From Halloween To New Year’s, 2021 Holiday Season Marks Return Of In-Person Events

From Halloween to New Year’s, in-person events are making a major comeback following a slew of cancellations in 2020. The Ticker has your guide to major events coming up this holiday season, kicking off with trick-or-treating and other Halloween events this weekend to the Iceman Cometh and Turkey Trot races in November to holiday shopping, a light parade, Santa’s arrival, and the CherryT Ball Drop downtown in November and December.

Halloween
When even Dr. Anthony Fauci says trick-or-treating is a go, it’s time to pull out the costumes and bowls of candy. The Governmental Center will hold a community trick-or-treat event at 400 Boardman Avenue today (Friday) from 3pm-5pm. That will be followed Saturday by the Downtown Halloween Walk in downtown Traverse City, which was cancelled in 2020. Participating stores and restaurants will hand out candy from 10am-11:30am Saturday (hint: look for signs featuring a cat displayed in the windows of participating merchants). Official trick-or-treat hours for neighborhoods throughout the City of Traverse City, meanwhile, are set for Sunday from 5pm-8pm.

Several other Halloween options are also on deck for this weekend. After going virtual in 2020, the Traverse City Zombie Run will be back in person Saturday at 9am at Right Brain Brewery. The 5K run/walk awards both race and best costume medals, with leashed dogs allowed. Late registration after October 28 is $35 for adults 18 and up and $25 for ages 17 and under. All proceeds from the event benefit TART Trails. On Saturday night, Jacob’s Farm will host “Funkoween,” a free Halloween concert from 6-10pm, and “Thriller Night,” a spooky but kid-friendly haunted corn maze from 7pm-9pm. Maze tickets can be purchased in advance. In Slabtown, Traverse City resident Nate Taylor has constructed a sprawling haunted Halloween display in his yard at 315 Spruce Street called “The Dead Ends on Spruce.” The display is available for viewing from sundown to 10:30pm through Halloween.

November Races: Iceman Cometh & Turkey Trot
Two popular local races are returning in-person this year after either going virtual or being cancelled in 2020. The Bell’s Iceman Cometh Challenge will take place November 6 between Kalkaska Airport and Timber Ridge Resort. The event has already sold out its 5,000 slots across three races: Iceman, Slush Cup, and Sno-Cone. Kat Paye of The Festival Foundation, the National Cherry Festival nonprofit division that manages the race, says masks will not be required outdoors – riders will depart the starting line in waves – but will be required on all transportation shuttles and at indoor events, including the Ice Cycle Expo at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa. “That’s one of the biggest things we’ve changed,” she says. “Typically we’ve had 90 vendors (at the Expo), and this year we have 45. They are spaced out in the Governors’ Hall. That’s where all 5,000 riders come to pick up their packets, so we wanted to make sure it’s properly spaced out.” The event benefits The Festival Foundation and several local nonprofits including the Timber Ridge Foundation, which benefits from beer sales.

After switching to a virtual race last year, the Up North Media Traverse City Turkey Trot will return in person as a Thanksgiving morning tradition for 2021. The 5K run/walk will take place November 25 at 9am in downtown Traverse City, with adults and children, dogs on leashes, and strollers all welcome to participate. The Turkey Trot also offers a 5 Mile Flier option and a Virtual 5K run/walk this year. Early registration prices expire Sunday at 11:59pm; prices increase on November 1 and again on November 25. Children under 3 in a stroller are free. Proceeds will benefit TART Trails and The Festival Foundation.

Downtown Holiday Events
Downtown Traverse City was quiet over the holidays in 2020, with most in-person events cancelled – but almost all of those events are returning this year to spread some holiday cheer. The Downtown Traverse City Association (DTCA) will host Shop Your Community Day on November 13, with over 60 merchants signed up to participate so far. Customers purchasing items at any participating merchant can choose one of 30 eligible local nonprofits to support, with 15 percent of their purchase going to their charity of choice. “We had an overwhelming number of nonprofits apply this year, which shows there is a need for giving this season,” says DDA Director of Community Development Katy McCain.

The next major DTCA event will take place on November 20 with the return of the Light Parade. For the first time this year, businesses as well as nonprofits will participate in the parade, with 30 organizations entering floats and vehicles decorated with at least 2,000 lights each. The evening will kick off with music around the downtown Christmas Tree at the intersection of Cass and Front Street at 5:30pm, followed by a tree lighting ceremony led by Santa and the mayor of Traverse City at 6pm. The Light Parade will then leave from F&M Park at 6:30pm, making its way all along Front Street to Union Street. While the event would normally kick off visitation hours for the season at Santa’s House downtown, for COVID-related reasons Santa won’t be in his house this year. However, McCain says the DTCA is working with the local firefighters union to coordinate weekly rides with Santa on an antique firetruck through the city the first three Fridays in December. 

While retailers could face challenges this holiday season due to global supply chain issues, the DTCA will hold multiple shopping events to support local merchants and encourage buying local. Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday will take place over the weekend of November 26-30. After being cancelled last year, Ladies’ Night will also return on December 9, while Men’s Night will take place December 16. The evenings traditionally offer a range of events, sales discounts, appetizers, beverages, and games at participating downtown merchants.

Finally, The Festival Foundation will help close out 2021 and ring in 2022 with the in-person return of the CherryT Ball Drop in downtown Traverse City on New Year’s Eve. In recent past years, the giant bedazzled cherry has dropped at the intersection of Park and Front streets (in 2020, it was dropped at Turtle Creek Stadium and livestreamed to an at-home audience). Paye says this year, The Festival Foundation is “coordinating with the City of Traverse City on the best location” to hold the drop downtown. “We’re trying to work around some construction,” she says, “but we plan to have it downtown.” Mawby will once again be selling a special Ball Drop Bubbly this year to benefit The Festival Foundation, and suggested cash donations at the door of the CherryT Ball Drop will benefit Food Rescue.