Hallmark documents Christmas in Canonsburg
Celeste Van Kirk
Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus arrive on a fire truck during Canonsburg’s Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration in 2018.
Celeste Van Kirk
Gloria Dunkle hands Olivia Jones, 3, of Canonsburg a Hallmark Christmas tree ornament during the 2018 Canonsburg’s Old Fashioned Christmas celebration.
Observer-Reporter
Albert Dami, 5, of Hendersonville makes friends with a camel and donkey Saturday that was part of a live nativity scenes during Canonsburg’s Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration.
Canonsburg became a Christmas destination for the Hallmark Channel Saturday night, as the network’s representatives and a filming crew shot some footage during the borough’s Old Fashioned Christmas festival.
The festival began at 10 a.m. with crafting and food vendors set up along East Pike Street, which was closed from North Central to Greenside avenues. There were Christmas carolers, horse-drawn carriage rides, a live nativity scene and a tree lighting ceremony – making the perfect scene for Hallmark.
“We know there are more towns out there that are doing exactly this, so when Canonsburg reached out, we wanted to make sure we were a part of it,” said Lauren Shaw, a Hallmark Channel representative. “Hopefully, we can do this with more towns and see how people are bringing Hallmark to life.”
Canonsburg Mayor Dave Rhome and councilman R.T. Bell said a member of the festival’s committee reached out to Hallmark Channel to invite them to the Old Fashioned Christmas festival. The committee wanted to make the annual light-up night, which typically brought out about 200 people, much larger this year.
“There are people from all over Pennsylvania and Ohio that have come to this event,” Rhome said. “It’s turned into something magical. It has heightened the Christmas spirit in this town.”
The Hallmark Channel had a booth set up at 4 p.m. to pass out free t-shirts, ornaments and Christmas cards. A filming and production team shot footage around the borough and interviewed residents about their hometown, their love for the holiday season and each other.
Shaw, who’s from New York City, said Canonsburg has many of the characteristics of towns portrayed in Hallmark Christmas movies, like “the fact that everybody knows everybody,” and that they “worked so hard to put on this event.”
“It’s just so nice to see how a town can come together, especially during the holiday times, to celebrate the holiday season, but also to give back to the community,” Shaw said. “That’s what we really want our movies and the Hallmark Channel to inspire in people.”
Kaci and David Chamey drove an hour from Wintersville, Ohio, to be a part of the Hallmark Christmas celebration. Kaci said she is a big fan of the Hallmark Channel, its mobile app and Christmas classics. They were interviewed by Hallmark’s production team.
“I was so nervous and emotional because we just celebrated our seventh anniversary yesterday, and to know that we were coming here was even better,” she said. “It’s a dream come true.”
Even the rain didn’t dampen spirits Saturday, as a long line formed from the Hallmark booth. Bluestar USA Pipeline sold Christmas trees at the corner of Greenside Avenue and East Pike Street. With every tree they sold, they donated one, complete with lights and ornaments, to a Washington County family in need. Across the street, the community collected Toys for Tots, and one block down, a large screen played Hallmark movies.
Bell said it was important to the committee that the event was free to the public, though they received many donations for the event.
“We wanted to bring as many people as we could down here and we wanted to make everything free,” he said.
Kim Cecchini, a member of the festival committee, said she hopes to maintain the size of the event each year, whether Hallmark returns or not.
“We’d love to see it as successful as our 4th of July parade,” she said.