SPRING LAKE, Mich. — Spring Lake will soon be turned into a holiday wonderland with more than 120,000 lights as the lakeshore town hosts the second annual Spring Lake Sparkle.
Organizers are excited for the new additions to the event and say it will be an experience unlike anything people have seen before.
"It's a celebration of all things Spring Lake, through Christmas," said Robert Lopez, Executive Director for Lilley Cares, the non-profit in Spring Lake that creates charitable events to bring the community closer together.
"We're trying to create a little Christmas wonderland in our town," said Patrick Roggenbau, Lilley Cares' president.
And they thought what better way to do that than with more than a month of free holiday celebrations.
"We're going to really showcase our town with the lights, the decorations, the shops and the restaurants," said Lopez.
"We hope this becomes something that the people of Spring Lake can be proud of, and that defines their town a little bit," added Roggenbau.
Spring Lake Sparkle started last year, and was a huge success even during the pandemic.
But this year they've added even more things to do, like a Christmas pop-up shop in the middle of town.
"The shop has been all sourced from vintage stores, and it's going to all be vintage Christmas," said Lopez.
Across the street, Stan's Bar will be transformed into Santa's Workshop with more than 20,000 lights.
"There is no place on earth that is going to look like Stan's," Lopez said, "it will take your breath away."
Down the road, you can catch any of the six nights of free concerts at Seven Steps Up that all present children from the local Tri-City schools.
There will also be the option for kids to visit Santa free of charge. Just click here to find the sign-up sheet. But Robert Lopez wants to make sure everyone gets the chance to see Santa if they want, so this year they are offering special services to anyone with disabilities.
"If any parent has a child that is disabled, in a wheelchair, or has any kind of disability that requires quiet spaces or very few people, we can arrange that," he said. All you need to do is email him at robert@lilleycares.com.
"There's going to be bands, singers, ensembles, classical music, jazz, Christmas music," said Lopez. "All kinds of stuff!"
And the best part, said Lopez? It's all unique.
"Spring Lake Sparkle is one-of-a-kind, because it's not necessarily commercially driven," said Roggenbau, "it's something to give back to the community."
Robert Lopez said he's been working on the Christmas props since July, in his basement.
"They're all handmade, so they're all a little quirky and really have a lot of charm," he said.
"The whole idea of Spring Lake Sparkle is to get a whole other level of experience within the town," added Lopez, "and for people to leave here going 'I have never experienced something like that.'"
Spring Lake Sparkle opens the day after Thanksgiving on Nov. 26 and runs through Jan. 3.
The pop-up Christmas shop opens in the middle of next week.
You can find a full list of events, times, and dates by clicking here.
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