Hometown Christmas parade in Oakmont, Verona canceled due to coronavirus concerns

A holiday tradition that spans Verona and Oakmont boroughs will not take place this year because of covid-19 health concerns.

The Hometown Christmas parade set for Nov. 21 has been canceled after Oakmont officials denied a request from the Oakmont Chamber of Commerce to close Allegheny River Boulevard that evening.

Council discussed the request at its Oct. 19 voting meeting.

“I’m 100% against allowing a parade,” Mayor Christopher Whaley said. “I’ve been in the parade the last three years. People are shoulder to shoulder lining the sidewalk the entire length from Rite Aid all the way to Pennsylvania (Avenue).

“The people in the parade are in close proximity to each other. I don’t think that people are going to be marching from Verona with masks on. I think we’re setting ourselves up to look bad and potentially spread the virus.”

Council Vice President Leah Power said she loves the parade but thinks having it during the pandemic could put others at risk.

Hometown Christmas has been known to draw several thousand people to both communities year after year for several decades. It rained a majority of the time last year.

Chamber Director Karen DeTurk said she was disappointed to hear about council’s decision. People already started making floats and advertisements had been sent out.

“I’m really upset that they canceled it,” DeTurk said. “I wish we would have known they were going to talk about it so we could state our case. It’s a bit disheartening to find out at this late time we can’t have the parade. I think at this point, people need some sort of normalcy. We could tell them to wear a mask and social distance, but whether or not they did that, who knows.”

The Hometown Christmas celebration is a collaboration of both the Oakmont and Verona chambers, with this year’s lineup to be along Railroad Avenue in Verona. The route would have gone up South Avenue to Allegheny River Boulevard and continue through Oakmont.

Planning starts about a month and a half prior to the event.

Chamber officials had already canceled vendors, performances and pictures with Santa as part of the health and safety efforts, and were counting on council to close the boulevard for the parade.

“We were stripping it down to bare bones just to have something, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen,” said DeTurk.

Verona Manager Jerry Kenna said with Oakmont dropping out this close to the event, logistically there was not enough time to organize their own parade.