More than 1,300 Christmas trees are setting sail from Cheboygan this weekend to be distributed to low-income families in Chicago.
Volunteers loaded the trees and 1,400 Christmas cards from the Cheboygan community onto the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw on Nov. 22.
The Christmas tree ship dates back to the early 1900s but has been an annual, charity-based event since 2000, sourcing trees from across Michigan and Indiana.
Carole Yeck, with the Cheboygan Area Chamber of Commerce, said the tree ship unites the region and gets trees to families that otherwise wouldn't be able to celebrate the holidays with a fresh-cut tree.
"It's just really exciting as a community to really pair with the Coast Guard and become a part of something bigger than ourselves [during] the holidays that will help so many families in need," said Yeck, the Chamber's executive director.
The Cheboygan Main Street program will be hosting a send-off party Nov. 26 to celebrate the tradition. The party will take place at 2 p.m. at the Cheboygan County Marina parking lot.
Yeck said the event is contingent on weather, so interested attendees should follow the Downtown Cheboygan Facebook page in the event of schedule changes.
The Mackinaw is slated to arrive in Chicago Dec. 1 and be unloaded the following day.
