And thankfully, nobody’s eye got shot out
By Andy Kriege YSN
The holiday season highlight in the small town of Mio (pronounced My-oh), Mich., is the annual light parade.
The celebration takes place in the quaint downtown of this small north Michigan village that is home to BrandSource furniture and appliance dealer Jon Statkowiak and his wife Kathy. Their store, The Warehouse, has been a part of the fabric of the local community for 27 years.
The couple has supported the annual parade for at least the past 25 years by serving on the board and organizing the event. Their business also sponsors and builds a float each holiday season, and has to devise a different theme annually. This year the Statkowiaks went all in and created an incredible tribute to the perennial holiday film favorite, “A Christmas Story.” (You know, that movie the cable stations play for 24 hours straight, from Christmas Eve through Day. If you’ve caught even one viewing of the mega marathon, then you know there are some truly images and quotes that have become a part of our collective cultural psyche. Even a passive fan of the film knows how to properly say the word “fragile.”)
The float was an instant success and a fan favorite in Mio. “People really loved it,” Jon said. “We could hear people yelling out things like, ‘Ralphie, don’t shoot your eye out!’ Or ‘Look, there’s the tongue stuck to the pole!”
The Statkowiaks’ daughter Kimberly came up with the idea of paying tribute to the holiday classic for this year’s show-topping float, but it was Jon who did the bulk of the work. “I’ve built 23 or 24 floats to date, and this is one of my favorites,” he said. Kathy purchased some of the costumes and props online and Jon constructed the rest to give the float the realistic movie-set look of the holiday classic — including the iconic pole where the infamous double dare led to a frozen tongue-tied dilemma.
In a sidenote to the proceedings, the floats in this year’s light parade shined brighter than usual on what were unexpectedly darkened streets, due to a curious happenstance. Earlier that the day, a driver inexplicitly swerved off the main drag and took out a light pole, which cut the power for all the streetlights along the parade route.
Although it has yet to be confirmed, rumor has it that a kid with an Official Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle was seen in the immediate area. So maybe something did get shot out after all. YSN awaits further confirmation.
YSN publisher AVB BrandSource is the nation’s largest merchandising and marketing co-op for independent appliance, mattress, furniture and CE dealers.
