Canonsburg gets in festive spirit with its Fourth of July parade, celebration
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Bands are always a part of the Canonsburg Fourth of July parade.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
In this 2019 photo, members of the Steubenville Shriner Club make their way down Pike Street during Canonsburg’s Fourth of July parade.
Trista Thurston/Observer-Reporter
In this file photo, paradegoers are reminded not to put chairs out until 48 hours before Canonsburg’s Fourth of July parade.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Patriotism is in the air during Canonsburg’s Fourth of July parade.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
The Canonsburg Fourth of July parade attracts 30,000 or more every year.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
A photo of the 2022 Canonsburg Fourth of July parade.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Kids are happy to see the Pirate Parrot at last year’s Fourth of July parade in Canonsburg.
In the early days of July 1963, zip codes were first introduced in the United States, the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg was marked with a reenactment of Pickett’s Charge and an up-and-coming band called the Beatles banged out a tune called “She Loves You” at EMI’s studio on Abbey Road in London.
And, for the first time ever, Canonsburg put together a Fourth of July parade.
The idea for the parade started germinating the year before when Anthony Colaizzo was stuck in Canonsburg on the holiday because of a sick child. The family’s usual Fourth of July journey to South Park was called off, and Colaizzo, who sold insurance and would go on to become Canonsburg’s mayor and a state representative, was struck by how little patriotic finery there was in the borough. So, 60 years ago, Canonsburg had a parade with some floats and four bands, with no one having any idea then how the parade would grow over the next six decades.
“We add different things to the parade every year to spice it up,” according to Fred Terling, who handles publicity for the parade. “We’re always pressing for new music, new dance groups, more floats. And we’ve put that all together this year with more and more and more.”
On Tuesday, Canonsburg will again be celebrating the anniversary of the United States’ independence with a parade that will start at 10 a.m. This year’s celebrity grand marshal is Chris Hoffman, a reporter with KDKA-TV, and the local grand marshal will be Linda Lou Neill, a lifelong borough resident. The parade will have an appearance by the Pittsburgh Memorial Firefighters Pipe Band, and the mascots for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington Wild Things. The parade was pared down to a more manageable two hours about a decade ago, after it had swelled to more than three hours, and devoted parade watchers can only put chairs along the parade’s route on Pike Street 48 hours before the start of the parade — that rule was also instituted a decade ago, after chairs would start lining the boulevard many days in advance, and drivers would sometimes end up having to dodge them when they were swept into the street during storms.
The parade is almost certainly the biggest and most celebrated Fourth of July parade in Pennsylvania, and over the years it has attracted some noteworthy grand marshals and guests. Neill, this year’s local grand marshal, was the first Fourth of July Fire Queen back in 1963. She won the honor — and a trip to Florida — by selling more than 1,000 tickets for the Canonsburg Volunteer Fire Department.
While the parade is the centerpiece of Canonsburg’s July 4 celebration, other events are set for that day. The annual Whiskey Rebellion 5K Race & Walkers is scheduled to get going at 7:30 a.m., and church bells will ring across the borough at 9 a.m. After the parade, the festivities will continue in Town Park, with free admission to the pool, balloon creations, face painting, a rock-climbing wall, moon bounce and a giant slide. Live music will be provided by SNPJ Button Box at 1:30 p.m. and the Tom Terling Band at 3 p.m.
Gates at the stadium of the Canon-McMillan Area School District will open at 6 p.m. for the fireworks display. At 7 p.m., parade winners will be presented, followed by a concert at 7:30 p.m. by singer Aaron Margaria. Then, at 8 p.m., the country band Cross Creek will play. Fireworks by Pyrotecnico will begin at 10 p.m. A rain date for the following day is set for the fireworks only.
And, in an indication of how things have evolved over the last 60 years, this year both the parade and fireworks will be livestreamed on YouTube.
“We’ve tried to come into the 21st century,” Terling explained. Last year, the parade had 800 views online, along with the 30,000 or so people along the parade route.
Additional information is available at Canonsburgjuly4th.org.