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Canonsburg plans for return of Fourth of July parade

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The Canonsburg Fourth of July Committee announced this week that it plans to have a parade this year on July 3.

The longest parade in Pennsylvania, which has been an annual summer tradition for generations, is already being planned by the committee, according to a Monday news release.

“Even with the vaccine in play, we’re still not sure if the celebration will take place,” chairperson of the committee, Jennifer Shinshasky, said in the release. “But we’re hopeful and working hard for the citizens of Canonsburg to make the celebration happen.”

Last year, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the committee to cancel the parade and fireworks. Many of the borough’s other favorite festivals were also canceled, like Oktoberfest and the Old Fashioned Christmas festival.

“All of these celebrations are part of the identity of Canonsburg,” said the committee’s public relations chairperson, Fred Terling.

Terling said the decision to cancel was made, in part, due to so many people attending the parade, including folks from out of town. He said the parade averages about 30,000 spectators. This year, he said, they’re proceeding “as normal as we can.”

“We do have contingencies in place,” Terling said. “If it can’t happen, we’re looking into still having fireworks where the whole town can see them without having to all gather in one space. In addition to the date change, we are still working to move forward with the celebration in the hopes that there is one.”

Terling said the committee decided to move the celebration to July 3, since July 4 falls on a Sunday. They decided a Saturday celebration may be more favorable to the community, businesses and churches.

“Canonsburg has always been about community and people having things to do,” Terling said. “It’s important to give people hope that we’ll have some normalization in these uncertain times.”

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