12-12-2019 Hometown Holiday Happenings

NEW ROYALTY… The 2019 Watervliet Snow Prince and Princess and their courts were crowned on Sunday afternoon just prior to the lighted parade. The court (from the left): Princess 2nd Runner-up Cassandra Riggs; Princess 1st Runner-up Lyvia Summers; Snow Princess Riley Smith; Prince 1st Runner-up Grayson Richards; and Prince 2nd Runner-up Alex Wilder. Missing from the photo is Snow Prince Joshua Sturdevant, Jr. (TCR photo by Annette Christie) See more Hometown Holiday Happenings events and photos on Page 3

PAW PAW LAKE ROTARY donated 30 poinsettias for table decorations at the annual North Berrien Senior Center Christmas luncheon. Shown are Ron Clark, Rotary member, and Deb Pana, Head of Senior Nutrition.

WONDERFUL WINDOW… Live mannequins adorned the windows of Main Street businesses during the Hometown Christmas event this past weekend in Watervliet. From 7:00-8:30 p.m. Saturday night, visitors and residents could stroll the downtown area and enjoy the fun attraction, new to this year’s festivities. This display at Wonderfully Quirky depicted baking in the kitchen as the models stayed oh so still. Wonderfully Quirky went on to win 1st prize for the business decorating contest. (TCR photo by Annette Christie)

FUN FUN FUN… The winners of the Ugly Sweater Contest were announced Sunday night at the Hometown Christmas event in Watervliet this past weekend. David Koshar (left) was the winner of the competition. Parker Lanning (center) and Avery Openneer (right) were jointly selected as the funniest ugly sweater. (TCR photo by Annette Christie)

DECK THE HALLS… These live mannequins trying to decorate the Christmas tree at Tri-County Computer Services might look a little familiar if you have been at a Watervliet sporting event recently that has cheerleaders. The Watervliet High School Cheer squad served at the live mannequin event this weekend as part of the Hometown Christmas Celebration. The event was well attended for its first year as the windows of nine of the downtown businesses had live mannequins. (TCR photo by Annette Christie)

Hometown Holiday Happenings

Holiday Art Hop in Benton Harbor Friday evening

New Territory Arts Association Holiday Art Hop is happening this Friday, Dec. 13, from 6 to 9 p.m. The NTAA Holiday Art Hop features great art, music, food, shops, drinks, fun and friends. Browse the district, meet some cool artists, see fantastic artwork, sample food and drink, visit businesses and enjoy the good the Benton Harbor Arts District offers.

Arts District venues include​ ​Water Street Glassworks​,​ ​The Phoenix Coffeeshop​,​ ​The GhostLight​ Theater,​ 210 Art Space​,​ ​The Livery​,​ ​3 Pillars Music​,​ ​Houndstooth Restaurant​,​ ​The OutCenter​,​ ​The Collective​,​ ​The Hawks Nest​,​ ​and more!

Have breakfast with Santa on Saturday

The Coloma Rod & Gun Club is hosting Breakfast with Santa this Saturday, Dec. 14 from 9 to 11 a.m. at their clubhouse located at 6145 Angling Road in Coloma.

Children age 12 and under eat breakfast for free. There is a cost of $5 for everyone age 13 and over.

Hartford celebrates Christmas on Saturday

The Hartford Annual Christmas Parade and Celebration is Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019. The lighted parade begins at 6 p.m. from the Hartford High School and ends at the Hartford Public Library at 15 Franklin Street.

Santa will be available at the library for free family photos immediately after the parade. Refreshments and goodie bags for children will be given. The library has a Christmas LEGO village on display for celebration attendees to view.

Other activities include a raffle for four $50 gift certificates for Harding’s. The library is raffling a Viszo 60-inch TV for $1.00 a ticket or 6 for $5.00.

The event is a community collaboration by the Hartford Public Library, the Hartford Lion’s Club and the Hartford Area Chamber of Commerce.

South Haven American Legion holding Christmas Party for children on Sunday

The American Legion family at Post 49 in South Haven is having a Community Children’s Christmas Party this Sunday, Dec. 15 from 1 to 3 in the afternoon. The event is open to the public.

There will be fun, food, crafts and a visit from Santa!

American Legion Post 49 is located at 129 Michigan Avenue in South Haven.

Santa visits Coloma Dec. 19

The Coloma Watervliet Area Chamber of Commerce has a busy day planned for Thursday, Dec. 19. Santa will be at Coloma Township Hall from 6:00–8:00 p.m. and there will be cookie decorating, barrel train rides, cocoa, and candy canes.

Toys for Tots drop box at Arclight Brewing Co.

Arclight Brewing Company on Main Street in Watervliet is collecting new unwrapped toys for the Toys for Tots program thru the end of this week. Anyone is welcome to donate a toy or make a monetary donation to help spread Christmas cheer to local children in need.

VFW Post 1137 annual Needy Family Christmas Drive

Watervliet VFW Post 1137 located at 8777 Red Arrow Hwy. in Watervliet is accepting donations to their annual Needy Family program to assist families in the Coloma, Hartford and Watervliet area for the Christmas season. Items needed are canned goods, non-perishable food items and monetary gifts. For any questions, please call Corky Openneer at 269-944-9501.

Collections are needed in time for a December 22 delivery. Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

There is still time to enter Watervliet’s Best Lighted House Contest

Watervliet’s Best Lighted House contest is sponsored by the City of Watervliet. It runs through December 21, 2019. Residents in both the city and township of Watervliet may enter to win!

To enter, participants must make ONE post with photo and/or video of their Christmas display on the Watervliet’s Best Lighted House Facebook event page. Then send the street address via Facebook Messenger to Katie Ann Muth so authenticity can be verified. Please do NOT post the address with the photo.

Entries can be made anytime up to Saturday, Dec. 21.

Once the entry has been posted, share the event and post with all your Facebook friends. Be sure to “invite” friends and ask them to vote for your house on the event page. The posts with the most “likes” will be eligible to win.

At noon on Dec. 21, “Likes” will be counted on the event page ONLY. Prizes for this contest are 1st place: $100 cash; 2nd place: $50 gift card; and 3rd place: $25 cash.

To see more information about the prizes and to view the other contestants’ entries, be sure to RSVP on the event page as “going”.

Watervliet Free Methodist Christmas programs

On Sunday, December 22 during morning worship beginning at 10:30 a.m. the Childrens Department of Watervliet Free Methodist Church is presenting a Christmas program titled Simple Words, Amazing Story with a performance by the Children’s Bell Choir. Everyone is welcome.

Capping the Christmas season, on Tuesday, Dec. 24 at 6:00 p.m., the public is invited for Christmas Eve Candle Light Communion. A short message will be delivered and special music performed along with the serving of communion to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the reason for the season.

Watervliet Free Methodist Church is located 7734 Paw Paw Avenue.

Christmas Eve Service at

Plymouth Congregational

The public is invited to participate in a Candlelight Christmas Eve service on December 24, at 6:00 p.m., at Plymouth Congregational Church in Watervliet. There will be singing of Advent songs and a short devotional about the true meaning of the Christmas celebration. Everyone is welcome to come. The service usually ends with the singing of the traditional “Silent Night”, a cappella by candlelight.