Brownsville Holiday Parade, Light-Up Night Usher in the Season

GREATER BROWNSVILLE AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE


For immediate release:

Nov. 14, 2011

Greater Brownsville Area Chamber of Commerce

Finalizes Plans for Holiday Parade, Light-Up

BROWNSVILLE, Pa. – The Greater Brownsville Area Chamber of Commerce has plans in place for its annual Light-Up Night, a longstanding tradition of exemplary community involvement to usher in the holiday season.

The Christmas parade will begin at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 25, a caravan of holiday-decorated emergency and personal vehicles following an eight-mile route through Brownsville, Hiller, West Brownsville and Brownsville Township. Line-up for the parade is 5 p.m. at Hiller Volunteer Fire Department, 937 First St.

Santa and Mrs. Claus are scheduled to arrive at 7 p.m. at North Side Fire Department, 520 Market St. The chamber is preparing 150 treats to hand out to children at the fire hall, where high school students from the Brownsville Area School District will lead a sing-a-long of Christmas carols.

In the coming days, volunteer firemen from North and South Side departments will be hanging the borough's Christmas lights and checking them twice to make sure all bulbs are working for the Nov. 25 light-up festivities. The chamber-sponsored holiday event also draws volunteers from Brownsville Borough, Interact Club, Rotary Club, Scout troops, Hiller Ladies Auxiliary and Brownsville Area Revitalization Corp.

Several days before the parade, the chamber will distribute nearly 3,000 plastic jugs, filled with sand and candles, for the traditional luminaria – a catalyst for community-wide participation by residents and local organizations that add to the magic of Brownsville's light-up night by making it stretch for miles.

"It's not just one person doing it. It's really wonderful community participation," says Frank Ricco, president of the local chamber.
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To schedule an interview or photo:
Frank Ricco, 724-785-3600

*Editor's Note: Photo credit – Brianne Mitchell

Sun Rising on Brownsville's Redevelopment Prospects

For Immediate Release


Jan. 11, 2011

"Brownsville on the move – remembering the past, but moving forward" – Mayor Lester Ward

Sun Rising on Brownsville's Redevelopment Prospects

BROWNSVILLE, Pa. – Seven students from the Brownsville Area School District's art department will lead a community initiative on behalf of the borough's mayor to showcase five historic buildings now controlled by the Fayette County Redevelopment Authority.

The students will gather at 10 a.m. Jan. 17 in the Market Street parking lot to construct a mural that will be expanded as more buildings become available for redevelopment and adaptive reuse. The students' community day is being held in conjunction with AmeriCorps Vista's Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service 2011, a nationwide annual event promoting volunteerism as a tribute to the late Civil Rights leader.

Brownsville Borough Mayor Lester Ward initiated the multi-faceted project, which is aimed at marketing the buildings' availability to the more than 8,000 motorists who daily pass through the downtown while depicting the progress of an ongoing eminent domain case by the Fayette County Redevelopment Authority.

"What we're trying to do is bring some light to these buildings, bring light back into the town," explains the mayor, "and bring some hope."

The project's first phase will target vacant commercial properties recently acquired by the redevelopment authority – 5 Market St., 21 Market St., 18-24 Market St., 35 Market St. and 43-47 Market St. During the borough's heyday in the 1960s, commercial uses included specialty shops, a department store and a Murphy's 5&10, a now-defunct chain that embedded itself into the fabric of prosperous towns.

BASD's art students selected a sun design by senior Kendle Parsons as the focal point for a colorful mural featuring stencils of their silhouettes on the vacant storefronts. The conceptual phase included design input from AmeriCorps OSM/Vista's local volunteer Blake B. Fisher and BASD art department director Brian Nicholson.

"I've never really seen anything happening in Brownsville. I've heard it used to be busy and there were things to do. Now, there's nothing," says Parsons, who will be attending Waynesburg University in the fall. "Our project is the beginning of something new to signify Brownsville's rebirth."

In addition to Parsons, the participating BASD students are seniors Jared Gibson, Karen Ross, Gabby Vaughn and Parsons plus juniors Chad Gump, Garret Rohrer and Matt Karol.

The students' project is sanctioned by the Fayette County Redevelopment Authority, Brownsville Area School District, Brownsville Blueprint Communities Committee, Brownsville Borough, Greater Brownsville Area Chamber of Commerce, Brownsville Area Revitalization Corp., Brownsville Rotary Club, AmeriCorps Vista and the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service 2011.
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For additional information, schedule photos or interviews:

Andrew French, Executive Director, Fayette County Redevelopment Authority, 724-437-1547 ext. 210

Brownsville Mayor Lester Ward, 724-785-3363

Brian Nicholson, BASD art department director, 724-785-2021