Nov 26, 2018 5 min read

Canonsburg, known for hosting the second-largest Fourth of July parade in Pennsylvania, could soon be known for another major holiday celebration.

Canonsburg’s Old Fashioned Christmas, “There’s no place like home for the holidays,” will be held from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, and Mayor David Rhome predicts big things.

“We’ve gone from planning something small to blowing it up,” said Rhome. “It’s going to be beautiful.”

While the borough has been hosting a light-up night for years, the idea to plan a major event came from councilman R.T. Bell, who has visited Bethlehem’s Christmas City several times, and residents Jean Scarsellato and Carol Imperatore, who approached Rhome after a meeting in September.

“Jean and Carol came up to me and said, ‘What do you think about making Christmas festivities much bigger than they have been up until now?’ I said, ‘Let’s run with it,'” said Rhome.

So a committee of Rhome, Scarsellato, Imperatore, Bell, Callie Munch, Kim Cecchine, Lexy Kusturiss, Christine May, Sharon Evans and Lisa Scarmazzi and others got to work. They decided they wanted to beautify the town with lights and decorations.

About 60 volunteers dressed the light poles in candy cane stripes, strung sparkling lights on the trees along Pike Street and filled the town planters with holiday decor. The committee asked business and home owners in the area to participate, and about 80 percent have decorated. Canon-McMillan High School art students helped paint business windows and create free-standing holiday statues.

Scarsellato and a few of the other committee members who love the famous Hallmark Channel Christmas movies set out to recreate their wonderland surroundings. Scarsellato sent an email to the Hallmark Channel, telling them about Canonsburg’s plans.

“I told them I’d been inspired by the Hallmark Christmas movies and wanted our town to look like one of the movies,” she said. “I never thought I’d hear back, but they did. They said what a wonderful story and they’d like to work with us.”

Rhome said Hallmark is sending greeting cards and ornaments to distribute during the event. They offered to send a movie that, weather permitting, will be shown outdoors during festivities. They also said they’re planning to send photographers to film the event.

Saturday’s line up includes a Christmas tree sale by Bluestar USA. For every tree sold, the company, owned by Canonsburg native Andrew Andronis, will donate and deliver a tree to a Washington County family in need. A craft show, games for kids, Toys for Tots collection, parade, live nativity, petting zoo, face painting, pictures with Santa, horse-drawn carriage rides, carolers and a tree lighting will round out the festivities.

The committee was supported by the Greater Canonsburg Chamber of Commerce and the borough. Rhome said many local businesses and individuals contributed, including a GoFundMe campaign.

He said that with all of the recent bad news, including the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, he wants the event to serve as a symbol of hope.

“Canonsburg is a community that is friendly and family-oriented,” said Rhome. “My hope is that through events like Old Fashioned Christmas, we’ll bring the spirit of Christmas and fellowship and spread friendship and love by being an example to others.”

Scarsellato and Imperatore said they have been overwhelmed with the amount of support the project has received.

“It’s really been heart-warming to see all of this come true,” Scarsellato said.

“When we started this, we did not expect to get as large as it is. We’ve met a lot of new people through this,” added Imperatore. “We’re trying to bring others into our town, and show them that this is a town that works together. We want to attract new businesses and show people how much we love our town.”

Canonsburg Old Fashioned Christmas schedule

Saturday, East Pike Street from North Central Avenue to Greenside Avenue

• 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  • Christmas tree sale
• Noon to 8
  • Food trucks
2 to 8 p.m.
• Christmas craft market
• Games
• Toys for Tots collection
• 5
  • Christmas parade
  • Frozen characters
  • Live nativity
  • Petting zoo
  • Face painting
  • Carolers
• 5:30
  • Pictures with Santa
• 6
  • Horse-drawn carriage rides
• 6:30
  • Lighting of the tree by mayor, council and event committee

Sponsored by Canonsburg Borough and Greater Canonsburg Chamber of Commerce