Attendees of the 2018 Marquette city tree lighting gather around the tree at the Marquette Commons. This year, the ninth annual Marquette Winter Snow Fun Holiday Parade will be held downtown Marquette Friday night, followed by the 45th annual lighting of the city tree and visits with Santa at the Marquette Commons. (Journal file photo)

MARQUETTE — As snow falls, wish lists are made, trees are decorated and snow men are built, it’s a sure sign that the time for holiday festivities has arrived in the Marquette area.

To celebrate the season, the ninth annual Marquette Winter Snow Fun Holiday Parade will be held downtown Marquette Friday night, followed by the 45th annual lighting of the city tree and visits with Santa at the Marquette Commons.

With Santa Claus and around 20 “festive holiday floats” spreading cheer downtown during the event, the “Winter Snow Fun Holiday Parade is a great way to kick off the holiday season,” said Tara Laase-McKinney, promotions and events coordinator for the Marquette Downtown Development Authority.

The parade starts at 6 p.m. Friday at the corner of North Third Street and Fair Avenue and ends at the Marquette Commons at 112 S. Third St., where the city tree lighting will take place at 7 p.m., organizers said.

For the parade, area residents are encouraged to “bundle up with friends and family as illuminated floats, tinsel-strewn trucks and colorful carolers transform Third Street into a magical scene from the North Pole,” according to the MDDA.

Parade attendees will also have a chance to get their letters out to Santa, as staff from the Marquette Post Office will lend a “helping hand to Santa’s elves by collecting children’s letters to Santa along the Holiday Parade route,” organizers said.

For those looking for the perfect parade viewing spot, Laase-McKinney has a tip: “Spectators can set up anywhere along N. Third St., but one of the best places to view the parade is on Third St. between Bluff St. and Main St. This is just before the parade floats get to the Commons and the end of the parade, and it’s easy to see the floats as they make their way down the hill.”

After the parade, “spectators are welcomed to the Marquette Commons where Santa Claus and friends will light up” downtown at the tree lighting, according to the MDDA. Festivities will include a performance by the Marquette Senior High School Redmen Chorale, pony rides, and photos with Santa Claus.

Visit www.downtownmarquette.org/holiday-parade-tree-lighting for more information.

Cecilia Brown can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 248.