PITTSTON — Frigid temperatures didn’t stop hundreds of area people in the holiday spirit from participating in the annual Christmas in Pittston event.
For the second year, the City of Pittston held a holiday decorated vehicle parade. Anyone willing to decorate their car or truck with festive lights and decorations was invited to participate. The size of the vehicle parade tripled over the first year.
Hot chocolate was flowing by the gallons with the Knights of Columbus providing the free chocolate brew, along with candy canes and cookies to all who entered the hall. The Salvation Army was on site to provide hot chocolate, as well.
There were performances by Spotlight Dance Studio and Broadway on the Boulevard and music provided by Froggy 101.
Santa arrived in style in a three-horse drawn cart that later took riders around the block for families to enjoy the city.
Children received a gift from Santa after sitting on his lap and the city Christmas tree was lit to usher in the holiday.
Mayor Michael Lombardo was on hand for what he believes is the ninth year of the parade.
“Mayor (Jason) Klush started the event for all of his tenure as mayor,” Lombardo said. “This is a good example of a community event and I think our residents and, hopefully, the surrounding towns get to come and take advantage of a nice opportunity downtown. It’s a great way to kick off the holiday season.”
Lombardo was happy to see many downtown businesses open during the event.
Ironically, the tree used this year was a tree planted by the mayor himself 20 years ago.
Sarah Donahue was, once again, at the helm of organizing the Christmas event.
“Nothing new or different was changed from last year; we loved it. It was such a success; why re-invent the wheel?” Donahue said. “The only thing we did do was move the event from a Saturday night to a Friday night and I think the merchants like that.”
Lisa Inglese, of Bear Creek, who heard about the event through social media attended Christmas in Pittston with her family. “I’ve never been down here for any of the events and I love it,” Inglese said. “It’s gorgeous. I love Main Street.”
Pittston Memorial Library hosted Santa crafts, cookies and milk as well as a reading of the “Night Before Christmas” recited by Santa.
“The crowd is great; there’s a lot of people on Main Street waiting for the parade to start,” Donahue said. “It’s a little chilly, but the best feeling is walking in with Santa Claus and seeing all the kids faces and how excited they are to see Santa. I love that and it makes every ounce of work worth it to see their faces and smiles.”
