Winter Fest offers free Animal Magic shows, parade, Santa, fireworks

This is Winter Fest week end in Belleville and Santa comes to town on a Sumpter Township fire truck at the end of Saturday’s 6 p.m. parade of lights. Santa is due to arrive at Belleville High School by helicopter to get on his fire truck for his ride downtown.
On Friday, Dec. 2, there is a free performance of Nickelodeon Kids Award winner Mark Rosenthal with his Animal Magic show at 6 p.m. followed by the Irish music of The Codgers at 8. All of this in the Fourth Street Square tent.
On Saturday, Dec. 3, the ice sculptures will be in place, having arrived overnight to deck the main street of Belleville.
The Youth Group at First United Methodist Church of Belleville downtown is offering an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for $5 each, with all funds going to the youth group.
The festivities kick off with the Jingle Bell 5K Run/Walk and Kids 1K with registration at 8:30 a.m. The kids run starts at 9:45 a.m. and the 5K starts at 10 a.m. Animal Magic follows up with a free performance at noon in the Fourth Street Square tent.
Then at 2 p.m. there is a Soup Crawl held in the in the Fourth Street Square tent followed by a wine tasting event held at Garden Fantasy on Main sponsored by Vitner’s Winery at 3:30 p.m. Horse and carriage rides start at 3 p.m. and run to 5:30 p.m.
The Kids Zone has a bounce house sponsored by Van Buren Steel and crafts for the youngsters brought by the Belleville Area Council for the Arts.
This year’s Grand Marshal of the parade is Pete Kudlak, Superintendent of Van Buren Public Schools, who is filling in for retired Lt.-Col. Charles S. Kettles, a Medal of Honor winner who had a stroke and is unable to be honored in the parade.
There is a scheduled meet and greet with School Supt. Kudlak at 4:30 p.m. at the Bayou Grill.
After Santa arrives and gets the key to the city, he will light the Christmas tree in front of the museum, and then Santa will sit down to talk to the children.
Also, after the parade, the annual Living Nativity scene will be open at First United Methodist Church, corner of Roys and Charles streets.
The day comes to a close at 8 p.m. with a fireworks display over Belleville Lake.
Admission to Winter Fest is free. Some off the events do have fees.
Winter Fest is sponsored by Meijer, Atchinson Ford, Wayne County Community College District, US Ecol-ogy, the Belleville Yacht Club, Jack Demmer Ford, 94.7 WCSX, the Belleville DDA, Sugar Plum Candy Shoppe, Garden Fantasy on Main, Our Father’s Child, Van Buren Steel, Randy Brown Landscaping, and the Belleville Area Chamber of Commerce.