Holiday Parade & Tree Lighting

Saline – Home for the Holidays! A Golden Celebration of Past, Present, and Future
The Saline Area Chamber of Commerce was thrilled to celebrate the community at our 50th Annual Holiday Parade and Tree Lighting Ceremony! This year’s theme, “Saline – Home for the Holidays! A Golden Celebration of Past, Present, and Future,” honored cherished traditions while looking forward to a bright future.
Festivities & Highlights
Cocoa Crawl
Hosted by Saline Main Street, the Cocoa Crawl brought many visitors downtown to enjoy local shops and restaurants.
Tree Lighting Ceremony
The celebration began at 5:00 PM at the corner of Michigan Avenue and N. Ann Arbor Street. The Saline High School Choir filled the air with carols, and Mayor Brian Marl emceed the event. Children decorated the tree, and Dance Alliance gave a special performance.
Grand Marshals
Congratulations to Cindy and Wally MacNeil, beloved owners of Mac’s Acadian Seafood Shack, for over 30 years of service to the Saline community! Special thanks to LaFontaine for providing their parade vehicle.
Sponsors
We are grateful to our Presenting Sponsors H&R Block of Saline and Related Digital, and our Gold Sponsor DTE. Silver and Bronze sponsors were honored with Keys to the City by Trish Reilly, Supervisor of Pittsfield Charter Township, and Janet Dillon, Mayor Pro-Tem. Sponsors included: SBK Orthodontics, ITC Holdings, KeyBank, Invenergy, and Drinkmate.
Special Guests
Miss Saline Madylin Marshall and Court Members Sophie Zadvinskis and Jillian Hayes joined in decorating the tree and selecting winners for the Busch’s raffle.
Busch’s Grocery Raffle Winners
Thanks to Busch’s Fresh Food Market for supporting the parade with a special raffle!
1st Place: Saline Police Department – $1,000 in groceries
2nd Place: Marie Klopf – $500 in groceries
3rd Place: Melissa James – $250 in groceries
4th Place: Carol Osterling – $250 in groceries
Merry Mile Race
Over 135 runners in festive costumes dashed through downtown in great holiday spirit!
Parade Highlights
With 70+ floats and entertainment groups, the parade was co-emceed by Lucy Ann Lance and Annherst Kreitz, who did a fantastic job announcing participants.
Santa’s Visit
Santa greeted children at Clay & Code Shop, creating magical memories and photo opportunities after the parade.
50th Anniversary Special Features
To celebrate this milestone, we introduced exciting contests and activities:
Gold Ribbon Committee: Thank you to Molly Coy-Luempert, Annherst Kreitz, Janet Dillon, Monica VanOvermeer, Rachel Kowalski, Carol Osterling, Marlene Radzik, Trish Reilly, Alex Gates, Lucy Ann Lance, Mary Dettling, Madylin Marshall, and Lisa Bozzi for your involvement in judging the contests and promoting the event.
Logo Design Contest: Congratulations to Cooper Bush (1st Place) and Marlowe Samp (Runner-up) from Saline High School.
Youth Art, Essay & Poetry Contest: Congratulations to students from Saline Area Schools and Washtenaw Christian Academy, including Isabella Ceccarelli, Sophie Roth, Kennedy Lange, Lily Hibdon, Levi Cummings, Griffin Zimmerman, Zoe Chen, Ryan Swisher, Sophie Millward, and Samantha Ivy Endsley!
Golden Ticket Candy Bars: Brooks Zimmerman found the golden ticket from winner Michael Powers and served as Junior Parade Grand Marshal, riding alongside Santa in his sleigh.
Thank You to All Our Sponsors
A heartfelt thank you to all sponsors who made this event possible:
H&R Block of Saline, Related Digital, DTE, SBK Orthodontics, ITC Holdings, KeyBank, Invenergy, Drinkmate, Toyota, Bank of Ann Arbor, Saline Chevrolet, THRIVE! Wellness, Liebherr, MMI, Thomson Reuters, Hungry Howies, Hampton Inn, La-Z-Boy Inc., Standard Printing, Reinhart Realtors, A & H Lawn Care, SAS, True Community Credit Union, Kelly Orthodontics, Al's Water Heater Sales & Service, Robison-Bahnmiller Funeral Home, Saline Briarwood Ford, Mannik & Smith Group, Washtenaw Glass Company, Hartman Insurance, BankSupplies, Anytime Fitness, PrimeOne, and Mancino's Pizza.
Thank you to everyone who joined us in making this 50th Anniversary celebration unforgettable!