In November 2025, the trees in downtown Plymouth were wrapped in lights and lit for the holiday season. On Friday, November 13, at 7 p.m., the Main Street Boulevard Lighting returns to downtown. Fourteen of the median trees the event has used are gone.
According to the City of Plymouth's October 2026 Plymouth Pulse newsletter, city officials removed 14 dead trees from the median between Ann Arbor Trail and Penniman Avenue. The Downtown Development Authority then approved money for new lighted decorations to fill the space. Whatever lights up on November 13 will be the first look at a display that had to be rebuilt this year. The vote that paid for it shows that downtown's leaders don't fully agree on what that display should be.
Fourteen trees, one block of median
As the Plymouth District Library's report on the September DDA meeting puts it, those median trees are the ones used for the Salvation Army Red Kettle Kick-Off and its tree lighting. When the dead trees came out, the event lost its backdrop.
The city newsletter says DDA staff "identified the need to fill the median with some new lighted decorations for the Holiday season," and that the decorations will debut at the November 13 kickoff.
The two public accounts give different figures:
| Source | Figure | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| City of Plymouth, October 2026 Plymouth Pulse | $12,750 approved | Holiday tree decorations for the Main Street median |
| Plymouth District Library report, October 5, 2026 | Roughly $11,000 | Replacement tree lights, new light-up statues, and new trees for the median |
The city's number is the amount the DDA board approved. The library's number is the reporter's account of the purchase described at the meeting. Both accounts agree on the basic plan. The median is getting lit decorations on purpose this year, and the old setup is not simply coming back.
A 5 to 4 vote over how downtown should look
The purchase came up at the DDA meeting on September 14. The Plymouth District Library reported that DDA Director Sam Plymale brought the motion and that the money had already been set aside in a separate budget, so it would not affect other city purchases.
The debate that followed was mostly about how downtown should look, and less about cost. In the library's account, board members Ellen Elliott and Paul Salloum first raised the cost and the chance of distracting drivers on the boulevard. Elliott suggested replacing the tree lighting with a new event that would not need new decorations. As the discussion went on, both said their main concern was that the park and downtown were becoming over-decorated. They also said the boulevard trees aren't needed to hold a tree lighting.
DDA Chair Kerri Pollard took a wider view. The library's report quotes her saying the purchase of new trees is "larger than any one event," and says she called downtown's decorations one of its largest attractions and a source of income for local businesses.
The motion passed 5 to 4.
The split vote explains why November 13 matters more than usual. A nine-member board nearly chose a different kind of event for this year. Elliott's concern for the "elegance" of the area and Pollard's case for decorations as a draw are both reasonable views of the same downtown. The new median display is the version that won by one vote, and the November kickoff is the first time anyone will see it lit.
How the evening of November 13 runs
The DDA posted the event details on October 20. The gathering is in Kellogg Park.
- 6:30 p.m. The Salvation Army Red Kettle Kickoff begins in Kellogg Park, with free hot chocolate and cookies.
- On arrival. The Salvation Army gives a free gift to the first 100 guests.
- Bring something. Guests who bring children's toys or nonperishable food are entered for a chance to win gift cards from local businesses.
- All evening. The PCEP Choir and the Salvation Army Brass Band perform holiday music.
- 7 p.m. The Main Street Boulevard Tree Lighting, and the first public look at the new median decorations.
The first 100 guests get the gift, so it pays to come early. The donation drawing also gives families a reason to bring a bag of groceries or a new toy along with them.
Two weeks later, Kellogg Park fills with trees decorated by the community
The median display comes from the DDA. The trees in the middle of Kellogg Park come from local entrants. The Walk of Trees is presented by the Plymouth Community Chamber of Commerce and sponsored this year by Bank of Ann Arbor. It runs from Friday, November 27, the day after Thanksgiving, through Monday, January 4, 2027, and the park is open to walk through 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Chamber's 2026 Walk of Trees listing explains how the park gets filled. Applications closed October 21, and a lottery on October 22 decided who gets a tree. Each chosen participant pays $150, or $130 for a nonprofit, and receives a 6 to 7 foot tree, 300 white lights, and an extension cord.
| Date | What happens in Kellogg Park |
|---|---|
| Friday, November 13 | Red Kettle Kickoff and Main Street Boulevard Lighting |
| Friday, November 20 | Walk of Trees decorating begins |
| Friday, November 27 | Last decorating day and official opening of the Walk of Trees |
| Monday, January 4, 2027 | Walk of Trees closes |
Taken together, the dates show how downtown's holiday look builds up over the month. The new median display lights first, on November 13. For the week of November 20 to 27, the park slowly fills with trees as each lottery winner shows up to decorate, so anyone walking past that week sees it in progress. By the day after Thanksgiving, both displays are finished. One was chosen by a 5 to 4 board vote, and the other is decorated by whichever businesses and groups won the lottery.
This year that adds up to two different approaches on facing sides of Main Street. The median is a planned design from the DDA. The park is a collection of trees, each decorated by a different entrant, all with the same 300 white lights.
The streetscape plan moves on a separate schedule
The holiday decorations are a seasonal fix. Bigger changes to downtown streets are on a slower timeline. The same city newsletter reports that DDA and City Commission approvals for the engineering and design of the first DTPForward phase, called Western Edge or Set 2, were expected later in October. That phase covers parts of Harvey and Wing streets, and construction is expected to start in spring 2027.
The DDA board also hired professional grant writers to apply for state and federal funding for the project. City and DDA staff met with representatives from SEMCOG and MDOT to look at possible funding sources. The DDA posts project updates as a video series on its Downtown Plymouth YouTube channel.
On the city's posted timeline, construction on that first phase is expected to begin in spring 2027, after the Walk of Trees closes on January 4.
So for now, the Ann Arbor Trail to Penniman stretch of median is the part of downtown that has visibly changed. It goes from 14 dead trees, to an empty strip, to a board vote decided by one, to new lights switched on at 7 p.m. on a Friday in mid-November. The DDA's posted plan for that night is hot chocolate, the Salvation Army Brass Band, the PCEP Choir, and a drawing for gift cards from local businesses.
If you'd like to talk about how downtown Plymouth's plans, from this season's lights to the DTPForward work starting in 2027, could affect your own plans, Deborah Gannes is glad to talk it through with you. Schedule a Free Consultation whenever you're ready.
