Hollidaysburg Herald - Reliable News for Hollidaysburg

Hollidaysburg Borough began preparations this week for the annual Winterfest celebration with the placement of the "Diamond tree" in front of the Capitol Hotel. The Diamond tree was originally from Canal Basin Park and Penelec assisted with the placement of the tree. Volunteers will gather on Saturday, November 16 at 9:00 am to decorate the tree in anticipation of Light Up Night on Friday, November 29.

The WinterFest Parade kicks off the festivities on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 2 p.m. Along the parade route, the Boy Scouts and the United States Marine Corps will be collecting toys for the annual Toys for Tots Campaign, the Hollidaysburg AMBUCS Club will be collecting food for local food banks, and there will even be elves collecting letters to Santa. The parade is sponsored by the American Legion Post #516.

On Friday, Nov. 29 from 5-7:30 p.m., the festivities will continue with Light-Up Night, Soup Sampling, and Santa Land. The Light-Up Night ceremony will begin at 7 pm and include the lighting of the downtown, along with the Christmas tree on the Diamond and the AMBUCS star on Chimney Rocks. Light Up Night is sponsored by UPMC Altoona.

Carols by the Hollidaysburg Area Community Chorus and the Altoona Brass Collective will be performed on the Diamond Stage at 6:00 p.m. The Allegheny Ukulele Kollective will also be performing throughout the event. Entertainment is sponsored by Atlantic Broadband

Katrina Pope

Hollidaysburg Borough began preparations this week for the annual Winterfest celebration with the placement of the "Diamond tree" in front of the Capitol Hotel. Volunteers will gather on Saturday, November 16 at 9 am to decorate the tree in anticipation of Light Up Night on Friday, November 29.

Santa Land will include photo ops, Santa meet and greet, a magician, and more. The Blair County Conservation District will be on site for families to make a natural decorative bundle and Rachel Bites will have paint your own cookies available for sale. Santa Land is sponsored by the Mc Lanahan Corporation. Families can enjoy the animals from Shaggy Mountain Petting Zoo and the ice carving demonstration by Tim Klock from Appalachian Arts Studio. Both sponsored by Keller Engineers, Inc.

Additionally, area restaurants will compete in the 25th Annual Soup Sampling Contest, sponsored by UPMC Altoona. Guests can sample all of the soups and vote for their favorites by purchasing tickets for $6 each. Tickets are available in Hollidaysburg at the Borough Building on Blair Street, Copy Rite Banner Zone and Finds Furniture Consignment on Allegheny Street, and the US Hotel on Juniata Street. The soup sampling is sponsored by Baechle Architects.

Additional Winterfest sponsors include: Stiffler McGraw, The Capitol Hotel, Hollidaysburg Area Women's Club, US Foods, Copy Rite Banner Zone, The Osgood Properties, the Hollidaysburg Area Arts Council, Sportsman's Warehouse, Chip N Dale's and Hollidaysburg Laundromat.

Find event info on Facebook with Hollidaysburg Borough. For more information or volunteer opportunities, please contact Katrina Pope at 814-696-0544 or via email at [email protected]