Depot Town decorated the streets with a giant Christmas tree Saturday. The lighting of the Christmas tree, as well as the cookies and hot chocolate for those who showed up to the tree lighting, were supplied by Sidetrack Bar and Grill.
Dan Aguirre was supervising the distribution of the hot chocolate and cookies. Aguirre is the co-owner of Kim’s Resale Shop Antiques and Collectables, and said he was helping out Linda French, owner of Sidetrack.
“This is my second year, I helped decorate the tree last year … [my favorite part is] seeing the kids and seeing how they react,” Agguire said.
Part of watching how the kids react is watching their faces when they see that Santa Claus has come to make a stop in Depot Town. Kasey Gillman, age 6, and her sister Cassidy Gillman, age 5, were just two of the children who had their picture taken with the holly-jolly old man. According to Anne Hooghart and Andy Gillman, the two girls will soon be sending Santa their full lists of Christmas wishes.
Amongst the children smiling next to Santa were three boys singing Christmas carols: Gabriel Allis, age 11, Anthony Kosmalski, age 13 and Max Kosmalski , age 10, all part of the Ann Arbor Boychoir.
The three boys won over the crowd with their renditions of “Walking in a Winter Wonderland” and “Frosty the Snowman.” Once they were finished singing, Anthony announced to the crowd, “We’re going to go inside because our fingertips are cold … and they have really good hot chocolate.” At this, the crowd laughed and allowed the boys through.
The boys had been asked to perform by Sidetrack, according to Anthony, “They said they needed someone to help out with their tree lighting. I told them that I didn’t know if I’d be able to do it, she said that’s fine, just get as many boys as you can … So we practiced at my house for a couple of days.”
Max, who has only been a part of the choir for a year said, “My favorite part is getting to use my voice. I don’t get to use it often.”
Though the three boys are home schooled, they want to be part of the community and continue to use their talents to make people smile. When the boys aren’t trying to make other people smile, they’re excitedly hoping to be smiling Christmas morning. Each boy has a gift he’s particularly hoping for. For Max, it’s a PSP.
Gabriel is hoping for a Nerf gun that has a range of 75 feet.
Anthony said, “I don’t really want anything for Christmas … It’s just really nice to use your voice to help people have a good time, especially during the Christmas time.”
As part of being involved in the community, the boys encourage
everyone to attend their concerts on Dec. 14 and 15. The concert on Dec. 14 is at the First Presbyterian Church in Ypsilanti at 7 p.m., and the concert on Dec. 15 is at the church of the same name in Ann Arbor at 3 p.m.
The boys of the Ann Arbor Boychoir aren’t the only ones working to help out in the community during the holiday season.
“We’re redoing the freight house,” Aguirre said. “We’re trying to get the cafe opened by early spring, and we’re trying to get started on the great hall in the freight hall for future events for our community … I really care about Depot Town … It’s just a really beautiful, historical place.”
