Chair setup for Fourth of July parade begins
Frank Parrino and Diana Dellorso of Chartiers Township have an elaborate setup for family and friends to view the Canonsburg Fourth of July parade along Pike Street.
Pastor Brian Baldwin, right, and David Condon of New Life Church wasted little time Thursday morning roping off 23 chairs in front of the church property at the corner of West Pike Street and Belmont Avenue for the Canonsburg Fourth of July parade Saturday morning.
The annual “placing of the chairs” before the Canonsburg Fourth of July parade is a tradition many take seriously, but few so much as Frank Parrino and Diana Dellorso.
“A lot of my friends think we’re nuts,” Parrino said. “But then they join us every year.”
For the third year, residents were required to wait until 48 hours before the parade to set up chairs claiming spots. By 9 a.m. Thursday, more than half of Pike Street was lined with chairs.
The chairs were just the beginning of the Chartiers Township couple’s display, which has grown for 25 years along with their group.
“We have a tradition that if you spend one Fourth of July with us, you have to keep coming back,” Dellorso said.
They are expecting about 30 this year.
“We first started with a couple chairs, and then we added to it, and now it’s all this,” Dellorso said, motioning to the display that includes a large American flag, mattress, picnic gear, inflatable stars, Fourth of July attire, a gazebo with an American flag “disco ball,” and a 1946 Chevrolet truck.
The truck once served as a playpen for their six grandsons.
The boys, now ages 13 to 21, made a tradition of riding in the truck to the parade with Parrino.
The iconic truck marks the couple’s usual spot. After 25 years in the same location outside the Canonsburg Veterans of Foreign Wars, the extravagant display has become an expected feature for workers near the post. One worker who was familiar with the couple pulled out of the lot as Parrino blew up a blue inflatable star and Dellorso hung a strand of silver stars.
“Hey, you can’t park here!” he shouted out his window as he passed. “Just kidding.”