Cold no sweat to Silver Bells faithful

LANSING –

Christopher and Jamie Wiley stood along Washington Square in downtown Lansing on Friday night, seemingly unconcerned about the bitter cold.

"Snow, rain, whatever, we come prepared," Jamie Wiley said as the couple's three young children and a fourth child they were babysitting sat bundled up on the street, chattering excitedly as they waited for the Electric Light Parade to begin.

"We've got blankets. We've got our plastic to protect us from the cold. We'll put a blanket over the top of that. All of the kids have their own blanket. We've got the hot hand warmers."

No worries. Temperatures in the low 20s and a stiff breeze that made it feel much colder did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm surrounding Lansing's annual Silver Bells in the City celebration.

Tens of thousands of people watched the parade and gathered outside the state Capitol for a community sing, the lighting of the state Christmas tree and a fireworks show.

"Oh, it's beautiful out today," quipped Sheryl Middleton, whose family joined three others from the St. John's area for the event. "It could be worse."

A special guest - Mickey Mouse - was on hand to help the region celebrate the 30th anniversary of Silver Bells, which marks the start of the holiday season in the Lansing area. The Disney character was grand marshal for the Electric Light Parade.

Organizers also brought back the community sing to help mark the anniversary. Larry Callahan and Selected of God Choir led the crowd in renditions of "Silver Bells" and "Joy to the World."

The state Christmas tree is cloaked in about 9,000 white lights, nearly twice as many as last year.

The annual celebration draws an average of about 80,000 people to downtown Lansing. Organizers expected this year's crowd might top that number because of the anniversary.

But the crowd appeared to be smaller than last year, possibly because of the bitter cold.

Don Harding and Sue Black arrived early, expecting a big crowd.

"We got here at 5 (p.m.) and it was almost like a ghost town," Harding said. "And then, over a 10-minute span, the place just filled up."

Harding said he's been coming to Silver Bells for 25 years or longer.

"I usually manage to take somebody new who hasn't experienced it," he said. "It's a great way to create memories."

The celebration continues with Breakfast with Santa from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Troppo, 111 E. Michigan Ave. and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday at the same location.

The Silver Bells 5K run happens at 10 a.m. Saturday.