AROUND-TOWN

Light Up Parade draws hundreds to downtown

Corey Murray
Hillsdale Daily News
Santa arrived in an unconventional sleigh...sitting atop the Hillsdale City Fire Department's ladder truck bringing up the rear of the parade.

HILLSDALE — The Light Up Parade presented by the Hillsdale Business Association continues to grow in popularity.

On Saturday, Dec. 3, downtown Hillsdale was transformed into a Christmas wonderland as the sound of carrolling filled the brisk winter air minutes before the annual Light Up Parade began at the Mid-Town Parking Lot.

This year's parade followed a relatively new Christmas celebration in Hillsdale: Christmas in the City. The earlier event aimed to draw in people to downtown businesses for hyper-local shopping ahead of the Holiday season.

The parade made its way down Howell Street in downtown Hillsdale as crowds lined the streets.

The Studio 55 School of Dance students brought a new layer to the Light Up Parade as dance students made their way through downtown Hillsdale performing a semi-choregraphed dance along the route.

As in years past, Santa sat perched atop the Hillsdale City Fire Department's ladder truck and brought up the rear of the parade, waiving to hundreds of kids who lined the streets braving the cold winter's air for a glimpse of St. Nick.

— Corey Murray is the Public Safety Reporter for The Hillsdale Daily News, Sturgis Journal and The Daily Reporter. Contact him by email atcmurray@hillsdale.net or follow him on Twitter: @cmurrayHDN.