Ozinga ‘Merry Mixer’ returns to Fort parade for second year

By Kim McDarison 

For the second time in its history the Ozinga “Merry Mixer” will appear in Fort Atkinson during the holiday parade set for Saturday, Nov. 12. 

Company Communications Director Kristi Munno said the folks at Illinois-based Ozinga, a concrete supplier with locations and clients across several states, are excited to be returning to Fort Atkinson to help usher in the holiday. 

Munno said a decision to bring the truck to Fort Atkinson was embraced last year because the company has a number of locations throughout Illinois and Wisconsin. The Merry Mixer, which is the company’s show truck, is used throughout the area year-round, participating in various events. Last year, there was a desire to expand opportunities for people to experience the truck, she said.  

Last year, Fort Atkinson’s parade was the first stop made by the truck in Wisconsin, followed by a holiday season-long itinerary, taking it throughout Illinois and Indiana as it participated in community parades and other holiday events.  

This year, the truck has already participated in a holiday parade in Indiana, and its next stop will be in Fort Atkinson on Saturday. This year, the truck will participate in a parade in West Allis on Dec. 3. All the rest of this year’s stops will be in Illinois and Indiana, Munno said. 

While the truck puts on a fair number of miles, Munno said it runs on compressed natural gas, and while the price of all fuel fluctuates, so far, the Merry Mixer continues to make its rounds. 

Munno said a decision this year to return to Fort Atkinson was easy to make. When the truck arrived last year, she said, “It was great. We are excited to come back. The crowd was pumped and amplified. Little kids were pointing to the truck, saying: ‘look what’s coming!’”

The Merry Mixer show truck debuted in 2017, Munno said. Each year, the company tries to add a few decorations. 

Information provided by Ozinga describes the truck as sporting some 32,000 programmed LED lights and other decorations. The truck has animated light sequences and plays renditions of 11 Christmas tunes.