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Ramsdell Theatre a hub for events during Sleighbell weekend in Manistee
By Ken GraBowsKi For the News AdvocAte
The Victorian Sleighbell Parade and Old Christmas Weekend is all about celebrating Manistee’s Victorian heritage. What better place to accomplish that than at the historic Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts?
RRCA executive director Xavier Verna said the center will be hosting four programs during the Dec. 1-4 celebration that are guaranteed to offer something for everyone.
“We pride ourselves on having a little bit of something for everyone,” said Verna. “The RRCA joined the Sleighbell Committee to help in the planning process of the overall weekend as we are committed to the community experience and are glad to be a part of it.”
Festival of Trees
The Lakeside Club of Manistee County will be hosting two of those events beginning with the popular Festival of Trees in the Ramsdell ballroom. Community groups and businesses will again decorate trees that will be part of a silent auction.
The trees will be open to viewing from 1-6 p.m. on Dec. 2 and 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Dec. 3.
The pick-up time for winning bidders ia from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Dec. 4.
The funds raised from the event will be donated to benefit the Lakeshore Children’s Advocacy Center and the Manistee Friendship Society.
1885 Comes Alive
The Lakeside Club is also holding a new event at the Ramsdell, which will offer an opportunity to step back in time. 1885 Comes Alive: An Authentic Victorian Event will take place from 7:3010:30 p.m. on Dec. 2 in the Ramsdell ballroom.
The Lakeside Club was formed back in 1885 by the wives and daughters of the lumber barons to support and work together to build a balanced, cultural and beautiful city in Manistee. Today the club creates events to support nonprofits in Manistee County.
“The Lakeside Club is one of the oldest organizations in the community and they will do this event in conjunction with the Festival of Trees,” said Verna.
It will be a black tie event with a Victorian theme that will feature entertainment, appetizers, a cash bar and costumes from the 1885 time period. The event will give those attending the feel of a house party from the Victorian era. A photographer also will be on hand for holiday portraits.
Tickets are $35 per person or $60 for couple; details can be found at lakesideclubmanistee.org.
Holiday rock spectacular
Following the Victorian Sleighbell Parade, at 8 p.m. on Dec. 2, the Ramsdell Theatre will come to life with the sound of music.
“We are partnering with West Shore Community College to present WSCC Holiday Rock Spectacular Reunion,” said Verna. “The first show is right after the parade and we are doing a second one on Sunday at 2 p.m.”
Verna said this is a show that people will not want to miss.
“There is a presentation of a plethora of musicians onstage including the West Shore Drum Line, that I direct,” said Verna. ”It will be a night of a lot of familiar holiday show tunes.”
Verna said the show was first held last year during the holiday season.
“This is a program that took place at Radiant Church in Ludington last year and is being brought to the Ramsdell on a larger scale,” said Verna. “They are going to have more room to do more fun things, which makes it exciting.”
The show will feature the music of The Trans-Siberian Orchestra, For King and Country, Stevie Wonder, Dolly Parton, U2 and more.
Tickets range from $15 to $50 and are avvailable at RamsdellTheatre.org.
Art exhibit
Another component to the weekend is the Ramsdell’s gallery will be open for a “Community Art Squared Exhibition.”
“We are in the process of development now as we announced a call for artists or anybody to purchase some 6” x 6” squares of canvases and they get to paint those any way they want and then turn them in the end of the month,” said Verna in October. “We have already sold over 100 of those canvases and there is some pretty terrific work being done. We haven’t even opened the show yet and it feels like a success as the artwork will be sold as a fundraiser to support the RRCA and art gallery.”
The exhibit will be open from noon to 5 p.m. on Dec. 2, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 3 and noon to 3 p.m. on Dec. 4 in Hardy Hall. It is free and open to the public.
Ramsdell tours
Verna said people even have a chance to check out a behind the scenes look of the Ramsdell as well over the weekend.
“We are also going to be giving historic tours, so overall it’s going to be a busy weekend,” he said.
Tours of the Ramsdell Theatre will be held every 30 minutes, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m,. on Dec. 3. Cost is $5 per person; tickets are available at ramsdelltheatre.org.
The Ramsdell is located at 101 Maple St. in Manistee.
The Lakeside Club’s Festival of Trees & Holiday Decor offers items for bid from trees to gift baskets, and table top items. (File photo)
One of the previous editions of the Victorian Sleighbell Parade included the Budweiser Clydesdales. (File photo)
Kaser named grand marshal of Sleighbell Parade and Old Christmas Weekend
By Ken GraBowsKi For the News AdvocAte
Former Manistee merchant and Victorian Sleighbell Parade and Old Christmas Weekend committee member John Kaser has been selected as the grand marshal of the 2022 event.
Kaser who owned City Drug Store at the corner of River and Maple streets from 1984 to 2007 was active on the Sleighbell Parade and Old Christmas Weekend committee from the very beginning. He said being named grand marshal is something he considers a very distinct honor.
“Being named grand marshal took me by complete surprise as I didn’t work on the committee for me, but I did it for the citizens of the community,” said Kaser. “It’s a great celebration of Manistee’s Victorian heritage and has blossomed into something fantastic.”
Amanda Pinkerton, who originated the event with Jerry Smith, was an employee of Kaser’s in the drug store. Kaser said that one Saturday night she came into work with an unusual request. It is a memory that brings a good feeling to him to this day.
“It was a Saturday night with big, white fluffy snowflakes falling, and Amanda said I am leaving early as we are having a parade,” said Kaser. “She said you have to stop traffic on Maple Street so they don’t hit us when we go across.”
Being a merchant on River Street, Kaser said he immediately saw the potential for the event to bring people to the downtown area the first week of December. He jumped in to help from that year forward as a committee member until 2016. He was amazed at how it grew over the
years.
“I went home that first night and said to my wife that I thought we were on to something great,” he said. “Look what it has evolved into as it has become west Michigan’s premier event for the winter.”
Kaser said that first year was what inspired him to stay with it for many years.
“I was there right on day one until I left in 2016 and was highly involved in it through being chairman of the merchants committee in getting the merchants to dress Victorian and to have the goodies in their stores. The two best things that ever happened for the merchants downtown is the Forest Festival and Sleighbell Parade and Old Christmas Weekend.”
He developed a lot of memories after being part of the Christmas event for so many years. One of Kaser’s favorites was the year the parade included the Budweiser Clydesdales.
“Prior to the parade, they made some special deliveries of beer brewed that day. I had tears in my eyes when that Budweiser hitch pulled up to my store to do that,” he said.
Another memory was when the Kiwanis Club, of which he was a member, was selling pasties from a tent in the parking lot next to
his store.
“There was a real blizzard blowing that year and we had our grills set up in the Salvation Army where half the members were cooking them and the rest were outside trying to keep the tent from blowing away,” he said.
Kaser said through the years putting the event together has been a volunteer-driven effort with people donating their time to make it a reality. That includes many people who weren’t even living here during the early years who are now key committee members.
“It’s the people who do the legwork with the blood, sweat and tears to get it organized,” he said. “The committee behind it has proliferated and grown every year. The ability to pass the torch and keep the enthusiasm is a wonderful thing.”
Kaser pointed out the same can be said of the overall event.
“Who would have every thought we could get 60 to 70 units in a parade in winter weather with 10,000 to 15,000 people lining the streets,” he said.
Kaser will be riding in the parade in a carriage. He has invited a couple of family members to join him.
“I have an niece and nephew and a grand-nephew and possibly his sister,” he said “I really want to share this monumental honor with my family.”
John Kaser
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