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Many Help to Make the Season Bright

November 25, 2018

By Tim Wagner, chair, Downtown Bloomsburg, Inc. board and Fred Gaffney, president, Columbia Montour Chamber; Downtown Bloomsburg, Inc. board member

This holiday season kicked off with a number of tremendous events to bring people to Bloomsburg. Holiday traditions continued while some new events were added. The board of Downtown Bloomsburg, Inc. (DBI) wishes to thank all of those who were involved in these events.

  • The first Coming Home for Christmas festival was held on North Market Street on Friday, which brought crafters, vendors, and visitors into the downtown. Proceeds from the event are to benefit worthy community causes.
  • Adjacent to the festival, Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble’s TreeFest got underway at the Caldwell Consistory thanks to the support of many volunteers and sponsoring organizations. TreeFest continues this weekend before the trees with be donated to area families.
  • BTE’s holiday production of “The Wizard of Oz” began with people lined up around the block to get in with donation items for local food pantries.
  • Another new event, WinterFest, was held Friday and Saturday at the Fairgrounds. The Fair Association lined up a wide variety of vendors and entertainment for families to enjoy.
  • On Friday evening, dozens of floats lit up the downtown in the WHLM Parade of Lights. Thanks to the Bloomsburg Rotary Club for supporting this year’s event.
  • Small Business Saturday highlighted the importance of supporting our local businesses. Thanks to The Exchange for organizing the American Express promotion.
  • DBI’s North Pole Express train rides were held once again Saturday and Sunday. Thanks to Service 1st Federal Credit Union for sponsoring this year’s event, as well as the other organizations that help make the rides possible, including Sherwin Williams, Community Strategies Group, North Shore Railroad, the SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority, and Penn Valley Railroad.

A number of these activities would not have been possible without the support of the Town of Bloomsburg, including the Police Department. The Town also provided support for the decorations for the fountain, with thanks to Gary Vadakin for his 12th year of doing the decorating.

And the holiday activities are far from over. TreeFest continues for another weekend and “The Wizard of Oz” at BTE runs through Dec. 29. Santa is at TreeFest again this weekend before moving to Exclusively You. Check the schedule at visitbloomsburg.com and thanks to the support of First Columbia Bank & Trust and the Bloomsburg Volunteer Ambulance Association. Downtown businesses welcome you for shopping throughout the holiday season with free, two-hour parking on Main Street with free parking to be extended to the municipal lots as of Dec. 15. Members of the DBI Board coordinate the bagging of meters each year.

Finally, you may have noticed that the holiday decorations on the light posts along Main Street are brighter this year. Thanks to Mayor Bill Kreisher for coordinating the additional lights, Public Works for stringing them, and First Columbia Bank & Trust for covering the cost. With the efforts of so many, the season is truly bright in Bloomsburg!

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