Freeport's Small Town Christmas parade draws a crowd

Sleigh bells rang throughout Freeport as hundreds of people packed the main street sidewalks for a chance to see Santa and other groups marching in the Small Town Christmas parade.

At least 20 groups marched in the celebration Saturday including various Freeport Area High School athletic teams, the marching band, troops from the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and teams from Freeport Youth Football and Cheer.

Several fire departments outside the borough, including Buffalo, Harrison and South Buffalo townships, decorated their trucks and drove around with members tossing out candy.

The annual holiday celebration was presented by the Freeport Renaissance Association.

The association had virtual and socially distanced activities last year, and there was no parade.

“It was a pleasant relief to have the parade again after last year,” Mayor James Swartz Jr. said after directing traffic at the intersection of High and Fifth streets. “It was a very nice parade.”

Freeport Fire Marshal Michael Greiser thanked all the departments and groups that participated and it looked “the best to me in a long time.”

Santa has arrived in Freeport pic.twitter.com/iPpNyvcFVR

— Mike D. (@MikeJdiVittorio) December 4, 2021

Small Town Christmas featured various activities leading up to the parade.

Freeport Area Library hosted a bake sale and opened its flea market/Christmas shoppe. St. Mary Roman Catholic Church offered a breakfast with Santa.

St. Mary’s also had a creche display and Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church had a bake sale and open house.

Several businesses also participated in the festivities including NextHome Dynamic, which hosted a gingerbread house contest and pet photos with Santa.

Heidi Powell, who owns NextHome and serves as its broker, said the gingerbread contest was in its fifth year.

“We always try as an office to participate in any event in town that supports our sense of community here in Freeport,” Powell said. They had 15 entrants this time, including 13 for the children’s category.

“It’s a little light this year,” Powell said about the number of contestants. “Last year, I think we had about 40. There’s a lot going on this year. Last year, there wasn’t as much happening, so I think people took advantage of concentrating on the one thing. There’s a lot happening in town, so lots of people are busy. There are also other contests to do that weren’t available last year.

“Being a real estate company, we do houses, so gingerbread houses works really well with (us). We love watching the kids light up when they see the houses. Its’ fun to see them get excited about it. They bring their grandparents in and the community comes in and votes.”

The McKillop family took the people’s choice award with more than 120 votes.

Taelyn Toy, 12, of Freeport won in the children’s category with her creation of the Evergreen Cabin in Cook Forest.

Taelyn said they used icing, sprinkles and graham crackers to recreate where she and her family vacationed over the summer.

“It was fun,” she said about making the house. “It feels nice (to win). I just think they look cool and it’s just fun to make them.”

NextHome Dynamics also collected donations for Orphans of the Storm, a Kittanning-based nonprofit dedicated to helping unwanted and abused animals.

Powell said they raised about $700 in monetary donations as well as bags and boxes of food. The company has supported the charity the past nine years.

“We believe pets are really integral to home and family,” Powell said. “Many people believe that a home isn’t a home unless there’s something furry in it. We really like to be able to support those no-kill shelters that really need our support this year.”

December’s Mingle Off Market, an event involving various shops in the borough’s business district, was moved to Saturday in connection with Small Town Christmas.

The event culminated with the lighting of the Christmas tree at the Hope Garden, near the corner of Mulberry Way and Fifth Street.

Freeport Area sophomore Anne Lindsay led the group in some carolling at the garden while folks awaited Santa.

Children left with treat bags crafted by the mayor and his wife, Margie Swartz.

This month marked the first Small Town Christmas for Renaissance Association volunteer Cheyenne Filous, who served as a liaison for organizations and businesses at the event.

“Without having really any first-hand experience or expectations, I thought it went really well,” she said. “We couldn’t have had better weather, and it was great to see the turnout we had throughout the day.”

Filous said volunteers already are talking about bringing back the home decorating contest for next year’s event.