By Sue Moore
The annual Christmas Walk in Schoolcraft will proceed this year Friday and Saturday, December 4 and 5, under the reins of Beth Pulsipher, a vendor at the Schoolcraft Antique Mall.
The themes will be familiar, with the participating businesses and churches open on Friday night from 5 or 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. then reopening Saturday at 10 a.m. The Schoolcraft Antique Mall will be having a special once-a-year sale during the Christmas Walk, with everything in the store on sale with 10-50 percent off.
The businesses and churches participating this year include the following:
• Schoolcraft Antique Mall
• Abby’s Antiques
• Loving Ewe Antiques
• Kalamazoo County State Bank
• Schoolcraft Ladies Library
• First Presbyterian Church
• Schoolcraft United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church on Grand Street will be open from 5-7 p.m. with a sloppy joe and pie supper, and from 5-9 p.m. a bake sale, craft sale, silent auction, and white elephant sale. On Saturday the church’s doors will be open from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. with a bake sale, craft sale, silent auction, white elephant sale, cookie walk and homemade soup luncheon from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
The Schoolcraft Ladies Library annual Christmas Bazaar will be held at the historic Ladies Library building at 163 Hayward Street. The doors will be open Friday from 6-9 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The public is invited for a cup of hot cider and homemade cookies. They plan a shopper’s delight with crafts galore and old fashioned plates of cookies and baked goods to purchase.
The First Presbyterian Church will participate again this year in Schoolcraft’s Christmas Walk. Its downtown location at DeVries Law office on Grand Street will be open from 6-9 p.m. Friday evening only. It will have craft items, bake goods, face-painting and raffle tickets available for a drawing on Saturday. Westminster Hall on E. Cass Street will be open on Saturday from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Lunch will be available from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Pasties and chicken and biscuits will be served. There will also be a clothing boutique and attic treasures consisting of gently used clothing and household items. Handmade crafts, a bake sale and raffle round out the bazaar.
Pulsipher wants people to mark their calendars for the first weekend in December. “The public is encouraged to come out and enjoy this wonderful community event,” she said.
The weekend event’s founder, Norma Tackett, passed away in the fall of 2013. She was instrumental in bringing the Walk to the community when she opened Norma’s Antiques on Grand Street, some 26 years ago. Last year, Mike Gilpin of Annie’s Thrifts-N-Gifts organized the event.