It’s that time of year again.
The city of East Lansing and the East Lansing Merchants Group celebrated the holiday season by hosting the 10th annual Winter Festival and Chili Cook-Off on Sunday in a variety of locations throughout the downtown area.
Ami Field, East Lansing community events coordinator, said she loves hosting this event because it brings people of all ages from the community together.
“This is an event to bring people together for the holiday season and to help East Lansing businesses by increasing foot traffic,” Field said. “I think it’s a time for everyone to have an opportunity to meet people from the community and have some fun.
“All together I’d say about 350 to 400 people come through.”
An array of family activities like face-painting, a holiday fashion show, paper snowflake making and baking holiday cookies took place in downtown businesses as horse and carriage rides and a Capital Area Transportation Authority antique trolley took holiday shoppers to and fro.
Nine-year-old East Lansing resident Abbey Brown said she had a great time at the winter festival.
“My favorite part was making stuff,” she said, holding her ornamental bead necklace and pointing gleefully at the snowman painted on her cheek.
“I tried the chili, but it was too hot,” Brown said. “But I really liked the music they had there.”
Eight area businesses participated in the chili cook-off inside the Marriott East Lansing University Place, 300 M.A.C. Ave., as patrons young and old swayed to the rhythmic beats of the local band Mystic Shake.
A group of community judges and patrons rated the chili offerings in two separate categories.
The judges’ choice gave Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers first prize, Bistro 43 second and Harrison Roadhouse third.
The people’s choice went to Wendy’s and Bistro 43, a tie for first place. Harper’s Restaurant & Brew Pub received second place and third went to Harrison Roadhouse.
Santa and Mrs. Claus listened to holiday wish lists inside the Marriott lobby and outside Dave Aldrich brought two reindeer - one white and one brown - from his Reindeer petting zoo in Williamston for children to pet and learn about.
Erika Heston, an 8-year-old Haslett resident, enjoyed the reindeer with her younger brother Shane.
“I like the reindeer because I just like animals,” Heston said. “The white one is only one of five in the country.
“He’s pretty cool.”
Haslett resident Gale Bennington brought her 3-year-old daughter Rachel to the holiday event.
“I think it’s great that they have such fun activities for the children,” Bennington said. “We’ve been in stores we haven’t been into in years and we found some stores that we didn’t even know existed.”
The holiday extravaganza came to an end as a crowd of nearly 75 people sang along with a traditional Scottish bagpipe rendition of “Jingle Bells” and watched event coordinators light the holiday tree on the corner of Albert Avenue and Abbott Road.
