Brownsville to hold Light-Up Night
BROWNSVILLE – The annual Light-Up Night parade in Browns-ville is expected to last more than two hours Friday. The parade will follow a route through Hiller, Brownsville, Blainesburg and West Brownsville, much of it lit by luminarias. More than 3,000 luminarias will be placed along the streets of Brownsville by volunteers just prior to the 5:30 p.m. parade. The luminarias will be placed along High Street, Market Street, Snowdon Square, Water Street, Second Street, Brashear, Front Street, the Nemacolin Castle grounds, Old Route 40 and Route 166 to Fort Burd Church, the Intercounty Bridge, and Middle Street and Main Street in West Brownsville.
Genevieve Capatosti, who is coordinating Light-Up Night for the Greater Brownsville Area Chamber of Commerce, said it will take more than 50 volunteers to place all of the luminarias before the start of the parade.
The volunteers include the Hiller Ladies Auxiliary, the Brownsville Area Revitalization Corp., the California and Republic Boy Scout troops, the North Side Ladies Auxiliary, Sue and Jack Lawver and the Brownsville Area High School Interact Club.
“We’ll start lighting the candles around 3:45,” Capatosti said. “It will take an hour and a half to two hours to lay it all out.”
Capatosti said the parade will start promptly at 5:30 p.m., leaving from the Hiller fire hall. The parade will wind through the upper and lower South Side of Brownsville, across the Intercounty Bridge to Blainesburg, across the Lane-Bane Bridge to the North Side, then out to Fort Burd Church. The parade will turn around there and head down Front Street and other areas of the North Side, back into the downtown area and around Snowdon Square, then back across the Intercounty Bridge to the West Brownsville Fire Hall.
“The parade has gotten so much bigger that it’s taking longer, so we’re starting a half-hour earlier this year,” Capatosti said.
The route is 8 3/4-miles long. Capatosti said more than 20 fire, ambulance and police units will participate in the parade, but it’s too long for marching bands to take part.
“We’re going to have a sing-along for the kids. We should arrive there between 7:15 and 7:30 p.m.,” Capatosti said.
Capatosti said the children will have a chance to meet Santa and Mrs. Claus and they will receive a treat bag.
“We expect a large crowd this year, judging from last year. It was overwhelming. We had over 200 kids,” Capatosti said.
In addition to the parade and sing-along, Light-Up Night activities in Brownsville will include candle-lit tours of the Nemacolin Castle and the opening of a doll show at the Flatiron Building Heritage Center.
The event will also kick off the Christmas Toy Drive being held in conjunction with the Brownsville Soup Kitchen. A child’s name may be selected from the tree at the Flatiron Building or participants may simply drop off an unwrapped toy valued at $10 or more. All presents must be returned to the Flatiron Building by Friday, Dec. 13, for distribution.