Fun Friday, Saturday

There’s some good news for holiday revelers — the weather for both Friday night and Saturday afternoon will be just right for Oxford’s annual holiday traditions. According to the National Weather Service, there’s no rain slated for those two days and it will be “mostly sunny” for Saturday’s Christmas parade.
With that bit of news out of the way, what’s going on for kids both young and old?
Friday is downtown Oxford’s annual Soup & Sweet Stroll, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Visitors can purchase wristbands ($5/adult and $10/family — cash only) from 5:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. in Centennial Park then stroll from restaurant to restaurant and store to store tasting Oxford’s signature hors d’oeuvres, soups, and sweet baked goods.

This year’s event includes a visit with Santa Claus, petting farm, strolling carolers, and performances from the Oxford Community Schools choirs. The evening will be capped off with the lighting of the Christmas tree in Centennial Park at 8 p.m.
This year’s Soup & Sweet Stroll is presented by Genisys Credit Union and sponsored by Oxford Community Bank.

On Saturday, the Oxford Chamber of Commerce’s annual Christmas Parade will roll through town starting at 1 p.m. This year’s theme is an “Old Fashioned Christmas.” Santa will be back in town for the parade with his float bringing up the rear.
In recognition of her contributions to the community, Dora Rolando, owner of Great Lakes Mercantile, will lead and serve as the Grand Marshal for the parade.
Great Lakes Mercantile is a family owned business specializing in Michigan made products including books, maps, paintings and antiques.
Line up for the parade starts at 11 a.m. in the Daniel Axford Elementary School parking lot and should be completed by 12:30. The parade will travel up Mechanic Street, to Washington and end on East Street.

If you cannot make the parade do not fret. Santa has made arrangements with the elves at Oxford Community Television to televise the parade.