charleroi community day
Charleroi’s Community Day will return this summer.
There hasn’t been a summer community celebration in Charleroi since 2021, and that was a smaller-scale event as the borough was getting back to basics after taking the event virtual in 2020 because of the pandemic.
Last year, council opted to cancel the summer version of Community Days after it appeared scheduling conflicts would make it difficult for the event to run smoothly. It was moved to later in the year and served as more of a fall festival.
The borough put on a fireworks display July 9 that coincided with an annual fundraiser for the Charleroi and Monessen No. 1 volunteer fire departments, and it proved to be successful for both agencies.
The borough’s event, a fall festival, never came to fruition.
In response to community demand — and with $3,000 already budgeted for fireworks — the borough will host a Community Day from noon to 10 p.m. July 2 with entertainment, food and activities for children. Charleroi Councilwoman Nancy Ellis was approached by a local resident who thought it was important the borough plan something to celebrate Independence Day.
Ellis spoke to her boss, Dave Barbe, owner of Fourth Street BBQ, who suggested putting together a committee to plan an event.
Barbe met with Ellis and Charleroi Councilman Larry Celaschi, who have since worked together to plan the borough’s Community Day. It will feature three bands, a DJ and other performances from community groups.
The event will begin at noon with food trucks, community vendors and a performance by Danielle DiClaudio Productions.
Part-Time Cowboys will perform from 2 to 4 p.m. and the Xavier Wells Band will take the stage from 5 to 7 p.m.
CHARLEROI • A4 FROM A3 Six Gun Sally will close out the night, leading up to a fireworks display from 8 to 9:30 p.m. DJ Galiffa will entertain guests between each set. Celaschi said the fireworks display is going to be bigger than ever before. In addition to the $3,000 the borough has budgeted, several sponsors have stepped in to donate funds toward the show. “This is the largest fireworks show I have ever been involved with,” Celaschi said. “When I ran this thing from 2014-2019, we were putting on $10,000 shows and this is going to be bigger than that.” In addition to food and music, there will be a bounce house and touch-a-truck event for children, which will include equipment from the Charleroi Volunteer Fire Department, Charleroi Regional Police, Rostraver West Newton EMS, Big’s Sanitation and Charleroi’s street department. Any Charleroi community organizations or vendors who would like to set up to participate can do so free of charge. Outside vendors will be required to pay a fee to set up. Vendor applications can be picked up at the borough building.