Petting zoo, animals in the parade, and more last-minute Christmas in the Village details

The Christmas Festival of Trees in the alley between Comerica Bank and Dance With Heart Studio shaped up beautifully over the weekend.

submitted by Jennifer Wojtowicz, Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce

Here are some last minute details about Christmas in the village:

Festival of Trees –
Located in the alley. Be sure to vote for your favorite tree on Sat., Dec 7, 9 am-4 pm, by placing non-perishable donation under your chosen tree. Donations go to the Community Resource Center. Winner gets a CASH prize; will be received by group that decorated the winning tree.

Sponsors and Decorators listed below:
– Tree #1, Old National Bank; will be decorated by Boy Scouts.
– Tree #2, Manchester Veterinary Clinic; will be decorated by the Girl Scouts of Manchester.
– Tree #3, Manchester Lions Club; will be decorated by the Leo Club.
– Tree #4, ERA Reardon/Jason Aldrich; will be decorated by Manchester Co-Op PreSchool.
– Tree #5, River Raisin Antiques; will be decorated by Riverside & Klager PTO.
– Tree #6, Main Street Church; will decorate their own.
– Tree #7, Jennifer’s Daycare; will decorate their own.
– Tree #8, Manchester Eye Care Center; will decorate their own.
– Tree #9, The Shoppes of Alber Mill; will be decorated by Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce.
– Tree #10, Comerica Bank; will be decorated by Manchester Renegades Running Club.
– Tree #11, Andrews Family Chiropractic; will be decorated by SRSLY Manchester.
– Tree #12, Manchester CRC; will decorate their own.

Something NEW, not in the guide, as we were approached last minute about it….we will have a Petting Zoo from Never Enough Livestock Company in the Mill parking lot on Sat., Dec 7, 10 am-4 pm. Sponsored by Neff’s Trucking.

Cookie Contest and Sale … WE NEED MORE COOKIE ENTRIES! We need more people to sign up for this contest. Cookies will be judged by Santa on Dec. 7 at 1:30 pm. Sale to follow, proceeds to benefit Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce. This is the 1st year we are trying this as a fundraiser for ourselves. Participants are to drop off at least two dozen of their cookies with their recipe at the mill on Dec. 7 between 10 am-1 pm. Winner receives trophy and cash prize! Entry form: 2019 Cookie Contest Entry Form

We are very excited about this year’s parade, as we have several groups bringing horses, dogs, goats and llamas! Those groups include: Free Spirit Farm LLC, Columbia Lake Fishing and Charter, MicLan Farm, Waterloo Horsemen’s Association, and Never Enough Livestock Company. Not to mention many others bringing their festive trucks and trailers, and tractors! And, this year the kids are walking in the parade (Klager and Riverside)! It’s going to be a really fun parade. Fri., Dec 6, 6:30 pm is departure.

Another NEW this year activity is the Ugly Sweater Holiday Crawl and Contest! This idea was the result of the well attended International Food Crawl during this year’s Third Thursday events. We decided to follow a similar concept to keep our downtown restaurants involved; Two Black Sheep Restaurant, Frank’s Place, The Village Tap, and Over The Edge Sports Bar & Pizzeria. From 2-4 pm Dec 7 you can indulge in a $5 holiday drink, $5 holiday shot, and/or $5 appetizer at each location. Then at 5 pm participate in the Ugly Sweater Contest at Over The Edge!

And lastly, NEW this year is The Facepaint Faerie!!! Jamie Laakko has been an asset to our 3rd Thursdays since Day 1, and we decided to bring her on with Christmas in the Village! Her activity is replacing the PJ Movie Party. The Facepaint Faerie will be doing COMPLIMENTARY face paintings at The Shoppes of Alber Mill from 10 am-4 pm on Sat., Dec 7. This activity is being sponsored by American 1 Credit Union.

And while I have everyone’s attention, I would like to ask more community members to volunteer with us in helping to put on next year’s event. If they would like to head up or help out with even just one of our many activities for the Christmas in the Village event, it would be greatly appreciated by the event organizers and the community members. Please email us at ManchesterMiChristmas@gmail.com or give Linda Stevens a call at The Village Hair Forum, 734-428-7684.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.