Santa Claus will be arriving at the La Festa Natale at the end of the Toy Truck Christmas Parade on Dec. 4, as shown in the photo from a previous year in Downtown Pittston.
Tony Callaio file photo
The Downtown Pittston Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony will take place on Saturday, Dec. 4.
Tony Callaio file photo
The Pittston City Toy Truck Christmas Parade will, once again, be a night time motor parade featuring vehicles decorated with Christmas directions started at Coopers Seafood on Kennedy Boulevard to Main Street ending just past the Tomato Festival lot on Dec. 4.
Tony Callaio file photo
La Festa Natale Pittston, consisting of the Shop with a Cop program, a Holiday Market, a Toy Truck Parade, Santa’s arrival and a Christmas Tree Lighting done by the 2021 Pittston Christmas Ambassador, will take place at the Tomato Festival lot and Pittston Memorial Library on Dec. 4 starting at noon and concluding at 8 p.m.
Shop with a Cop, a national program, will take place from 9 a.m. to noon at the Pittston Memorial Library.
The City of Pittston’s Chief Neil Murphy and his police squad as well as police departments from surrounding communities will host the event.
The Shop with a Cop program couples police officers with children at the elementary school level who are faced with life challenges such as a parent losing a job, homelessness, military deployment, economic shortcomings, and other hardships in helping them have a great Christmas holiday.
The program also allows the chance for children to view police officers in a different light while helping promote positive relationships with police and the community.
Shop with a Cop is funded through donations from the community, from private sponsors, such as The Greater Pittston Santa Squad, and local businesses.
Volunteers from the community will aid with giftwrapping and registration. Each child is allotted a monetary amount to purchase gifts for family members.
All participating police officers volunteer their own time to support the program.
For questions or sponsorship information, contact Mary Kroptavich at 570-299-7543 or email at mkroptavich@cityofpittston.org.
To fill out an application for eligible families for Shop with a Cop, go to https://tinyurl.com/yfn5499w. All applications will be kept strictly confidential.
La Festa Natale Pittston will have over 60 vendors both inside the library and a heated tent in the library parking.
Evening festivities will include the Toy Truck Parade, Christmas concert, Christmas Tree Lighting, and of course, Santa’s arrival.
There will be food, hot chocolate, and fresh kettle corn available. All admission and parking is free. Potential vendors must complete the application at https://form.jotform.com/212727226709054 and return it by the indicated deadline.
