HDT - Home for the Holidays - 11/16/2024 by Hearst Midwest

HOMEOLIDAYS for the

November 16, 2024

Local Activities for the Holiday Season

Huron County Residents

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Christopher Alderman is one of the planners and portrays Santa Claus for the annual Port Hope Christmas Sing-A-Long. The 2024 Sing-A-Long is planned for Sunday, Dec. 1.

Meet Santa at the Port Hope Sing-ALong on Dec. 1

BY MARK BIRDSALL ASSISTANT EDITOR

Christopher Alderman takes his job playing Santa Claus very seriously.

“I carry Santa 365 days a year,” he said. “It’s not just a December thing for me.”

he encounters.

“I love greeting the kids, seeing the smiles on their faces,” he said.

Alderman has been portraying Santa for quite a while, ﬁrst donning the red suit for his granddaughter. After he and his wife retired to Port Hope, he continued the tradition for the kids in the Port Hope area.

That’s why he’s involved with planning the annual Port Hope Christmas Sing-A-Long, which will take place on Sunday, Dec. 1. In addition to helping plan the event, he has portrayed Jolly Old St. Nick during the sing-along at Rubicon Township Hall for the past few years.

Alderman wants to embody the spirit of Christmas in the Santa he portrays, bringing joy to the kids (and grownups)

He said he never knows what to expect when meeting with children, who only see the legendary, larger-thanlife Kris Kringle. He said he usually gets questions about reindeer and his elves at the North Pole. He went on to describe how one child, who had recently lost her mother, said she only wanted her mother back when asked what she wanted for Christmas.

“I told her, ‘Santa has a lot of magic, but it was beyond my capabilities,’”

Alderman said.

He asked for her mother’s name and promised to pray for her.

The Sing-A-Long has been attracting more and more families each year, he said, and organizers have planned many fun things for kids this year.

Crafts and cookie decorating will take place at Buck’s Port Hope Diner starting at 3:30 p.m. Santa will arrive on a ﬁre truck at 5 p.m. at Rubicon Township Hall, where kids can tell Santa their Christmas wishes, get a free goodie bag and enjoy snacks with their families.

(Christopher Alderman/

Courtesy Photo)

The Port Hope Christmas Sing-A-Long will take place on Sunday, Dec. 1 with Santa Claus coming to town.

(Courtesy Photo/Provided by Leslie Blum)

Start the Holiday season with Sebewaing’s Spirit of Christmas

BY JHYRAH DELAPP STAFF WRITER

The Sebewaing Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual celebratory Christmas event Saturday, Nov. 23, featuring Frosty’s workshop, Santa visits, museum tour, vendors, and more.

It’s one of ﬁve big events the Sebewaing Chamber of Commerce hosts yearly. The other four events are the Easter egg hunt, the Michigan Sugar Festival, Moonlight Madness, and Country Market Music Fest.

Starting at 8 a.m., Countryside Auto Parts Store will be having a Sprint Car show. There will also be chances to enter drawings for prizes, stocking stuﬀer purchases available, and deals. This event will end at 3pm.

A handful of events will begin at 10 a.m. and run all the way through 3 p.m.

At Moore Shoreline, there will be Frosty’s Workshop, where kids will be able to participate in diﬀerent crafts, decorating cookies, and face painting. They can also meet Frosty himself and take pictures with him.

“Frosty’s Workshop was started several years ago so that the kids can enjoy a time just for the kids,” Julie Epperson, Sebewaing village president, said. “Something for them to do make (crafts) and have a good time with one of their parents.”

On Nov. 11, the Festival of Trees will be displayed in the Moore Shoreline showroom during business hours. The Spirit of Christmas will be the last day it is displayed.

Those who buy a $1 ticket and donate a non-perishable item will be entered into a raﬄe for a chance to win either their favorite of the festival trees, a wreath, or centerpiece. The drawing will take place after the Lighted Christmas parade.

Also at the Festival of Trees, people will have the opportunity to pick an angel oﬀ the angel tree, which goes toward the Sharing and Caring group.

The angel tree is where parents or family members sign up children to be sponsored for Christmas. When you pick an angel oﬀ the tree, it will tell you the age of the child, the size of clothing

and shoes, and something that they might like to receive for Christmas.

Vendors will be available for people to get a head start on holiday shopping. They will be located at Sebewaing Township Hall, the library, Moore Shoreline showroom, and Luke’s Shopping Center.

Applications for vendors are still available until Nov. 21. For more information refer to Sebewaing Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.

Food trucks will also be available at Moore Shoreline as well as Sebewaing’s Historic River District. Some of the options will be Angry Gingers, Jeano’s at 989, and more.

The Charles W. Liken House Museum will have an open house for tours. Light snacks and refreshments will be available.

At Immanuel Lutheran Church, Collide Youth Group will be putting on a soup sale in the church’s great room. Families can also capture pictures of themselves at the dedicated family photo booth.

Thumb Area Community Theatre will be presenting “A Charlie Brown

Christmas.” Tickets for adults are $10 and $5 for students at the door.

Showtimes are Nov. 22 at 7 p.m., Nov. 23 at 2 p.m., and Nov. 24 at 2 p.m.

After all prior activities have ended, at 6 p.m. the Lighted Christmas Parade will commence with ﬂoats and Christmas lights for everyone to enjoy.

After the lighted parade there will be festivities at Moore Shoreline. Kids will be able to meet Santa and take pictures with him. The drawing for festival trees, wreaths, and centerpieces will occur here where people can enjoy USA Lions hot dogs and hot chocolate.

“The impact for our community is huge. We have lots of people come and visit our community. They visit all the diﬀerent businesses that will be open that day,” Epperson said. “Some giving specials opportunities in their businesses and food trucks. So, they get to see what Sebewaing has to oﬀer as far as stores and businesses in town.”

For more information about the event, contact the Chamber of Commerce via Facebook.

Families gathered at Moore Shoreline for crafts with Frosty the Snowman and in the evening a chance to get a picture with Santa Claus. (Dominic Sevilla/Huron Daily Tribune)

Elkton Christmas Celebration offers day of festive activities

BY KATY SNODGRASS STAFF WRITER

It’s time to dust oﬀ your holiday cheer and grow your Grinch heart three sizes because the annual Elkton Christmas Celebration is coming to town.

In a Facebook post, it was announced that the celebration will take place all day Saturday, Dec. 7, with diﬀerent holiday themed activities going on all across the village.

This event usually takes up an entire weekend in December, but was condensed into only one day this year. According to Janet Devroye, a member of the Elkton Christmas Celebration planning committee, it was shortened because of a lack of attendance on both nights.

“We have tried multiple days in the past, but we don’t see a large turnout on the Friday night,” Devroye wrote in an email

response. “It takes a lot to plan for an event like this and the volunteers just aren’t there, so that is why we have condensed it to one day.”

Shortening the celebration wasn’t the only change this year, as the schedule has also shifted to include more events later in the day.

“The Elkton Community Club asked to be part of the event with a lighted Christmas Parade, so we moved our schedule around to help keep the activities ﬂowing,” Devroye explained.

The activities will be held in the Elkton Village Hall, the Civic Center, the Huron Youth Center, the Oliver Township Fire Hall and Veteran’s Park.

The morning festivities start at the Village Hall, with the Elkton Lions Parks and Recreation Cookie Walk. The walk starts at 10 a.m. and will go until 2 p.m. or while cookie supplies last.

While there, make sure to check out the entries for the Festival of Wreaths created by local businesses. The wreaths will be on display at the Village Hall starting Dec. 4 until the end of the Christmas Celebration.

Holiday enthusiasts will have the opportunity to vote for the best one and enter into a raﬄe for the wreaths from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Santa will be rolling into town on a ﬁre truck at 2:45 p.m. and will drive around spreading holiday cheer until 4 p.m. A schedule of Santa’s stops can be found on the back of the Christmas celebration ﬂier.

The Huron Youth Center is where all the the children’s events will be held free of cost. There will be crafts from 2 to 3 p.m. followed by candy bar bingo from 3 to 4 p.m. then supper with Santa from 4 to 5 p.m.

A free senior soup dinner will also take place at the Civic Center from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. and is open to all seniors.

Make sure not to ﬁll up too much because the annual Soup and Chill Cook-Oﬀ sampling will take place from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Oliver Township Fire Hall. It is free to sample but a $5 donation is suggested for tasters.

Those sampling will have a chance to vote for the best soup and chili with all proceeds going to the Elkton Food Pantry.

When the sun starts to set and the chilly air settles in, celebration goers can warm up with a holiday hot cocoa bar at Veteran’s Park from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Proceeds from the cocoa bar will also go to the Elkton Food Pantry.

At 5 p.m. the winners

of the wreath drawings will be announced at the Village Hall. The proceeds are to beneﬁt Elkton Lions Park and Recreation Family Activities.

The Elkton Community Club Lighted Christmas parade will follow the announcement at 5:30 p.m. and will proceed down Main Street starting at St. Paul’s Methodist Church and ending at the Elkton Missionary Church.

Immediately after the parade, the 2024 Snow Prince and Princess will be crowned followed by the announcement of the Soup and Chill Cook-Oﬀ winner and the winner of the Countdown to Christmas raﬄe.

The night will end with the Park Lighting Ceremony and Christmas carol singing after the parade.

“It will be our little Hallmark moment.” Devroye said of the Park Lighting Ceremony.

For more information, visit the Elkton Community Happenings Facebook page.

Any questions about the parade can be directed to John Lackie at 989550-4126.

Questions about the rest of the celebration can be directed to Janet Devroye at 989-550-4303 or Agnes Kosinski at 989553-1506.

Kids gather for lunch on Saturday and a chance for a picture with Santa.

(Connor Veenstra/Huron Daily Tribune)

Cold Elkton residents light up for hot chocolate. (Connor Veenstra/Huron Daily Tribune)

Santa wishes Elkton Merry Christmas! (Connor Veenstra/Huron Daily Tribune)

Cass City to host annual Christmas in the Village

BY JHYRAH DELAPP STAFF WRITER

The Cass City Chamber of Commerce is hosting its annual Christmas in the Village event on Saturday Dec. 7.

The event includes a day full of events such as cookie decorating, homemade crafts available for purchase, showings of “The Grinch,” and more.

The day will start with breakfast with Santa for kids. The breakfast will be donated by McDonald’s and the Dairy Farmers of America.

This is followed by a crafts show at Cass City High School. Handmade crafts, home goods, hats, mittens, gloves, houseware, decorations and more will be available.

There are plenty of opportunities and options for people to get some holiday shopping done.

The craft show will

be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and open to the public. For admission, people can bring either a non-perishable food item or pay a $1 entrance fee.

Businesses on Main Street and other participants will enter their chili into a cook oﬀ. The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., when the ﬁnal tickets are sold. The proceeds of the event go towards charity.

Final ballots are due at 2:30 p.m. so a winner may be announced. The winners get to decide upon a charity to support.

Last year’s winner Flowers by Grace won and chose to support Revived Ministry.

Cass City Theater will be showing “The Grinch” as its annual Christmas movie. The event is free for families; however, concessions will be available for purchase.

The movie will be shown at 10:30am and 1:30pm.

At 3 p.m. at 6544 Main Events, the Rotary Interact Club will be hosting cookie decorating, a cocoa bar, and Santa for pictures.

There will also be horse-drawn wagon rides available.

To end the festivities, the lighted Christmas parade will begin at 5:30 p.m. and end around 6:30 p.m.

There’s a contest for the best in show for participating ﬂoats in the parade.

You can expect to see Santa in the Kappen Tree bucket truck along with ﬂoats from the village of Cass City and the ﬁre department.

For more information about the event, contact the Cass City Chamber of Commerce via Facebook

On Saturday Dec. 7, Cass City Chamber of Commerce are hosting their annual Christmas in the Village event. (Cass City Chamber of Commerce)

BAD AXE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PRESENTS TIDINGS & TINSEL BAD AXE CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30TH

3:00PM - 8:00PM FOOD TRUCKS AT THUMB BANK & TRUST

1:00PM - 3:00PM FREE MOVIE SHOWING OF “HOME ALONE” AT BAD AXE THEATRE

3:00PM - 6:00PM ORNAMENT DECORATING AT FIRST UNITED METHODIST

3:30PM - 4:30PM STORY BOOK

READING BY BRIYNNE MCCREA AT HISTORIC LOG CABINS

5:00PM TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY IN FRONT OF COURTHOUSE

5:00PM - 7:00PM SMORES & HOT COCOA WITH BA ROTARY AT THUMB BANK & TRUST

6:00PM - 8:00PM TIDINGS & TINSEL CHRISTMAS PARADE

Tidings and Tinsel celebration continues to grow with the traditional parade kicking off the Christmas

Tidings and Tinsel, Christmas parade return on Saturday, Nov. 30

BY MARK BIRDSALL ASSISTANT EDITOR

The weekend after Thanksgiving marks the unoﬃcial start of the Christmas season, and Huron County residents can celebrate the arrival of everyone’s favorite time of year at the Tidings and Tinsel festival and parade in downtown Bad Axe.

Organized by the Bad Axe Chamber of Commerce, this year’s event takes place on Saturday, Nov. 30. Tidings and Tinsel is a day chockfull of family-friendly holiday activities throughout downtown Bad Axe, culminating in a tree-lighting ceremony and Christmas parade down M-53.

Bad Axe Chamber of Commerce President and Edward Jones ﬁnancial advisor Kaitlyn Fay said Tidings and Tinsel is a full day’s worth of Christmas fun for the entire

family and wouldn’t be possible without the generosity and support of chamber members and sponsors, and though the Christmas parade is a long-standing tradition, the chamber has enjoyed “putting its own spin” and the annual holiday celebration.

“You can tell by the participation we get and how excited everyone is to be part of it,” Fay said.

Retired Bad Axe police oﬃcers Michael Anderson and Scott Zaleski will serve as co-grand marshals of the parade, which starts out at Bad Axe Middle School and makes it way through downtown before ending at the parking lot at Osentoski Farm Equipment and Smith Distributing. Kurt Damrow and Laurel Brickel will emcee the parade.

Jeremiah Phelps, chief operating oﬃcer of Advance Wealth Man-

agement Service and Bad Axe Chamber of Commerce vice president, said Tidings and Tinsel is the result of a lot of hard work by chamber members and the generosity of local businesses and organizations, all for a free event for families from all of Huron County.

“It’s a cool event in that it’s celebrated in Bad Axe, but it’s something where the entire county comes together to celebrate,” Phelps said.

The day’s festivities begin with a free kids matinee at the Bad Axe Theatre. This year, families can watch “Home Alone” as kids enjoy free popcorn and pop, courtesy of the chamber. The movie starts at 1 p.m.

After the show, families can head over to Bad Axe First United Methodist Church, 216 E. Woodworth St., for free ornament decorating and

cookies from Murphy’s Bakery. The church will also host a bean soup sale to beneﬁt the church food pantry. Ornament decorating takes place from 3 to 6 p.m.

Families in the mood for a story can head over the Pioneer Log Cabin Village on Hanselman Street for storybook reading by Bad Axe District Library Director Briynne McCrea. Storytime is 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Chilly revelers can get warmed up with s’mores and hot cocoa at one of two warming areas from 5 to 7 p.m. courtesy of the Rotary Club of Bad Axe and Thumb Bank and Trust. Warming areas will be located at First United Methodist Church on the west end of downtown, Hagle Realty, 305 E. Huron Ave., and Kevin Rice State Farm, 104 Scott St., on the east end of town.

From 3 to 8 p.m., food

trucks, including Thumb Lickin’ BBQ and Farm 2 You, will be set up in the parking lot of Thumb Bank and Trust, 1 E. Huron St. Carolers will open the tree-lighting ceremony in front of the courthouse at 5 p.m., and the parade will begin at 6 p.m. At the conclusion of the parade, trophies will be awarded for Mayor’s Choice, Over Best and Most Original ﬂoats.

Parade lineup at Bad Axe Middle School begins at 3:30 p.m. Parade registration is available on the chamber website, www.badaxechamber. com. The parade will stream live on the city’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube. com/@CityofBadAxe. This year, visiting with Santa Claus at Bad Axe City Hall has been scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 14 from 10 a.m. to noon.

Bad Axe’s

season.

(Dominic Sevilla/ Huron Daily Tribune)

Harbor Beach’s festive Christmas parade returns for 39th year

BY KATY SNODGRASS STAFF WRITER

Christmas time is here, ﬁlled with happiness, cheer and families drawing near. Celebrate the yuletide season with Harbor Beach’s annual Christmas parade.

Harbor Beach will host its 39th annual Lighted Christmas Parade at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7.

The parade will have the same route as last year, starting at City Hall and continuing eastbound on State Street to M-25. It will then turn south onto Trescott Street.

Debbie Brandow, a member of the parade organizing committee, says parade goers can expect to see the local police and ﬁre departments, the Harbor Beach Marching Band, Santa and more during this year’s parade. Registration for those interested in participating in the parade are due Nov. 9, but last minute

entries will be accepted until the day of the parade.

However, Brandow says the earlier people register the better, in order to get a prime spot in the parade lineup.

To register, contact Brandow or visit the Harbor Beach Christmas Parade Facebook page to download and print out the registration form. Forms should then be ﬁlled out and mailed to Harbor Beach Christmas Parade, P.O. Box 43, Harbor Beach, MI 48441.

Anyone is welcome to be apart of the parade lineup, the committee only asks that no other ﬂoat have a real-life Santa.

After the parade is over, the second annual Community Tree Lighting will take place at the Murphy Museum lawn. Santa will receive the key to the city before pulling the switch to light up the grand tree.

Brandow says this new tradition started last year

as a way to get people to stay around town longer after the parade.

“A lot of people stuck around,” Brandow said. “It looked like the whole lawn was ﬁlled with people last year.”

Following Saturday evening’s events, residents will have the chance to vote on their top three ﬂoats in the parade.

Votes can be cast on the Harbor Beach Christmas Parade Facebook page immediately following the parade up until Sunday at noon. Voters can only submit one vote, duplicates will be monitored and deleted.

The parade committee will then announce the top three entries on their Facebook page sometime Sunday afternoon and the winners will receive checks.

For more information, visit the Harbor Beach Christmas Parade Facebook page or contact Debbie Brandow at 989670-8639.