Oakmont's Hometown Christmas celebration scheduled for Nov. 19

Christmas comes early in Oakmont.

A very merry “Hometown Christmas” is being presented Nov. 19 by the Oakmont Chamber of Commerce along Allegheny River Boulevard. The event features performances, a parade, a Christmas tree lighting ceremony, fireworks and other festivities.

The Christmas parade starts at 5 p.m. on the boulevard at Pennsylvania Avenue in Oakmont and ends in Verona. The parade features about 15 floats and about 40 other participants.

“It's kind of a community tradition,” said chamber President Ray Rogers. “It started out as just a Christmas parade years ago. That's kind of what it grew from. It's a great event.”

More than 100 vendors and stores will participate.

“It has always been an event to kick off the holiday shopping season in Oakmont,” chamber Director Summer Tissue said. “And in the past 10 years, it has evolved to include street vendors and children's activities.”

Activities include a 50/50 drawing, Chinese auction, balloon art, clowns, face painting, children's games and, most important, visits with Santa. Performances include the Riverview Jazz Band, Greater Harmony Chorus, St. Irenaeus Preschool carolers and Sherry's School of Dance.

There will be no horse-and-carriage rides this year because of the anticipated large crowd and traffic congestion.

“The event usually draws about 9,000 attendees throughout the evening,” Tissue said. “We have groups from as far as the state of Indiana that have not missed the event in over a decade.”

Hometown Christmas was known as Oakmont's Light Up Night for decades. The borough event started in 1957.

It was renamed the Christmas Parade and Kickoff Celebration in 2010 when Pittsburgh started to enforce a copyright on “Light Up Night.”

Hometown Christmas was selected as the new name in 2011 as part of a children's contest through the chamber.

Many locals, such as Oakmont Bakery owner Marc Serrao, still call it Light Up Night. The bakery has been involved in the holiday event since the business opened 28 years ago.

“It's really a magical night in Oakmont,” Serrao said. “I think Light Up Night really reminds me about the town under the Christmas tree. People are so excited. It has a small-town feel with a lot of activities, lots of things for kids to do and adults. It gives everybody a really good feeling about the town. The more people who like Oakmont, the better it is for the businesses.”

There will be a store window contest, to see which business has the most festive decoration.

“We want people to come to Oakmont to discover our town,” Tissue said. “We have some of the best restaurants and most unique shops. Hometown Christmas is a great day to come to town and discover what you have been missing.”

Michael DiVittorio is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-871-2367 or mdivittorio@tribweb.com.