This year’s kick-off event for Toys for Tots of Northwest Michigan will begin at noon Saturday, Nov. 18, at Great Wolf Lodge with Santa arriving via a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, weather permitting. The event will run until Santa departs at 2pm. Children will have a chance to visit with Santa, get involved in children’s activities, enjoy refreshments, check out police and fire displays and sing Christmas carols.

The event is free, but those who bring a toy donation can receive a water park pass to Great Wolf Lodge and register to win a variety of door prizes. “The kick-off is always a great start to the Christmas season,” says campaign coordinator Maggie Kent. “It’s our way to ask the public to think about families who have no idea how they can afford Christmas gifts when they struggle every day just to pay their regular bills.” Kent expects to once again need to collect over 23,000 toys starting now and wrapping up when the campaign concludes on December 15.

Also mark your calendar for a special Toys for Tots event on Wednesday, Dec. 6 when, for the first time ever, The Ticker will join with the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce for a very special combined Recess and Business After Hours holiday event.

The special Recess of Giving will take place in the Fox Grand Traverse showroom from 5pm to 7pm. Guests will enjoy food, drinks, and a chance to win great prizes. Admission to this special Recess event - which is open to the public - is either $10 or a new, unwrapped toy. All admission proceeds and donations will benefit Toys for Tots.

Toys for Tots of Northwest Michigan recently received an award as the top Toys For Tots in the region covering five Midwestern states and 140 campaigns. The toys collected for the campaign are distributed through 14 human service agencies in the five-county area. Over 100 drop-off locations will be set up around the region, with most of them identified through red and white drop off signs.