The Tyrone Area Chamber of Commerce, the Tyrone Merchants Association, the Tyrone Community Partnership and the Tyrone Arts Council are pleased to announce the second annual Tyrone Victorian Christmas Celebration, December 1-3 in downtown Tyrone.
Festivities will begin with the tree lighting and parade on Thursday, December 1 at 6:15 p.m.
Also on Thursday, the sixth annual soup tasting will be held.
On Friday, December 2, Faces and Places Ministry will present the Christmas production, “The Journey” at the Community Worship Center on Bald Eagle Avenue, at 7 p.m.
Activities will continue on Saturday, December 3 with vendors throughout the downtown area. A craft show will be held inside the empty storefront on 10th Street, formerly the Dollar General Store. There will be many booths setup including Nancy Kilmartin, Delores Deihl and Dotty Flemming from the Cubbyhole. Bob Tennis will also have his country-style furnishings available.
A variety of food will be available for visitors including sparkling, non-alcoholic wine, a variety of cheeses, fudge and baked goods from Sweet Morsels.
“It’s not the typical food you find at an event like this,” said Jen Liddick, who helped organize the festivities.
Also D and B Mixes will be available for purchase. These mixes include hot chocolate, soup, cider and dip, packaged together, making a great gift idea.
Back again this year will be carriage rides, starting at the rail park. The carriage rides are provided by Diamond Lane Carriage Rides of Roaring Spring and are sponsored by Reliance Bank. Tickets will be available by presale only and are $5. The carriage rides will begin at 11 a.m. and will conclude at 4 p.m.
For the kids, there are activities scheduled at the Armory including games, face painting, kid’s crafts and a visit from Santa.
The games planned for this year include a sand bag toss, bullseye challenge, a lollipop tree, duck pond and M&M guessing game. There will also be crafts such as creating foam stockings, painting wooden ornaments and making crowns like those wore by the three kings.
Things will work a little different this year with children collecting tickets to join in the games and crafts for free.
Eighteen merchants will participate, donating $30 each and handing out tickets for children to be admitted to the different games and crafts.
Also as part of the celebration, there will be a tree decorating contest. A walkway of trees will be set up at the Tyrone Armory. The contest will be opened to businesses, clubs and organizations, individuals, families and anyone else who may want to participate.
All trees must be artificial; the committee has 20 artificial trees that can be used on a first come-first serve basis. Trees can be put up and decorated between Nov. 28 and Dec. 1. All trees must be up and decorated by the evening of Dec. 1.
The trees will be judged in five categories, Victorian, best of show, best in representation of business, club or organization or theme, most original and most traditional.
Trees can be taken down on Dec. 5 and must be removed by 2 p.m. on Dec. 7. The committee would like participants to know they cannot be responsible for items on the trees. They suggest avoiding the use of heirloom decorations.
To register for the contest, call 684-4116.
The Tyrone Victorian Christmas Celebration Committee is made up of Rose Black, Ray Liddick, Jen Liddick, Scott Collinash, Rhonda Whelan, Laurie Cowfer and Victoria Isenberg.
Anyone with questions about the organization or donations, can contact Ray Liddick Jr. through email at ray@opendoorvisions.com or contact Rose Black at the Tyrone Area Chamber of Commerce office at 684-0736.
