NEW CASTLE —
Thursday night’s annual Light-Up Night parade and festivities marked the start of this year’s holiday season.
Hundreds of people lined the streets of downtown New Castle to witness the event. Some came as early as 4 p.m., three hours prior to the parade’s start, to have their photos taken with Santa Claus at the New Castle News office.
While waiting for their turn on Santa’s lap, visitors to The News were treated to the musical talents of Lisa Burley and Vincent Wise, members of the duo “Two-4-Him.”
Outside The News and around the corner, the congregation of New Creation Church sang Christmas carols and sold hot dogs, cookies, coffee and hot chocolate to parade-goers.
The New Castle Police Department led this year’s parade, which lasted almost an hour and a half. Following them in the parade were Mayor Anthony Mastrangelo and a long line of signal-blaring firetrucks.
Children collected candy thrown from parade floats and waved glow-in-the-dark toys.
Dianna Troutman, 9, a student at West Side Primary, watched the parade with her family. When asked how much candy she had collected, Troutman happily responded, “four pocketfuls.”
Troutman wasn’t the only child who went home with an abundance of treats. Aleigha Toy, 8, a student at Union Elementary, couldn’t squeeze another piece of candy into her bulging pockets. When asked her favorite part of the evening, Toy had a difficult time deciding.
“Everything!” she said.
Following the performances of local high school marching bands and the smiles of homecoming queens, the excitement of the night came to a conclusion with a wave from Santa Claus and a fireworks display over the city.
