Marion’s Christmas kickoff this weekend
Staff writer
Holly Jolly Christmas will return for its sixth year this weekend. The event, always the first Saturday after Thanksgiving, will have activities from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., several of them new.
Tammy Ensey, co-owner of the Historic Elgin Hotel, and former economic development director Randy Collett started the event in 2019.
“Both of us enjoyed these events in other small communities,” Ensey said. “We needed to start small.”
Marion Merchants have made the event a Marion tradition.
Ensey said she didn’t know whether attendance had increased over the years, but the number of activities have. She credits Marion businesses for opening their shops for the day.
New events this year will include lighting of a community Christmas tree in Central Park after a lighted parade at 5:30 p.m.
Ensey recalls that so much snow fell a few years ago that the parade had to be canceled.
Singing of carols was tried last year with little success, but the activity will return after the tree lighting, she said.
Camels with people dressed as wise men will be at the library from noon to 3 p.m. There will also be a petting zoo and Santa Claus at the library, she said.
“We hope for the event to be a success,” she said. “It always takes people in the community to put on events”
Day-long activities include caroling elves wandering Main St., recorded music being played by Gene Winkler of MCTV20 and a Christmas storywalk sponsored by the library in downtown windows.
Letters will be delivered to Santa at the library. Elf on the Shelf will be at The Sit Down and a Christmas Village Winter Wonderland sponsored by St. Luke Hospital,will be on display at 420 E. Main St.