Christmas spirit draws crowd downtown
Christmas came to Butler, five months ahead of schedule.
Butler Downtown's first Christmas in July event was at Diamond Park and Worsley's lot beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Festivities included food vendors, face-painting, a dunk tank, caricature drawings, horse-drawn carriage rides and, of course, a visit from Santa Claus.
A movie, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” starring Jim Carrey, was shown at the Worsley's lot at 9 p.m.
Proceeds from the event will be used to buy new snowflake light decorations that will be displayed on Main Street beginning in November.
Krista Washkau, secretary of Butler Downtown, said the goal was to raise $18,000.“The turnout is really good,” she said. “We had people showing up right at 11 o'clock, which was exciting.”Washkau's booth was selling Christmas ornaments made by the Gateway China Company in Lyndora.“We started thinking about doing this at the beginning of the year, but really got into planning it two months ago when we knew we could have outdoor gatherings,” she said.Butler resident Stephanie Steele brought her children, Nevin Nickell-Steele, 11, and Lucas Morris-Steele, 4, to help spread some holiday cheer. Both youngsters passed out candy canes on the sidewalk along Main Street.
“At Christmas time, we always come downtown to do this,” Stephanie said. “Christmas in July seemed like a good time for it.”A brief rain shower around noon gave way to hazy sunshine. The hot and muggy conditions did not deter the Steele family.“We spent Christmas in Florida last year,” Stephanie explained. “This is pretty much the same thing.”Butch Walmsley, 74, of Butler, took the opportunity to pass out lollipops to kids. He donned a Santa hat and a T-shirt that read: “Working on my Santa bod.”Walmsley said he's keeping track of who's naughty and nice.“Including myself,” he said, laughing. “I have to look in the mirror every day.”
Jimmy Chiprean, whose family owns Miller's Shoes on South Main Street, added to the atmosphere with a CD player that provided Christmas music, courtesy of Wayne Newton.“I'm glad to see the weather breaking,” he said. “You can see the crowds coming into town. Anything held downtown is such a positive for the city.”Renfrew's Emily Troyan was walking around Diamond Park with her 2-year-old son, Noah, who was carrying a Christmas tree ornament he made at a tent set up by the Butler Art Center.
“Noah wants to see Santa,” she said.After all, it's not too early to let him know what would be appreciated under the tree come Dec. 25.“He's going to ask for a rocket launcher,” Troy said.Santa Claus did not arrive until 2 p.m., long after Mrs. Claus began handing out Hershey kisses to the crowd.“They didn't tell me it was going to be 80 degrees,” she said with a grin. “This is a busy time of the year at the North Pole. The elves work in shifts and we're making toys 24/7.”
