'Wings Over Westmoreland' unveiled at Overly's Country Christmas opening

The Westmoreland Cultural Trust added another angel — or at least its wings — to Overly’s Country Christmas in Mt. Pleasant Township this year.

The trust kicked off its “Wings Over Westmoreland” initiative Friday night, coinciding with the opening of Overly’s annual holiday display, which paints the Westmoreland County Fairgrounds in thousands of colored lights.

Created by the trust’s Incubator for the Arts artist Patrick Mahoney, a pair of wings were initially on display as an Art in the Alley project at the Palace Theater. They proved to be a popular selfie site and regularly appear on social media with the hashtag #WCTsArtintheAlley.

“This is a continuation of that initiative,” said Joyce Rettura, treasurer for the Overly’s Charitable Fund.

First painted on canvas, the 46-by-97.5-inch wings are then photographed, enlarged and printed on vinyl. They are adhered to a metal sheet and cut before being hung.

And just like the Greensburg wings, the Overly’s wings include local scenery: children roasting marshmallows by the bonfire, Santa Claus, the Christmas-light castle that welcomes visitors to Christmas Village and more.

Locations where community leaders have expressed interest in a pair of wings include the town hall courtyard in Ligonier, Vandergrift’s Casino Theatre, the West Overton Museum in East Huntingdon, Sobel’s Obscure Brewery in Jeannette and undetermined locations in Latrobe and New Kensington.

“We are thrilled to be here this evening,” Westmoreland Cultural Trust CEO April Kopas said. “We encourage everyone to enjoy the wings, take photographs with them and celebrate with each other tonight.

“This gathering is what we need as a county and as a community.”