JOHNSTOWN —
Downtown Johnstown is aglow with the light and spirit of Christmas.
On Friday, children, musicians, parents and Santa Claus himself came together to ring in the holiday season with a night of festivities that culminated with the lighting of Central Park.
The celebration included the city’s annual Christmas parade and a performance by the Johnstown Symphony Chorus.
Hundreds of bundled-up people lined Main Street to join in the fun on a cold not-quite-yet winter’s night.
“It’s always great to see the community come out,” said Bill Wilkinson, a member of the chorus.
Wilkinson and his fellow singers started the night with a concert in the park’s gazebo.
“It’s definitely something we look forward to every year,” Wilkinson said.
“We always have the group come out and join in with the Christmas season. With the symphony’s Christmas concert coming up in a couple of weeks, it kind of helps tie all of that in together.”
Onlookers watched marching bands, floats and Macy’s-style giant balloons pass down Main Street for almost an hour.
The West End Ambulance Service chose a Grinch theme for its float.
“It was something the kids liked,” said Janice Livingston, a paramedic with the ambulance group.
Bishop McCort Catholic High School’s marching band received the honor of leading Santa Claus along the route.
“It’s the Christmas parade; we have to be here. It’s one of those parades that the town likes coming to, we like coming to and the kids love playing,” said the band’s director, Keith Kuckenbrod.
Local News
Related Photos
-
Santa Claus makes his arrival Friday evening on Main Street at the conclusion of Johnstown’s annual Christmas Parade. Todd Berkey
-
Kylee Stephens, 18 months, is decked out in red with Santa Claus headgear as she joins the parade with her father, Scott. They are from Johnstown. Todd Berkey
Discussion
Hundreds throng downtown as Santa highlights parade
- Local News
-
-
Game, humane groups offer $5K in bald eagle death
The Pennsylvania Game Commission and The Humane Society of the United States are offering more than $5,000 for information on whoever fatally shot a bald eagle in Cambria County earlier this month.
-
School, council, supervisors races draw voters
Area voters took to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots, with many saying school board and council or supervisors races were the driving force that brought them out.
-
Incumbents advance: 5 candidates in city cross-file for victory
Five incumbents cross-filed, as Democrats and Republicans, and entered races for both four- and two-year seats on the Greater Johnstown school board.
Nobody else appeared on any ballot. -
Patton will get another mayor
Patton, in a resounding upset, will have a new mayor, and all four incumbents in the Penn Cambria school board race will remain at their posts.
-
Split decision: Each group has two winners on City Council
Democratic Party voters offered a split decision between the two groups of Johnstown City Council candidates that campaigned against each other in this year’s primary.
-
Richland Township supervisor defeated in GOP primary
One three-term incumbent led all candidates, but another was defeated in the Republican primary for two Richland Township supervisor seats.
-
Familiar faces in Richland
Three incumbent Richland Township school board members and a newcomer won nominations for four slots on both primary ballots Tuesday, virtually eliminating a ballot contest in the November election.
-
Windber selects Pekala
Windber Borough apparently will have a new mayor.
-
Hilltop group sweeps
Four of the five candidates supported by CEASE, a citizens group with a motto of fighting tax increases in the Westmont Hilltop School District while protecting education, won the four-year seats available in the identical order on both the Republican and Democratic tickets Tuesday.
-
3 incumbents feel N.C. wrath
Voters in the Northern Cambria School District spoke loudly in Tuesday’s primary election, as three of the four incumbents failed to earn the Democrat or Republican nomination.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Game, humane groups offer $5K in bald eagle death
Jodi Arias: Death Penalty Would Cause More Pain
Looking for Love? Take the Prague Metro
Crews Race to Find Survivors of Okla. Twister
First Person: Baby Falcons on a New York Bridge
Oklahoma: Images of Devastation, Reunion
Reunited Dad, Son: 'We Just Praise God'
Slow Pokes: Acupuncture Helps Sick Turtles
Moore, Okla. City of Reunions, Tears After Storm
Former IRS Chief: Can't Say How List Happened
Gov. Fallin: Okla. Facing Horrific Disaster
Tim Cook Defends Apple's Tax Accounting
AP Photograher: 'It Was a Miracle' They Got Out
Raw: Crews Search for Survivors of Okla. Tornado
Raw: Tearful Reunion After Okla. Tornado
OKC Hospital Describes Treating Tornado Wounded
Obama Pledges Urgent Aid for Tornado Victims
Raw: Massive Funnel Clouds in Oklahoma
