Downtown St Joseph to be filled with holiday cheer on the merry & bright weekend of December 2-4

ST JOSEPH, Mich. --During November and December, downtown St. Joseph festive events invite Southwest Michigan community to celebrate the season, where getting in the holiday spirit is easy.

Friday, December 2 at 6:00 p.m., the St. Joseph High School Choir will begin with Christmas carols, followed by tree lighting at 6:30 p.m., with the holiday lights viewable daily between 5:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.-12:00 a.m. through February 15.

The display will be sponsored by the St. Joseph Improvement Association in partnership with the City of St. Joseph, for which you can learn more information by calling (269) 983-5541.

After the tree lighting, visitor can enjoy Window Wonderland downtown and downtown storefronts will participate in the window decorating contest from 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m., which attendees can vote for their favorite window at stjoetoday.com/vote from 7:00 p.m. Friday, December 2 to 11:59 p.m. Sunday, December 4.

The annual Fanny Mae Memorial Reindog Parade returns at 3:00 p.m. to downtown St. Joseph on Saturday, December 3, sponsored by Edward J. Todd, FuzzyButz and Maytag, featuring dressed-up pets with their owners in a variety of holiday garb.

Located in downtown St. Joseph, you can register for this event at stjoetoday.com/reindog, with costs of $5 per dog and $3 for each additional pet, with a portion of the net proceeds being donated to local animal rescue organization.

Kids can give Santa their wish lists until 7:00 p.m. after the parade, with Santa's House part of the Santa Series sponsored by The Herald Palladium, moved from the North Pole every year to the corner of Pleasant & State Streets in downtown St. Joseph.

Santa will be available for holiday photo ops and wish list conversations weekends in December, with hours on Thursdays and Fridays 4:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m., Saturdays 12:00p.m.-5:00 p.m. and Sundays 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m., with special hours offered December 21, 22 and 23 from 12:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m., and don't forget a camera to capture the magic.

Attendees can grab postcards from the Welcome Center to write to Santa and hand it to the big man in red himself or use the drop box at Santa's House, and Mrs. Claus offered to read some of her favorite holiday books during Storytime with Mrs. Claus. Weekly videos will be released by St. Joseph at stjoetoday.com/santa on December 6,13 and 20.

St. Joe wraps up the Merry & Bright Weekend Sunday with an indoor Holiday Artisan Fair featuring local artisans, held from 12:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. Sunday, December 4 at Union + Social in downtown St. Joseph, at $5/person, and you can find more information at stjoetoday.com/artisanfair.

St. Joe Today, SWMI businesses and restaurants host Countdown to New Year, a daily giveaway event throughout the month of December, which shoppers can earn one entry per $25 purchase at St. Joe Today member business.

All of the lights will stay up through February in conjunction with the Light up the Bluff, December 3 through February 15.

To find out more about the Merry & Bright Weekend, visit stjoetoday.com/merryandbright.

To find out more information on upcoming events and details, call St. Joe Today at (269) 985-1111 or visit stjoetoday.com.