ZEELAND, Mich. — Downtown was full of music and cheer on Monday night as a crowd of hundreds of people took to the streets to enjoy Zeeland's Magical Christmas Parade and tree lighting. It felt a lot like Christmas too, with light snow falling and winds whipping at the faces of people as they sipped hot chocolate.
"We've got 80 entries tonight in the Christmas parade, and they're all decked out and ready to show off their stuff, and we're excited for it," said Kerri VanDorp who serves as the events planner for the City of Zeeland.
Even though the parade is now over, the holiday fun has only just begun in Zeeland. On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, the city will host "Feel the Zeel of Christmas" downtown from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
"We encourage people to come downtown. We have horse-drawn trolley rides that take you through our city streets. It's donation-based," VanDorp said.
"Then you can also visit Santa and tell him what you're hoping for. And also you can write him a letter. All the proceeds for the event go to a nonprofit, which this year is Zero Gravity Ministries."
At Monday night's tree lighting, Kevin Klynstra urged people to use "Feel the Zeel of Christmas" as a way to shop local during the holiday season. He says local businesses make events like this possible. VanDorp echoed that sentiment.
"We've got a great amount of retail and food options downtown for people to enjoy, and Zeeland supporting them is what's great. We saw it on Black Friday. We saw it on Small Business Saturday. We'd love to see it throughout the rest of this week and holiday season, because these businesses are what helps make Zeeland such a great place to live," she said.
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