Presque Isle expands its Olde Fashioned Christmas

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor

Presque Isle is becoming a holiday destination the first weekend of December. The Presque Isle Women?s Club will be conducting their 3rd annual Olde Fashioned Community Christmas Saturday and Sunday and it is expected to be bigger and better than ever. Area residents have come to enjoy horse drawn wagon rides around New Presque Isle Lighthouse Park, the historically decorated 1905 Keeper?s House and sipping warm refreshments with Santa.

That?s only a tip of the iceberg this year, as there are additional activities throughout the community of Presque Isle. According to one of the committee members Sharon Paltelky, the Presque Isle Township board, particularly supervisor Patrick Pokorski, asked club members if they were interested in spearheading an expansion that would include more locations in the township.

?We went to work to involve many organizations in our community,? said Paltelky. And they got many groups and organizations involved. ?Both fire departments are involved,? she said. ?The East Grand Lake Fire Department will have a chili cook off and the Grand Lake Fire Department will be bringing in Santa on a fire truck.? The firemen will be competing in the cook off Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Chili and hot dogs will be served with a good will offering being accepted. Visitors to the fire hall will vote for their favorite.

THE GRAND Lake Chapel will be hosting a homemade soup and salad luncheon Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The church?s bell choir will perform from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., while the New Day Singers will entertain starting at 2 p.m. On Sunday, the Bifocals will be performing at Garrity Hall at New Lighthouse Park. At the Presque Isle District Library, a musical puppet show will be put on Saturday from 11 a.m. to noon, as well as 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. The Presque

Isle Harbor Association will be the place for children?s activities, but a must stop Saturday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. ?There will be a live Candy Land game going on,? said Paltelky. ?Some of us have worked for weeks and weeks (to create it). You will walk into this room and literally see the Candy Land game with gumdrops, a peppermint forest and 8-foot tall ginger bread houses. They are not built out of ginger bread, but they are decorated with real candy. There are eight of those in the ginger bread village.? Mrs. Claus will be reading stories and there will be pictures with Santa, after he arrives at 3:30 p.m.

ADDITIONALLY, THERE will 18 vendors at the arts and craft holiday bazaar at the township hall. The hours are Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday noon to 4 p.m. Weather permitting, the lighthouse will be open for climbs to the tower. ?There?s nothing here that includes a mandatory cost,? said Paltelky. ?Some places are asking for donations for the soup and chili, but we don?t want anyone to not come because they think there is a cost involved.? She added that there will be plenty of signs posted and brochures available to guide people around.