Hempfield neighborhood boosts Christmas spirit with parade

Heather Manhart is hopeful a parade will bring the Christmas spirit to kids in her Hempfield neighborhood following a year marred by the coronavirus pandemic.

“They lost so much this year and (I’m) hoping that this will bring a smile to their face seeing Santa and just the spirit of Christmas,” said Manhart, 40, president and founder of the Rolling Hills Association, a social group for residents of the Rolling Hills neighborhood located in West Hempfield.

The Saturday parade and light up night will feature Santa Claus sitting in the back of a pickup truck, which will tow a trailer decorated with a holiday scene. Mt. Pleasant-based Area 31 Golf Carts will also drive a spaceship-themed trailer in the parade.

Neighbors will walk alongside the truck handing out candy and glow sticks to kids. The parade will wind its way through the neighborhood, ending at Manhart’s home, which her husband, Joe, 43, will decorate. The night will end with a tree lighting featuring individually wrapped cookies and hot chocolate.

“It’s something fun to do,” said Marla Volkar, 58, a member of the association. “This neighborhood has done a lot of fun things just to try to get through this pandemic.”

The event will take the place of a Christmas spaghetti dinner that is held by the association each year at the West Hempfield Presbyterian Church. The dinner was canceled because of gathering restrictions put in place in response to the pandemic.

In keeping with those measures, kids will not be able to sit on Santa’s lap following the parade, Manhart said.

Throughout the year, the association has held a number of events including a block party, an Easter parade and food trucks. This year, things like an obstacle course made out of chalk drawn on the road and scavenger hunts for stuffed animals placed in windows were rewarded with a Dairy Queen gift card.

“Mentally, to stay connected,” Manhart said of why it was important to host the events. “A lot of people aren’t seeing their families and we all live in this neighborhood together.”

Things like the Christmas parade are a way to bring people together, Manhart said. The parade is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

“It started with neighbors just trying to do something fun in the neighborhood, trying to get though this pandemic as safely as possible, health wise and mental,” Volkar said.