It brings people together and it’s a super fun event.”