Team Charleroi bringing back the magic
Casey Clark, left, owner of Off the Wall Arts in Charleroi, talks with Lori Coury, co-owner of Salatino’s River House, about promoting downtown Charleroi. The two are part of Team Charleroi.
Casey Clark, owner of Off the Walk Arts in Charleroi, displays a Team Charleroi sign promoting downtown Charleroi.
Team Charleroi, a group of business owners and merchants in the greater Charleroi area, is gearing up for another year of exciting community-focused events.
The team was formed by the Mon Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce after the Main Street program ended in 2005.
Daneen Troup, owner of Prima Diva Boutique and a coordinator for Team Charleroi since 2008, said the group was put together to continue to promote the downtown area and to bring traffic into town.
Troup opened her shop in 2010, starting with consignment and then moving into retail. She sells women’s clothing and accessories as well as children’s specialty items at 435 Fallowfield Ave.
She thought she would give business a try after seeing the development in Charleroi while working part time for the Chamber of Commerce.
Troup said events like the business crawl, where organizers choose a theme and encourage people to tour local businesses, help to show people what Charleroi has to offer. Proceeds from their business crawls benefit the John K. Tener Library.
“Not only are we supporting our businesses but we are supporting our nonprofits as well,” Troup said.
Troup said the team has a positive energy and has been generating great ideas.
“Because I’ve been involved since the beginning, it’s exciting to see so many people involved,” Troup said.
Casey Clark, owner of Off the Wall Arts in Charleroi, was appointed as the events coordinator for Team Charleroi last year.
“It is important to me to support and be active in community events,” Clark said.
Clark started her art business in early 2013, where she traveled doing various group painting sessions and events. She bought the building at 532 McKean Ave. in 2014 and opened her studio there.
“I’ve always loved art and I wanted to create a fun evening for girls and groups to get together to make paintings of their own,” Clark said.
Clark said close to 20 local businesses are involved with Team Charleroi and actively participate in planning and executing events, working collectively with strong borough support.
“Our mission is to bring people into town and have fun events, interesting for everyone to participate in,” Clark said.
At the group’s monthly meeting on Wednesday, Clark said members finalized details for an Easter egg hunt and began planning events for the coming months.
“We’re a town working together and we’re working hard,” Clark said.
The community Easter egg hunt will be held on March 26 at the Charleroi Trustees Community Park. The events will begin at 9 a.m. with a free pancake breakfast with the Easter Bunny, donated by the team, and will be followed by games beginning at 10 a.m. Clark said Snapshot 47 will be taking pictures with the Easter Bunny during the event for $2 per photo. The egg hunt will begin at 11 a.m. and is sponsored by the Charleroi Borough.
Clark said the group is also planning a Stuff-A-Bus Food Drive benefitting the Greater Washington County Food Bank at the end of April. Clark explained that she was accepted into Leadership Washington County, a United Way program for emerging leaders, and one of her class goals is to raise funds for the food bank.
“Team Charleroi is going to support me for leadership and help me to raise money for the cause,” Clark said.
This year’s business crawl, dubbed the Magic City Open Tour, will be held in May. Clark said all participating businesses will be creating a miniature golf course hole.
“People can putt their way around town through the local merchants and businesses,” Clark said. She said businesses will have their own specials, as well as snacks and refreshments. Businesses will also have a friendly competition for best golf hole.
Clark said participants will have one shot at each business’s golf hole and whoever tallies up the most hole-in-one shots gets to take a long-putt shot at a grand prize. All proceeds for this event will benefit the library. Clark said a lot of businesses want to participate in the event and that she is looking forward to the fun.
“All of the local businesses in Charleroi are working hard to bring the magic back to the Magic City,” Clark said.