Events of November 17, 18, and 19, 2023

Friday, November 17

American 1 Fall Car Sale. The American 1 Fall Car Sale is scheduled from Wednesday, November 15, to Saturday, November 18, at Keeley Park (Jackson Fair Grounds) in Jackson! Feel a sense of car-buying freedom at American 1! 300 vehicles, five local dealers! We offer extremely competitive rates and do not base your auto loan rate on the vehicle year, loan to value, or loan term. When you are looking to finance a car, trust your local auto loan experts, who are ready to help you every step of the way. Wednesday-Friday 9 AM to 6 PM, Saturday 10 AM to 5 PM.

Farmers Market Second Season. The Grand River Farmers Market crew has moved inside for their first winter market! Fridays 10-3, November thru April. Found Church, 141 East Michigan Avenue, Downtown Jackson.

Sensory-Friendly Chamber Concert. 10:30 AM. FREE ADMISSION. RSVP HERE. *The general public must RSVP – if you are attending with your school, please talk to your teacher or principal. Weatherwax Hall, 215 W Michigan Ave, Jackson. This sensory-friendly concert experience has been designed for those with sensory sensitivities, including neurodiverse audiences and those with communication, movement, and learning needs. The Jackson Symphony Orchestra is performing our second free Sensory-Friendly Chamber Concert experience in our concert hall located in downtown Jackson, MI. This concert features the softer instruments from our orchestra performing as a string quartet. These instruments will share their unique sounds with our audience in a lower-lighting setting. Attendees will be free to sit or roam as the music is performed. Accommodations available at this concert include but are not limited to abundant handicap-accessible seating, quiet rooms, medium quiet rooms, standing room, additional viewing areas, and items like scarves, fidgets, ear plugs, and headphones. Please feel free to call our box office at (517) 782-3221 or email us at info@jacksonsymphony.org to let us know if you have any specific needs or accommodations. Learn more here. Thank you to our sponsor Macchia Family Foundation for making this event possible.

Craft & Collectibles Sale. Join First Congregational Church UCC of Jackson, Michigan for a Craft and Collectables Sale! Located in our beautiful church downtown at the Pearl St entrance. We will have several vendors with a variety of wares some homemade and some collectibles. Food will be available for purchase. Bring your appetite and pocketbooks! Perfect time to kick off the holiday shopping season. 120 N Jackson St, Jackson. Friday, November 17, 2023. 11am to 8pm. Join us after the Downtown Jackson Christmas Parade for hot chocolate and coffee.

Carnegie Library Holiday Open House. Kick off the holiday season at the Carnegie Library in downtown Jackson while you wait for the Holiday Parade to start! Kids will receive a free book and the Friends of the Library will host their annual book sale and bake sale. Book Sale: November 16-18, Open Hours. Bake Sale: November 17, 4-6:30 PM. Hot dogs and hot chocolate will also be available for $1 on the front lawn. All proceeds will help support youth programming at JDL.

2023 Downtown Jackson Christmas Parade. Theme: Christmas in July. Friday, November 17, 2023. 6:00 pm. Parade route follows W. Michigan Ave. through downtown Jackson from Blackstone to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The Parade has been a tradition in Jackson, Michigan for 32 years. The parade will feature floats, and marching bands, and end with Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

Parade Afterglow at Flagstar Bank. Santa Claus is coming to town! Following the Christmas Parade (6:00 pm – PARADE through Downtown Jackson (along Michigan Ave.), Santa and Mrs. Claus will be at Flagstar Bank. Take photos, visit with Santa and Mrs Claus, and enjoy cookies and cocoa! 7:30 pm – AFTER GLOW at Flagstar Bank (Santa, Cookies, and Cocoa). Flagstar Bank, 301 W. Michigan Ave., Jackson.

Free Christmas Movie “Elf” at the Michigan Theatre. The Christmas Season is fast approaching, and after Jackson’s Downtown Christmas Parade this Friday night, head on over to the Michigan Theater for a FREE MOVIE SHOWING of ELF! We will have Giveaways, and of course popcorn and drinks will be available at the Snack Bar.Enjoy this Yearly event of a FREE Christmas Movie after the Downtown Parade from your friends at 106.9 HOME.fm. We hope to see you there!!!

Live Music at Mancino’s. Come on down to hear Mike Slim Crupi and Kevin Nichols this Friday at Mancino’s at 6:00 P.M. till 9:00 P.M. It will be a rocking good time for everyone! Mancino’s, 3017 Wildwood Avenue, Jackson.

“Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”. 7 PM. Center Stage Jackson presents Ian Fleming’s “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, a fun musical for the whole family. Directed by Lisa Cryderman. An eccentric inventor, Caractacus Potts, sets about restoring an old race car from a scrap heap with the help of his children, Jeremy and Jemima. They soon discover the car has magical properties, including the ability to float and take flight. Trouble occurs when the evil Baron Bomburst desires the magic car for himself. The family joins forces with Truly Scrumptious and batty Grandpa Potts to outwit the dastardly Baron and Baroness and their villainous henchman, the Child Catcher. Baughman Theatre, Potter Center, Jackson College. Tickets available here.

Nite Lites Drive Thur Christmas Light Show. Opening Night! Michigan International Speedway, US-12 Entrances only. 12626 US-12, Brooklyn. Nov 17 – Jan 7, 2023. Sunday – Thursday 5:30 – 9 pm. Friday and Saturday 5:30 – 10 pm. Learn about how you can purchase exclusive tickets to ride through on the Nite Lites Express!

Saturday, November 18

American 1 Fall Car Sale. The American 1 Fall Car Sale. Final day! Keeley Park (Jackson Fair Grounds) in Jackson! Feel a sense of car-buying freedom at American 1! 300 vehicles, five local dealers! We offer extremely competitive rates and do not base your auto loan rate on the vehicle year, loan to value, or loan term. When you are looking to finance a car, trust your local auto loan experts, who are ready to help you every step of the way. Saturday 10 AM to 5 PM.

Jackson County Office of the Sheriff Stuff the Cop Car Event. 11 AM to 3 PM. Let’s help families in need this holiday season! Donations accepted: Canned goods, non-perishables, pantry items. Polly’s Country Market, 2119 Ferguson Road, Jackson.

YMCA Storer Camps Color Fun Run. 9 AM to 12 PM. YMCA Storer Camps, 6941 Stony Lake Rd., Jackson. Experience the beauty of YMCA Storer Camps’ 1200 acres with an extra splash of color thrown in during our first-ever 5k Color Fun Run/Walk and 1mi Color Fun Run/Walk. Enjoy a mixed course of paved, dirt and off-road trails while you travel through the woods, down to the lake and around horse pastures. The trees might have some color remaining on them, but you’ll be even more colorful at the end of your run. All participants will check in at Malachi Dining Hall on race day beginning at 8am. 1 Mile Fun Walk/Run starts at 9:00 am and 5K starts at 9:30 am. Each registered participant will receive a race shirt at check-in. Parking is available at the Malachi Dining Hall entrance with an indoor space available for bathrooms and warming up. Event page here.

Space Exploration at Imagine Planet. Come find out how astronauts recycle oxygen, role play being on a moon base, launch rockets into the air- these are just some of the activities available at Space Exploration Theme Day! Imagine Planet, 730 Tomlinson St, Jackson, MI. Event page here.

NaNoWriMo Midway Madness. Drop into the Carnegie Library in downtown Jackson on November 18 from 9 AM-5 PM for a mid-way National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) write-in, whether you’re participating in the contest or you just need an excuse to take some time for yourself to do some writing. NaNoWriMo Contest: Manuscripts written during the month of November may be submitted to community@myjdl.com for a chance to be featured on our social media channels! Entries should be no more than 5 pages and must be submitted by December 3. All ages can participate and entries can be on any theme, genre and in any language.

Pleasant Lake Craft Trail. 9 AM to 4 PM. Hankerd Hills will be hosting vendors from 9 am-4 pm for the Pleasant Lake Craft Trail. Hankerd Hills Golf Course, 10251 Resort Rd, Pleasant Lake. Join our vendors along with other local businesses that will be hosting vendors like Gee Farms & their Christmas At Gee Farms Holiday market, Hankerd Hills Vendors, Reality’s Chance, The Lost Shoe and many individual vendor locations. This is a great community event for local vendors to show off their talents.

Springport Bazaar, Boutique & Bake Sale. Sat, Nov. 18. 9am-2pm. Luncheon at 11 am. Springport United Methodist Church, 127 W Main St, Springport.

Winter Wreath Workshop. 2 PM to 3:30 PM. Come make your own winter wreath! Dana Hicks, the instructor, will guide you as you create a wreath using several types of fresh and fragrant greenery. Once the wreath is created, have fun decorating it with pinecones and ribbons! This winter project is sure to be the perfect addition to your décor and it will last all winter long! Create on your own or work together with friends or family to create a collaborative wreath! The purchase of a wreath ticket is required to be given the materials to create the wreath. More than one person can work on a wreath together. Limit three participants per wreath. Jackson School of the Arts, 135 W. Cortland Street, Downtown Jackson. Registration and event page here.

Kevin Krieger’s Jazz Quartet. 7-10 pm. Ironbark Brewing Co., 2610 Kibby Rd, Jackson. Join us for the talents of Kevin Krieger’s Jazz Quartet, where the blending of jazz, fusion, and funk forms a memorable evening. Featuring Mike Pelham on drums, David Youngman on guitar, Dan Palmer on bass, and of course Kevin Krieger on sax, this quartet is a powerhouse of musical skill and creativity! Don’t miss out on this opportunity as we expect an evening of exquisite talent, exceptional improvisation, and a celebration of the genre that continues to inspire generations of music lovers.

Soulful Saturday with the Harlem Gospel Travelers. 8:00 PM (doors open at 7) WEATHERWAX HALL, 215 W Michigan Ave, Jackson, MI 49201. In Advance: $20, At the Door: $25. Get tickets here.. Harlem Gospel Travelers’ music draws deeply on the gospel tradition of the ’50s and ’60s, but there’s a modern edge to their sound. Their music is bold and resilient with explosive and ecstatic performances. Fueled by dazzling vocal arrangements, their sound is punctuated with gritty bursts of guitar and crunchy rhythm breaks. The Harlem Gospel Travelers aren’t just reviving sounds from the past, they’re revitalizing them for the present.

Nite Lites Drive Thur Christmas Light Show. Opening Weekend! Michigan International Speedway, US-12 Entrances only. 12626 US-12, Brooklyn. Nov 17 – Jan 7, 2023. Sunday – Thursday 5:30 – 9 pm. Friday and Saturday 5:30 – 10 pm. Learn about how you can purchase exclusive tickets to ride through on the Nite Lites Express!

Sunday, November 19

“Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”. 3 PM. Final performance1 Center Stage Jackson presents Ian Fleming’s “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, a fun musical for the whole family. Directed by Lisa Cryderman. An eccentric inventor, Caractacus Potts, sets about restoring an old race car from a scrap heap with the help of his children, Jeremy and Jemima. They soon discover the car has magical properties, including the ability to float and take flight. Trouble occurs when the evil Baron Bomburst desires the magic car for himself. The family joins forces with Truly Scrumptious and batty Grandpa Potts to outwit the dastardly Baron and Baroness and their villainous henchman, the Child Catcher. Baughman Theatre, Potter Center, Jackson College. Tickets available here.

Upcoming:

Chelsea Hospital Thanksgiving Meal. Gather with others this Thanksgiving. Members of our community who would be alone on Thanksgiving or who cannot afford a Thanksgiving meal are invited to gather for a free meal at Chelsea Hospital. Thursday, November 23. 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM. Registration is required. Space is limited. Please call the Chelsea Senior Center at 734-475-9242 to register.