Big crowds expected in the city on Saturday, Dec. 7
By Barb Pert Templeton
The Marine City Area Chamber of Commerce’s 8th Annual Merrytime Christmas promises visits with Santa, two local groups singing Christmas carols, children’s activities and seeing life size characters like the Grinch plus Elsa and Anna from Disney’s Frozen.
The event is set for Saturday, Dec. 7 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Marine City and while the main focus is downtown it is a citywide celebration, according to Marine City Area Chamber Director Laura Merchant. She said businesses throughout the city will be taking part in the festivities and the first 300 people to visit the chamber offices at 480 South Water Street will receive a goody bag.
The popular holiday event, launched by the local chamber with the idea of sharing and supporting Marine City during the holidays, has been a great success since its inception.
Merrytime Christmas was launched by the Marine City Area Chamber of Commerce to bring people to the city in December.
“We wanted to bring in a lot of people and give them the exposure to what Marine City has to offer,” Merchant said, noting that the city is all decked out for the occasion including displaying a Twinkling Forest with 70 beautifully lit metal trees.
The full-title for the event is actually the ‘8th Annual Citywide Celebration of an Old-Fashioned Rivertown Christmas.’ The latter part of the title is a nod to the small-town aging city with older buildings and a Hallmark movie feel to it, Merchant said.
In addition to things going on outside around town during Merrytime, Merchant said the building at 303 Water Street is open for the day and there will be vendors, a bake sale and any businesses not located downtown are welcome to setup shop inside.
The other building that will be open is Merchant’s own business, The Mariner, where Santa Claus will be on stage to meet and greet children who stop in. She said last year they welcomed over 300 kids and their parents and it was a wonderful day.
“Our Santa is just so sweet, he really takes the time to talk to the kids,” Merchant said. “And I always say the Mariner has the best Santa, he’s been doing it for years and has a real beard and mustache too.”
Michelle Stucky-Wolford, owner of Wonderwolf Entertainment, is a favorite among the children who visit Merrytime Days.
In addition to the strolling characters, Merrytime Christmas will also host two local choirs. Members of the St. Clair Community Singers and Relevant Church 316 in Marine City will perform throughout the day.
The Marine City Lions Club will host a craft fair and while there won’t be any food trucks, Merchant said all the local restaurants will be open and eager to serve visitors.
“It’s really just such a great event and we get over 1,000 people in town for sure,” Merchant said.
Prior to the big day on Saturday, Merchant said the Twinkling Forest opens on Thursday night, Dec. 5 and then the chamber hosts an Ugly Sweater Pub Crawl in town on Friday, Dec. 6 to make it a very busy and fun weekend.
Sponsors for the 2024 Marine City 8th Annual Merrytime Christmas Event are:
· Merrytime Magic Sponsor: Vera Grace & Etta Mae’s
· Holly Jolly Sponsors: St. Clair County Community Mental Health, Real Estate One Westrick, and LaFontaine Chevrolet Buick GMC St. Clair
