Press Release | Office of the Mayor | This Week in Westland : December 1, 2018 -December 9, 2018

For Immediate Release | Official Press Release

PRESS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

36300 Warren Road | Westland, Michigan | 48185

Office 734.467.3200 | Fax 734.422.1230

WWW.CITYOFWESTLAND.COM

This Week in Westland
December 1, 2018 - December 9, 2018

Scheduled Upcoming Civic Meetings - Residents are invited to attend the upcoming City meetings. Below is a list of the meetings with their date, time and location:

City Council

Will meet on Monday, December 3 at 7:00 p.m. at Westland City Hall, located at 36300 Warren Rd.

2018 Annual Taste Fest - Westland's 2018 Annual Taste Fest will take place on Tuesday, December 4 at the Hellenic Cultural Center, located at 36375 Joy Rd. The event takes place from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and includes fantastic food from the area's finest restaurants and culinary artists. There is also live entertainment, auctions and raffles and a cash bar. Donors who bring new or gently used kid's gloves, hats or boots (for children age 3 and up) will be entered in a special raffle to win a $100 gift card, courtesy of Zeal Credit Union. Clothing will be donated to local children in need. The cost for admission is $25 and proceeds benefit the Westland Rotary and Westland Chamber of Commerce.

Deck the City Hall - Join us for the City of Westland's Annual "Deck the City Hall" Event on Wednesday, December 5 beginning at 5:30 p.m. This is a FREE event with fun for the entire family! Everyone will gather in front of City Hall to sing Christmas Carols and welcome Santa and Mrs. Claus to Westland. After they help Mayor Wild light the Official Christmas Tree and City Hall grounds, everyone is invited inside for free cookies and hot cocoa. There will also be arts and crafts, interactive dance activities in order to promote Westland's Healthy City Initiative and children can write out their lists for Santa and put them in Santa's Mailbox that goes direct to the North Pole. Children will also have a chance to visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus. As part of Westland's Compassionate City Initiative, anyone who brings a $5 per kid or $10 per family monetary donation for "Shop with a Hero" or an unwrapped toy for the Westland Goodfellows toy drive will get a Fast Pass to see Santa and will be able to skip the line.

JBCVC Tree Lighting - The Norwayne Community Citizen's Council is hosting their Annual Holiday Tree Lighting on Thursday, December 6 at the Jefferson Barns Community Vitality Center, located at 32150 Dorsey St. The event kicks off at 6:00 p.m. and will include Christmas caroling, crafts, cocoa and cookies and an open gym.

Lightfest - The holiday season is right around the corner. Christmas is a time of traditions for many people, and one Westland tradition is the LightFest on Hines Drive. This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the longest drive-thru holiday light display in the Midwest. For a small donation you can drive through five miles of spectacular displays that are sure to get you into the holiday spirit. The LightFest attracts people from all over the region every year because new displays and features are added annually. LightFest officially opens on Thursday, November 15 and is open nightly through December 31st. For specific hours and details, please call 734-261-1990.

For more information, please call Aubrey Berman at (734)467-3200

Westland, Michigan is the state's 10th largest municipality, with a population of over 84,000 people who exhibit a great deal of pride in their All-American City. Westland has a thriving business community along with beautiful residential areas. The citizens enjoy a wide array of amenities and a quality of life that is second to none.

In 2014, Westland was rated as one of 24/7 Wall Street's America's Best 50 Cities to Live, offering residents and visitors an ideal blend of single-family affordable homes, apartments and condominiums, great schools, and access to numerous outdoor activities. Public safety is delivered by full-service, professional law enforcement and firefighting personnel. Westland Police Department, whose motto is protect and serve, provides emergency dispatch services to four cities and over 100,000 residents; the Westland Fire Department are licensed paramedics who responded to over 9,000 calls for service last year, about 85% being medical based. They never forget their mission of preserving life and property.

Westland is well-known as the premier destination for shopping and dining in Wayne County with hundreds of shops and restaurants anchored by the Westland Shopping Center, one of the country's original four regional malls.

Infinite opportunities are available in Westland for the recreation aficionado including, more than 40 parks and 1,500 acres of trails, a 9-hole golf course, hockey arena, athletic fields, playscapes, a Farmers and Artisans Market and more. One of Michigan's most environmentally friendly cities, Westland has a progressive curbside recycling program with one of the highest participation rates in the nation and the City is raising the bar for cultural experiences with the placement of public art throughout the City.

The City is served by two public school districts; Wayne-Westland Community Schools serving 12,000 youth was recently named one of the Best School in Michigan by WXYZ-TV and is the proud recipient of 14 Golden Apple and two Michigan Blue Ribbon Exemplary School Awards. Livonia Public Schools, educating nearly 15,000 students, is proud of their MEAP/MME scores that exceed state averages and the District has also earned Golden Apple and Michigan Blue Ribbon Exemplary School Awards.

The City provides competitive incentives for those who are interested in investing in Westland, making it one of the hottest investment markets in the region. Our Fast-Track to Business Team, which consists of key decision makers who work diligently on a development plan will "cut the red tape" and expedite the approval process for new business development.