New Year’s Eve, 1869: A Great Day for Battle Creek
New Year’s Eve was a very big deal in Battle Creek in 1869. The city had been incorporated 10 years earlier and continued to grow and grow. And on this New Year’s, the city’s 5,800 residents were buzzing as Hamblin’s Opera House opened. On December 31, 1869, an audience of 1700 attended a program of singers and instrumentalists.
The building cost $40,000. A historical account published a few years later stated, “One of the chief attractions of Battle Creek is its commodious opera-house. Up to 1868, the city possessed no regular place of amusement of sufficient size to induce large first-class theatrical troops to visit the city. In that year, however, Mr. A. C. Hamblin, with his characteristic enterprise, erected a handsome and substantial building, which he fitted up in elegant style, and introduced in it all of the modern improvements and stage effects. The ceiling is beautifully frescoed, and the general ar
Where to see enchanting Christmas light displays across Michigan
Updated Dec 16, 2020;
While many Christmas traditions look different in 2020, festive light displays are still popping up all over Michigan – and you can view many of them without leaving your vehicle.
From Marquette to Detroit, Michiganders know how to do the holidays up right. Venues across the state have been transformed into wonderlands of Christmas magic to bring delight to merrymakers of all ages.
Without further ado, here are 15 can’t-miss Christmas light shows:
The Christmas Lite Show 2020 is now open for its 23rd holiday season at
the Fifth Third Ballpark, 4500 West River Dr. NE in Comstock Park. Enjoy nearly two miles of more than two million LED lights and 50 animated displays, tunnels and more through Saturday, Jan. 2. Photo provided by the Christmas Lite Show.