Walk through a Christmas village in Marquette

MARQUETTE — Not many of us are lucky enough to make it to the North Pole so just south of the North Pole here in the U.P. is a Christmas Village like no other.

The Carters have been going all out for about five years now with a Christmas Village in their front lawn that is open to the community.  As you enter you are greeted by a thunderstorm of holiday lights and around a hundred Christmas displays and the cheery delight of a candy cane.

“It’s pretty amazing, it probably took a couple of months to set it up,” eight-year-old Corbin Grim said.  “It’s one of the biggest Christmas decoration thingy’s I’ve ever seen, this is so awesome.”

Kimberly LeGalley was amazed by the display.  “It’s gorgeous, I don’t know how many hours of work they put into this, it’s beautiful, very fun. It’s like a winter magical wonderland, it’s gorgeous.”

The Carters have been collecting the Christmas items for about 18 years and it takes one to two months to get everything in order.  John Carter said he didn’t celebrate Christmas growing up, so this display fulfills a promise he made to  himself.

“My parents didn’t have a lot of money and they thought decorating was kind of a waste. So I told myself as I got older, if I had means I would put something on that the community could enjoy that’s what I was going to do,” John “Kris Kringle” Carter said..

And to make sure the display stays in tact, the Grinch was expertly put away so all could have a very Merry Christmas and a good winter night.

If you are interested in checking out the fantastic Christmas light display and village, it’s in Marquette at 1313 Vandenboom Street.  And they also have a Facebook page:  The Carters’ Christmas Lights Marquette.