Gladys Pope of St. Ignace puts the final touches on her "Snow Village" collection, which will be displayed Friday, December 4, as a part of the St. Ignace Christmas festivities. The pieces of the set, which she has been collecting since the early 1990s, now number more than 200, some of which have never been out of the box. The collection, on display at the Great Waters Center at the intersection of Truckey and State streets, took Mrs. Pope and other volunteers several weeks to get set up to wow crowds this weekend. A tree lighting ceremony and Santa Claus visit are also planned downtown Friday. All around St. Ignace, people are pulling Christmas decorations out of their attics and mustering their yule-tide spirit for the approaching holidays. That spirit may come in the form of a donation drive, the traditional downtown tree lighting, caroling, or the festively colored lights along the cables of the Mackinac Bridge welcoming all to the Upper Peninsula.

Beginning holiday festivities Friday, December 4, will be the city's Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the public marina at 6 p.m. Santa Claus will ride on a St. Ignace fire truck from City Hall to the marina to light the tree and receive a key to the city.

The annual parade that has preceded the tree lighting will not take place this year. Owing to a lack of interest, Chamber of Commerce Director Janet Peterson said, organizers decided not to include the parade.

After the tree lighting, all are invited to "Santaland" at The Pavillion stores on State Street, where children can pose for photographs with Santa and the children's choir will perform.

At the Great Waters building on the corner of Truckey and State Streets, an open house starting at 5 p.m. will show off Gladys Pope's miniature Christmas village, which contains more than 200 pieces.

Allied EMS will have an ambulance in the First National Bank parking lot at 6 p.m. Friday for an open house. The Colonial House Bed and Breakfast, housed in a historic home on State Street, will hold an open house from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, as well.

St. Ignace City Hall will host a mailbox accepting letters to Santa until Wednesday, December 16. Letter writers are asked to include a self-addressed, stamped envelope if they want a personal reply from Santa Claus.

About 25 area businesses are taking part in the annual shopping spree this year, with a twist that asks shoppers to bring in at least one non-perishable food item to donate to those in need. All shoppers bringing in donations will be entered in a drawing to win a $500 shopping spree, funded through the St. Ignace Business Association. The contest will continue through Monday, December 14.