MUSKEGON, Mich. — As a crowd of people waited outside the Frauenthal Center to see the singing Christmas tree, they marveled at the holiday cheer that lay before them at the traffic circle on W Western Avenue downtown.
This holiday season, a group called Lakeshore Legacy Project worked with local businesses and organizations to raise money to put up extra holiday lights on Western from 1st to 5th streets.
"We've had lights on the poles for years, and it's always looks really elegant and nice. This is just kind of a step up to make it more exciting and something fun to look at," said city manager Jonathan Seyferth.
"This past week when the snow fell, it was beautiful. And it's still beautiful, even though the snow kind of melted the day, but it's just a really cool atmosphere as you're driving up Western."
When the lights were first put up, they were blinking, but after hearing from the community that the blinking lights were distracting, the city decided to switch them to solid colors. Seyferth says he's heard nothing but positive feedback since then.
The city is also proud of the light display at Hackley Park, which was put up by the Parks and Recreation Department. They're happy about how much excitement the two displays are generating.
"This is a really great opportunity to showcase downtown Muskegon and Western Avenue. We've really gotten through a transformation over the past 10 to 15 years, for folks who haven't been in Muskegon in a long time," Seyferth said.
"If you come down and take a look at all the businesses and restaurants and events that we have going on down here, there's just a lot of energy and a really cool vibe that is going on here in Muskegon."
Through the end of December, Muskegon will be hosting "Holidays in the City," which encourages people to come out and support local businesses in the downtown area.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Watch 13 ON YOUR SIDE for free on Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, and on your phone.