SN 12-4-2021

Page 2/The Sun and News, Saturday, December 4, 2021

Lindsey will speak and intro-

duce Santa, and the village

Christmas tree will be lit.

There will be eight fire pits

spread out around the down-

town area “for people to warm

themselves and create a warm

atmosphere,” Thornton said.

Many downtown busi-

nesses will be open, includ-

ing Fricano’s, Brink’s Ice

Cream Express, the Family

Tavern and Caledonia

Farmers Elevator. The Vault

will host cookie decorating

for kids, and downtown mer-

chants and residents will host

a “wishing tree” in the space

next to Fricano’s, with the

wishes to be hung on a tree in

front of the Family Tavern.

The Masonic Lodge will

offer warm beverages.

there for the customer and
brewed fresh,” Whitney said.
There also are the usual
food items, such as sand-
wiches and sweet treats,
including cinnamon rolls and
cookies. 
Sam DeHaan is the Meijer
Express store team leader.
“We’re just glad to be a part
of the community now, and
we look forward to partnering
with everybody around us, all
of the customers that come in.
We’re very proud to be able
to open this level of a busi-
ness, with all of the offerings
we have,” DeHaan said.
Jay Mahabir is the store’s
owner and market director
for Meijer Express in Grand
Rapids.  “Jay is responsible
for leading the teams in this
store, and he’s done an amaz-
ing job,” Whitney said. 

Mahabir said the gas sta-

tion/store has 21 full-and

part-time employees.

“The team is super-excited

about this specific station

coming to this area,” he said.

“There has been a lot of good

energy from the community,

and from the Chamber of

Commerce. And a lot of

these team members that

work here also live here in

this community, which is

really exciting.”

Chick-Fil-A Operator Brad

Spurlin attended the grand

opening as a board member

of the Gaines Chamber of

Commerce. “We’re excited to

welcome another Meijer into

the community, and the

growth that continues here,”

Spurlin said.

Justin Buiter is a Gaines

Chamber board member. He

said the gas station’s opening

is another positive sign “with

all of the businesses going in

just up the street. It’s great to

see. It just shows continued

growth.”

Matrix Printing Owner

Matt Van Dore also repre-

sented the Gaines Chamber

at the grand opening.

“We welcome Meijer. I

just drove down 68th  Street

and there are four or five new

businesses that I hadn’t seen

recently,” Van Dore said.

“The growth out to Caledonia

is just incredible.”

Gaines Chamber of

Commerce Executive

Director Barb Nauta said she

is pleased to have Meijer

Express join the Chamber.

“We are very excited for

them to be here, and it’s an

amazing, wonderful store.” 

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HOLIDAY SEASON, continued from page 1

Claude and Lisa Segard of Caledonia transport Santa Claus in their lighted car

at last year’s Caledonia Christmas parade. (Photo courtesy of Village of Caledonia)

Sesquicentennial Pavilion.
Then, at 6 p.m., the annual
Christmas parade, sponsored
by the Middleville Lions Club,
will step off downtown.
But Christmas On The
River isn’t just a celebration.
It’s an opportunity to give
back to those in need, organiz-
ers said.
“We’re trying to meet needs
right here in the community,”
Schmidt said. “Each night
there’s a different charity that’s
highlighted.”
On Thursday, it’ll be the

Thornapple Kellogg Schools’

Classmates Care program.

Help TK students and families

stay warm this winter by

donating new or gently-used

winter apparel or make a

financial donation to help vol-

unteers “shop” for a specific

size. All sizes are welcome.

TK students help provide

more than 500 other kids in

the area with hats, mittens,

coats, boots and more to stay

warm.

Donations for Classmates

Care may be dropped off at

MKP CPA, My Sister’s Closet,

Opus or other participating

locations that night. After that,

TK students will organize

donations and make sure it

gets to those who need it the

most.

Friday night’s events will

help build the Serenity

Village, an independent hos-

pice house being developed

in Barry County. For a sug-

gested donation of $5 or

more, decorate a white lumi-

nary bag or celebrate a special

memory. Bags will be placed

downtown or along the Paul

Henry Thornapple Trail for

the luminary walk. Bags are

currently available at Jason

Parks Farm Bureau Insurance,

Community West Credit

Union, My Sister’s Closet,

Dearly Loved, Opus, and the

DDA offices inside the Mix

Co-Working studio down-

town.

On Saturday, the focus will

be “Feeding Middleville

Families.” You can bring a

non-perishable item when you

come to the events downtown

and fill a trailer with food to

help with Christmas baskets

and stocking food pantries

such as the ones as Middleville

United Methodist Church and

Restoration Christian

Reformed Church.

The holiday lighting con-

test will conclude this week-

end. Restoration CRC will

be handing out maps and

candy canes. Friday will be

the last night of voting for

the contest. Winners will be

announced at 5:45 p.m.

Saturday, just before the

Christmas parade, contest

spokeswoman Vickie Rick

said.

While there is no prize

money this year, there will be

product or gift cards donated

to the top three prizes. You can

go to the contest Facebook

page (type in Middleville

Lighting Contest) for more

details and photos of all those

who entered the contest. Maps

also will be available at the

Charlie Brown Winter

Wonderland display next to

the Village Hall.

CELEBRATION, continued from page 1

OPENS, continued from page 1