Holiday celebration slated to ‘start the season’ in Scottdale with house tour, vendors, parade

Scottdale’s holiday celebration will take on a new meaning this weekend as the borough continues to mark its 150th anniversary.

Start the Season day, slated for Saturday, will feature a vintage house tour, vendor markets and a parade, said Tom Zwierzelewski, president of the Scottdale Historical Society.

“We’re working on bringing people into town,” Zwierzelewski said. “We want people to think of Scottdale — think of the shops in town, buy gifts and go to the restaurants for specials and just have a lot of fun. It’s getting feet on the ground.”

Scottdale — named after Thomas Scott, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad in the 1870s — was incorporated in 1874. The historical society will bookend the year of sesquicentennial celebrations with the fall festival in September.

To reflect on the town’s 150-year history, the house tour will include the former Scottdale Savings and Trust, which now serves as a time capsule for the borough, Zwierzelewski said. It will feature Christmas trees inspired by different decades and vintage toy displays.

The parade will include a reenactment of a scene from the song “Frosty the Snowman,” written by Scottdale native Jack Rollins. Once Frosty and the rest of the parade arrive at the gazebo at the corner of Pittsburgh and Spring streets, an officer from the Scottdale Police Department will call for the procession to stop. A video will be shown about Rollins’ songwriting and roots in Scottdale after the parade.

Vendor shows

Holiday events will fill the day, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Two vendor shows — the Maker’s Market and Handmade Christmas Craft Show — will kick off the festivities in the morning.

West Overton Village, about a mile outside Scottdale, has hosted the Maker’s Market since 2017, and this year it will continue into Sunday. The market will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring 30 vendors and three food trucks per day, said Carrie Palanko, director of relationship management for the village.

The vendors will sell holiday-themed items, pet care products, bath and soap products and candles, she said. Children can sit with Santa for a photograph between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday.

The food trucks for Saturday will include Bad Rabbit BBQ, Turn 4 Treats and Speals on Wheels. Syrian Aroma Mediterranean Cuisine, WPF Concessions and Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee of Central Westmoreland will be at the market on Sunday.

“Our holiday Maker’s Market is the perfect way to celebrate the season and give back to our community and supporters,” Palanko said.

The Handmade Christmas Craft Show will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at St. John Byzantine Church on Porter Avenue, Zwierzelewski said. Attendees can expect an array of crafts, homemade ethnic food, a bake sale, a 50-50 and a basket raffle.

House tour

The self-guided house tour falls after the vendor shows, from 2 to 6 p.m. Five vintage homes and the former Savings and Trust were selected for the tour this year, Zwierzelewski said. Two of the homes feature architecture inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Participants will find cookies, a miniature village display and vintage photos of Scottdale at the first house on the tour, the Loucks Homestead, which was built in 1835, Zwierzelewski said. At the bank, the Scottdale Kiwanis club will host a gift-wrapping station, and the Jacobs Creek Watershed Association will offer a children’s craft project.

Parade, food stands, holiday lights

To cap off the evening, the chamber of commerce will host a Winter Light Celebration from 5 to 8 p.m. near the gazebo.

The parade will kick off the celebration, chamber President David Mardis said. Marshall Fee, a Southmoreland Middle School student awaiting a heart transplant, will serve as the marshal. The chamber will sell refreshments at the celebration, and the proceeds will be donated to the Children’s Organ Transplant Association.

At the end of the parade, children can greet Santa and Mrs. Claus, who will hand out gift bags. A Christmas tree and decorated parking meters from the historical society’s parking meter decorating contest will be on display.

“If you’re into tours or crafts or whatever, you can spend the day in Scottdale — do your Christmas shopping, start the season in Scottdale,” Zwierzelewski said.