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Thousands packed Broad and Beaver streets in Sewickley to kick off the holiday season.
The borough’s annual Light Up Night celebration brought in families from multiple communities on Dec. 2.
“It’s a nice way to meet the community and see the families having holiday fun,” said Sharon Klugh of Hampton, an orthodontist assistant at Forrest Orthodontics.
She was handing out red balloons to children near Dr. Tom Forrest’s office along Beaver Street, as well as the stage where Allegheny Brass Band and others performed.
John Popp, owner of Friendship Hill Equine Services, brought his horse-drawn trolley wagon and provided rides most of the evening.
Popp said he has been involved with activities in the Quaker Valley area for about a decade, and his crew was happy to be back in Sewickley.
“The borough helps us a lot with whatever we need,” Popp said. “We’ve been here a lot of years.”
The wagon rides were sponsored by First National Bank.
“Wherever we are, we want to be involved in the community,” FNB executive vice president Boyd Pethel said. “(Sewickley’s) packed full of wonderful people that care about each other. My kids go to school here and I’ve been super lucky to make great friends.”
Various businesses had free hot chocolate, foods and other refreshments for attendees.
Recently opened Big Spring Spirits had a variety of drinks flowing. Other activities included ice sculpting, visit with Santa and other holiday characters.
Organizers said some layout changes helped people walk around more freely, such as confining a majority of food trucks to one space. A lack of rain and snow didn’t hurt, either.
“This is such beautiful weather for tonight,” Julie Barnes, event committee chair and council vice president. “We’re really thankful for that and for all the people who came together to make this night happen. It takes a lot of people coordinating efforts and we’re grateful for that.
“We changed the footprint of the event by closing Walnut Street and making it pedestrian only since so many families would be there. We concentrated the food trucks in the Green Street parking lot so the people could walk easily on Beaver Street. We’ve been getting good feedback about the food trucks in the parking lot, and because we had tables and chairs for people to sit down. All these little logistics add up to make it a really enjoyable evening for our communities.”
Cocran Hose Co. volunteer firefighters were collecting toys for Toys for Tots. They also brought one of their fire trucks and showcased some of their equipment.
“It’s a Sewickley tradition that you get to be out here and hang out with friends, the family and enjoy yourselves with all the festivities,” firefighter Ben Eichenlaub said. “It’s kind of like the start of the Christmas season.”
Resident Jackie Konopka got a workout in roaming with her son Cameron, 9, who was excited to see ice sculptures and other displays — he had darted around a corner at Judit European Day Spa, which had free food and refreshments along with a small village display and performances by DZ Acoustic.
“It’s beautiful out here,” Konopka said. “The weather’s beautiful. The lights are beautiful. We’re having a good time.”
“This place is amazing,” Cameron said. His favorite part of the day was the trolley ride.
Food vendors at the event included Stuntpig, South Side BBQ, Country Hammer Moonshine, By the Wayside, Brisketburg, Veggies N’at, Patti’s Pastries, Little Athens, Valkyrie Doughnuts and Fat Cat Mac Attack.
Festivities concluded with a fireworks display. Sewickley police handled crowd control and no incidents were reported.
Michael DiVittorio is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Michael at 412-871-2367, mdivittorio@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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