Winter lantern festival resounding success for Fox Chapel Parks Conservancy

A glittering field of more than 500 lanterns sent a simple but solid message by the new Fox Chapel Parks Conservancy trying to raise awareness of the borough’s vast green space.

“These are the community’s parks,” Councilwoman and Conservancy co-founder Mandy Steele said of the Jan. 8 event at McCahill Park. “They belong to all of us.”

The lantern festival was the inaugural event for the conservancy, formed in late 2020 to raise money and renew passion for the borough’s 345-acre park system that stretches from Beechwood Farms at the northern tip to the O’Hara border at the south.

It brought in more than $20,000.

Lanterns sold for $25 each but many participants gave generously above the cost, Steele said.

Immediate goals aren’t yet finalized but the mission of the conservancy is to preserve and expand the parks system for public use.

The event dovetailed nicely with the recent uptick in visits to the park during the pandemic, organizers said. About 100 people wandered through the field just after sunset and several hundred more drove by. Steele thanked the army of volunteers who helped with setup, led by Marcia Haberman.

Wes Posvar, conservancy co-founder, said park use climbed dramatically in 2020 thanks to the covid-19 guidelines that mandated social distancing.

“Many people worked and attended school from home, but the outdoor environment offered a healthy release from those confinements,” Posvar said. “Some residents took to walking borough streets, and others — many others — discovered our parks.”

On one recent afternoon visit to Salamander Park, Posvar stopped counting visitors at 30, where he used to encounter only a few.

This increased usage, coupled with the opening last year of Hardie Valley Park off Old Mill Road, suggested that the borough needed to take its stewardship of the park system to a higher level and led to the founding of the conservancy, he said.

Likewise, the lantern festival buoyed the buzz surrounding Fox Chapel’s parks leading to a well-attended, socially-distanced event.

“What a great way to start the New Year,” Posvar said. “Exciting times are ahead.”

The winter festival was the first in a series of four that will spotlight different borough parks.

A spring lantern forest walk is next, scheduled for March 20 at Riding Meadow.

A summer lantern celebration will follow at Hardie Valley Park before closing out the year with a fall lantern illumination at Trillium Trail. Dates are not yet set.

Organizers have deemed the kickoff a success judging by the number of people already clamoring for more.

“The feedback has been overwhelming,” Steele said. “People are so excited about these events, and we’re getting constant messages asking about the next one.

“What I am most proud of is the number of people that contributed. So many people care about our parks and want to see more conservation. It’s awesome to see the community take ownership of these green spaces.”