Old Fashioned Christmas returns to Canonsburg
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Grandpa Joe’s in downtown Canonsburg sports its own version of Pittsburgh’s iconic Hallmark Tree. The town is festive and ready for visitors at this weekend’s Old Fashioned Christmas celebration.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Dustin Stanton of Psh & Associates puts the finishing touches on the Christmas tree outside the Canonsburg Borough building ahead of Friday and Saturday’s Old Fashioned Christmas celebration.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
A 21-foot tree and 15-foot snowman welcome visitors to Canonsburg this holiday season. The decorations are made possible through a generous donation from the Domachowski family.
Downtown Canonsburg is dressed in its holiday best, ready for the annual Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration that begins at noon Friday and runs through 7 p.m. Saturday.
Guests won’t want to miss the Christmas tree lighting at 5:30 p.m. Friday or the Christmas parade Saturday evening.
“We have a number of Christmas floats this year,” said Lisa Scarmazzi, director of economic development for Canonsburg Borough. “It’s going to be spectacular.” The parade starts at 7 p.m. and processes along Pike Street through town.
Visitors to the celebration can sip hot beverages and enjoy food from area food trucks while browsing the wares of more than 50 local vendors at the holiday market along Pike Street.
An elegant sleigh serves as the perfect backdrop for photos – don’t forget to tag Canonsburg Christmas on Instagram! – and kids can meet the Grinch or mail letters to Santa before slipping into ice skates and gliding around the Velma Jeffries Children’s Youth Trust synthetic ice rink at the intersection of Greenside and Pike streets.
“This is something we’ve been wanting to do,” said Scarmazzi. “Every year, we say we want to do a skate rink. We’re so excited.”
Scarmazzi said new decorations were provided by the event’s premier sponsor, the Domachowski family.
“We’ve added additional, larger decorations this year … because of the generous donation of the Domachowski family,” she said.
Scarmazzi said other entertainment includes live music, the North Pole and face painting.
“Travelawaits.com ranked us as one of the top towns in Pennsylvania most Hallmark-like. We’re trying,” said Scarmazzi. “We’ve worked months on this. We’re just thrilled on the outcome and we think everybody else will be, too.”