By Logan Miller, staff reporter.
The Bay City community is very proud of their annual Christmas traditions. There are a few mall Santas, some novel downtown shops, and tons of street decorations. Bay City fully commits to the final month of the year, so there are plenty of activities around town.
On Friday, Nov. 25, Santa and Mrs. Claus officially arrive in Bay City. The Claus’ will be at Wenonah Park at 7 p.m. for a special performance. Afterwards, the Claus family will be having a meet-and-greet with kids at the Delta Planetarium.
During Nov. 13, 20, and 27, downtown shops and eateries will be showcasing themselves to holiday shoppers. Grab some holiday decorations, free horse-drawn carriage rides, and strolling carolers. There are some very popular small-business shops downtown, such as Gourmet Cupcake Shoppe, My Secret Garden, and St. Laurent Brothers, a candy shop that has been around since 1904.
The Bay County Civic Arena offers public skating, drop-in hockey and figure skating. Regular skate is 5 dollars for general admission. Their hours are 7 p.m. to 8:20 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays as well as 2:30 to 3:50 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. For figure skating, it costs 3 dollars per pair and an additional 2 dollars for a helmet. There are camps and birthday parties available as well.
Locals can go out and watch some holiday shows at the State Theatre, located downtown Bay City. Simply Christmas, featuring Adam Prime, a show that plays multiple times throughout December, can only be purchased by reserving seats. Each ticket costs 25-35 dollars per person, depending on the seat.
The State Theatre is also presenting “Cole in your Stocking” featuring Kevin Cole, priced at $12 for students/children and 17-22 dollars for adults. The State Theatre will be showing movie double features, entitled Sundays in the City, on Dec. 18. The films on the slate include A Christmas Story and The Polar Express.
Holiday Harmonies by the Sweet Adelines will be performing on Dec. 10 at 3 p.m., $15 for general admission. On Sat. Dec. 17, Holiday and jazz music with guitarist Patrick Yandall plays, with a general admission price of 22 dollars or 12 dollars for students 18 and under.
Skiing is always a good way to spend some time during the winter season. There are quite a few places to visit across Michigan, like Apple Mountain and Boyne Mountain Resort. Apple Mountain has fair prices at 25-27 dollars for a lift pass from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 30-35 dollars for a full day pass, depending on the day of the week.
The Bay City Antiques Center, located downtown at 1020 North Water Street, is the largest antique mart in the state of Michigan. It’s a great place to spend an afternoon looking for unique, historical items for yourself or as Christmas presents for friends or family.
From Star Wars figures made in the 70s to vintage decorative dishes, the market has a ton of variety. The Bay City Antiques Center, in particular, was voted “best antique mall” by AAA, a motor club and travel organization.