WYANDOTTE — Two annual city Christmas events will take place this week.
The Wyandotte Business Association will host its 3rd Friday this Friday evening.
A Holiday Greens and Flower Market will be held in front of City Hall, 3131 Biddle Ave. It will include fresh balsam, white pine and cedar door prize wreaths. Poinsettias and other holiday plants will be on sale in the lobby of City Hall.
The tree-lighting ceremony will be held 6:30 p.m. at the corner of Elm and First by “Santa’s house.”
Select businesses will offer hot chocolate, coffee or cider for $1 to benefit the Wyandotte Goodfellows’ No Child Without a Christmas program. All proceeds go to the Goodfellows, who hold the program every year to benefit underprivileged children.
“We exist at Christmas to help needy chidren during this time of year by collecting money and having sales,” said Andrew Swiecki of the Wyandotte Goodfellows.
The money they collect is distributed to purchase food vouchers and certificates for clothes and food.
On Dec. 8 and 9 vouchers and certificates are given to residents at the Copeland Center, 2306 Fourth Street, Swiecki said.
“We used to just buy the toys,” he said, “but we would end up buying the wrong thing, so this way parents can go out and get the toys themselves.”
Recipients coming to the center must be Wyandotte residents, be able to prove their income and their number of dependents.
“I’m afraid there might be a lot more people this year because of the nature of the economy,” Swiecki said. “We can either hand out less per person or something else, depending on demand.”
He added that the Goodfellows go through anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000 worth of aid every year.
A Wyandotte Soup Kitchen bake sale will also be held during 3rd Friday. Cookies, cakes, pies and candies will be sold in select stores that have signs in their windows. All proceeds go toward In His Name Soup Kitchen, 98 Superior.
Also held on Biddle is the 65th annual Wyandotte Christmas Parade, which takes place the next morning. It will begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday with the Wyandotte Academy Youth Choir singing Christmas carols under the direction of Kathy Kane, Wyandotte Public Schools vocal music director.
Participants are welcome to sing along with the group that will be at the corner of Maple and Biddle.
Santa Claus will arrive at 10 a.m. to start the parade. Announcers Rosanne Krolikowski and Theodore Butkin will provide detailed commentary on the announcing stage in front of City Hall, 3131 Biddle Ave.
About 100 groups will participate in the parade, including Miss Michigan, Wyandotte Biddle Bear, bands, clowns, floats, antique vehicles and horses.
This year’s grand marshal is 27th District Judge Randy Kalmbach.