Plymouth's Main Street Median Lost Its Trees. November 13 Is the First Look at What Replaces Them.

This year's holiday lights in downtown Plymouth are not a repeat of last year's. The trees on the Main Street median that held the lights have been removed. The company that maintained the downtown tree lights for years has closed. The Downtown Development Authority has hired a new local contractor and promised "new decor on the Main Street Boulevard." That decor gets switched on at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 13, in front of whoever is standing in Kellogg Park.

Most of the rest of the season looks the way it always does: decorated trees in the park, a greens market at The Gathering, a two-day Christmas market in December. The Main Street boulevard has a new look and a new crew. Kellogg Park and The Gathering are where the season stays the same.

Two changes happened on the same stretch of Main Street

The first change is physical. The DDA's August 2026 status update, filed with the city's meeting packet, says "Main Street median trees have been removed" and that staff were "looking at options to light up the median during the holiday season." For anyone who has driven down Main Street in December over the past decade, that is a real change. In 2021, Plymouth Voice reported that the DDA's holiday lighting program dated to 2011, and that the Main Street tree lights had been swapped for LEDs in 2019.

The second change is the crew. The DDA board met on June 8, 2026, and DDA Director Plymale announced that Holiday Light Express, the "long-time holiday tree light contractor," had ceased operations. The DDA asked for replacement quotes, and the June minutes show how the choice was made:

The board voted unanimously to hire J. Averie for holiday tree light maintenance. The gap between the two quotes came down to equipment, and the minutes say the English Gardens quote was higher because the job required aerial lift trucks. The minutes also put weight on quick storm response, which matters for lights that hang outside through a Michigan winter.

So by October, the DDA had a new crew for the downtown tree lights and an empty median to work with. On October 20, it announced that Main Street would get "new festive holiday lights." The DDA has not said what the new boulevard decor looks like. November 13 is when the public sees it.

How Friday, November 13 runs

The lighting is part of the annual Salvation Army Red Kettle Kickoff, which the DDA announced on its news page. The evening runs in this order:

1. 6:30 p.m. Festivities begin in Kellogg Park, with complimentary hot chocolate and cookies.
2. Arrival matters. The Salvation Army gives a free gift to the first 100 guests.
3. Bring something. Children's toys or nonperishable food items enter you in a drawing for gift cards from local businesses.
4. All evening. The PCEP Choir and the Salvation Army Brass Band perform holiday music.
5. 7 p.m. The new decor on the Main Street Boulevard is lit.

The half hour before the switch is when the park fills and the first 100 gifts go out. For families with young children, 6:30 is the arrival time that counts.

The streets also look a little different by mid-November. The DDA's status update notes that outdoor dining season ends October 31. By the lighting, the patios along the downtown blocks will be closed for the season, so the new boulevard lights and the park will carry the street on their own.

The night before is for shopping

Ladies Holiday Shopping Night falls one evening before the lighting, on Thursday, November 12, from 4 to 8 p.m. The Plymouth Community Chamber of Commerce listing covers shops in both downtown and Old Village. Participating stores offer deals, refreshments, samples, and other promotions.

Because the two events land on back-to-back evenings, the second weekend of November brings downtown and Old Village into the season together. Shopping spreads across downtown and Old Village on Thursday. On Friday, the crowd gathers in Kellogg Park.

After November 13, the season moves into Kellogg Park

The boulevard is the new part. The rest of the calendar centers on the park and The Gathering, as it has before:

The Walk of Trees opens the Friday after Thanksgiving and stays up through January 4, 2027. It is presented by the Plymouth Community Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Bank of Ann Arbor. The decorated trees fill Kellogg Park, and the DDA notes that visitors can walk through them "24 hours a day, seven days a week." Since the walk runs around the clock, it works for a late dog walk or a stroll after dinner, with no ticket and no crowd timing to plan around. The DDA's news page links to the Chamber's full listing.

The Holiday Greens Market is the next morning, Saturday, November 28, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Gathering, according to the Chamber's event page. Plan to dress for the weather. The same DDA status report says city staff looked into permanent enclosures for The Gathering in 2025, and several contractors said the current structure could not support one.

Christmas in Plymouth & Mistletoe Market fills two days in December, Friday, December 11 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday, December 12 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Chamber listing describes the Mistletoe Market along with kids' activities, train rides, a light tunnel, carriage rides, performances, and character meet-and-greets. One line on that page mentions a Sunday, December 14. The event's posted dates and hours are December 11 and 12, so plan around those two days.

Together, these events keep Kellogg Park busy from Thanksgiving weekend into the new year. The new boulevard lighting runs alongside them, so the Walk of Trees in the park and the new lights on Main Street can be seen on the same walk all season.

One stop that moved four doors down

There is one new address worth adding to a holiday walk. Elephant Ear Books, the independent bookstore Melissa Schabel opened in November 2024, reopened in October at a larger storefront at 445 S. Harvey St., Suite 19. According to the DDA's announcement, the store moved just four doors down from its original space and gained about 50% more retail space plus room to host small events.

The timing works for the season, since the extra space arrives a few weeks ahead of Ladies Holiday Shopping Night and the December markets. The store's own site, elephantearbooks.com, is the place to check for hours and any events in the new room. With the store still in downtown Plymouth, a trip to see the new boulevard lights can include a stop for books.

Seasonal details like these are the kind of local knowledge our team at K&K Real Estate Group keeps up with as Plymouth's downtown changes, from a new set of boulevard lights to a bookstore's bigger storefront. If you're curious how changes on Main Street might affect your own plans in Plymouth, let's start a conversation.