The holiday season is upon us! Last weekend saw the annual holiday tree lighting ceremony in downtown Traverse City, tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, and this weekend brings a slew of Christmas season kickoff traditions throughout Leelanau County. The Leelanau Ticker has your guide to those festivities and more.

Glen Arbor

Glen Arbor’s holiday kickoff traditions are all back this weekend, starting with the annual Friday-after-Thanksgiving PJ Party. Local shops like M22 and Coastal open as early as 6am for this “cozy, quieter, fun” twist on Black Friday, with shoppers encouraged to shop deals and enjoy refreshments in their pajamas. Other participating retailers include Cherry Republic, Cottage Book Shop, Inn and Trail Gourmet, and Harbor View Lavender Farm.

Another flagship Black Friday event in Glen Arbor is the annual Bed Parade, now in its seventh year. Scheduled for 9-9:30am, this parade sends a procession of festively-decorated beds down Western Avenue from The Pine Cone to Art’s Tavern. Any and all are invited to join in the parade, with participants instructed to meet by The Pine Cone at 8:45am.

Glen Arbor’s Friday festivities culminate in the village’s annual tree lighting ceremony, scheduled for 6:15pm outside Glen Arbor Town Hall. Attendees are then invited to head inside the town hall for a 6:30-8pm 2024 Glen Arbor Holiday Market “preview party.” Wares on sale will include seasonal décor, art, home goods, jewelry, and more from two-dozen local vendors. The holiday market proper is scheduled for 10am-3pm on Saturday, at the same location.

Also on Saturday, Santa and Mrs. Claus will be on hand at the M22 Wine Patio, offering “festive photo opportunities for all ages.”

Northport/Omena

Christmastime is serious business at the tip of Leelanau County, where the Northport Tree Lighting Committee typically positions more than 50 life-sized nutcrackers throughout Northport and Omena. Those handcrafted nutcrackers have been a holiday tradition in Northport and Omena since 2019. Sadly, they won’t be out this year: According to the Northport Tree Lighting Committee website, the nutcrackers “are in Santa’s Workshop for repairs this year.” They’ll be back – “with new nutcrackers too” – next holiday season.

Other parts of the Northport Tree Lighting Committee’s annual holiday programming are still a go for 2024, though, starting with tree lighting festivities this Saturday.

The day starts with a ticketed Santa and Mrs. Claus brunch fundraiser at Northport Public School from 10am-noon. After, options include a holiday arts and crafts fair at Northport Arts Association & Willowbrook Mill (10am-4pm), gingerbread house making at Northport Creek Golf Clubhouse (10am-5pm), festive calligraphy at the Northport Area Heritage Museum (11am-1pm), wreath-making at Northport Pub & Grill (12:30-2:30pm), a soup cookoff at the Northport Union (1-3pm), snow globe making at the Northport Highlands (2:30-4:30pm), a showing of Arthur Christmas at Northport Public School (3-4:45pm), a Santa beard contest at Find North (4pm), and more.

The day culminates at the Northport tree with a performance by the Northport Community Band and Village Voices (5:30pm), a blessing of the season (5:45pm), Santa’s arrival (5:55pm), and the lighting of the tree (6pm).

A full list of the day’s events can be found here.

Suttons Bay/Lake Leelanau

Legend has it that tonight (Wednesday) is America’s busiest bar night of the year. Northern Latitudes Distillery is embracing the tradition with its second annual “DrinksGiving,” which will offer a $10 menu of soup, bread, cheese, crackers, and cookies from 4-6pm at both tasting room locations. Mocktails and coffee are for designated drivers, while alcoholic beverages, of course, cost extra.

Saturday marks the big holiday kickoff in Suttons Bay. At 1pm, Forget-Me-Not Florist will host a limited centerpiece-making workshop at the VI Grill, with just 15 tickets being sold in total. As of press time, there are still a few tickets left. At 2pm, the Bay Theater will offer a free screening of A Christmas Story. Finally, at 5pm, Santa will arrive in town by fire truck to light up the village tree. Santa will be available for photo ops at the Bay Theater afterwards.

Black Star Farms will get in on the Santa festivities with a “Brunch with Santa” scheduled for Sunday. Tickets for that event are $52 apiece – though kids three and under get in for free – with staggered start times at 9:30am, 10am, 11am, 11:30am, 1pm, and 1:30pm. As of this writing, the 9:30, 11, and 11:30 sessions were already sold out.

Leland

Good news, Lelanders: Despite early concern that the Leland Chamber of Commerce wouldn’t have the funds to put on its annual Light Up Leland celebration, a torrent of generous last-minute donations made sure the event could proceed.

After a day of Black Friday shopping – like Glen Arbor, Leland urges early-bird morning shoppers to wear their pajamas while hunting for discounts at local stores – Light Up Leland will commence at 6pm. Around that time, Santa starts his journey – via fire truck, as is the Leelanau way – from the village’s Christmas Tree Corner to the Old Art Building (OAB), “sparkling the town with lights along the way.”

Speaking of the OAB, Friday marks the start of the nonprofit’s annual “Season of Lights,” with an impressive holiday light display throughout the OAB campus and festive decorations indoors. This weekend is also OAB’s annual holiday market, which runs 4-8pm on Friday and 10am-4pm on Saturday.

Empire

If holiday markets are your speed, Empire has three of them this weekend. The main one is the Empire Artisan Marketplace, which will convene 20 local artisans to sell their wares at Empire Town Hall. The event runs from 10am-4pm on Saturday, with lunch prepared by Leelanau-based caterers Mel&Fel.

Empire’s other holiday markets are a vintage jewelry and used book sale at the Glen Lake Community Library and an artisan holiday market at the Cottonwood Inn Bed & Breakfast, both of which will run during the same 10am-4pm window Saturday.

Cedar

The Cedar Chamber of Commerce will host Light Up Cedar from 3:30-7pm on Black Friday, paid for by proceeds from the Polka Fest. Festivities include Christmas caroling, choo-choo train rides, a 12-foot inflatable slide, a bonfire, and Santa’s arrival via fire truck to light up the town. Photos with Santa will follow at the town hall.

Beyond kickoff weekend

While Thanksgiving weekend always brings the most concentrated burst of holiday cheer in Leelanau County, other festive events will be scattered throughout the month of December. Highlights include:

>An Ugly Sweater Bingo and Community Potluck at Glen Arbor Town Hall on December 3.

>Holiday Lights Hikes at Northport’s Grand Traverse Lighthouse on December 6 and 7.

>A Family Holiday Gathering at the Leland Library on December 11.

>Locals Night in downtown Glen Arbor on December 13.

>The Empire Area Community Center's Annual Holiday Potluck at Empire Township Hall on December 14.

>The Holiday Magic Concert at the Bay Theatre in Suttons Bay, featuring vocalist Miriam Pico and pianist Davis Chown, also on December 14.

>The third annual Christmas at the Old Art Building Variety Show Spectacular, hosted by Andrew Dost, also on December 14.

>A Polish Christmas Dinner at Black Star Farms on December 27.