'Miracle on Main' full of meaning
Once again, Zelienople will ring in Christmas not just with a visit from Santa Claus but with a reminder of the meaning and purpose of the winter holiday season.
Miracle on Main Street will return Dec. 2 for its fifth iteration, following a slightly scaled-down version last year due to the pandemic. The Christmas parade, scheduled for 6:30 p.m., will make its return, and plenty of changes made in 2020 will be negated to reopen the event to as many people as possible.
Donna Ziegler, who organizes the event each year, said she’s excited for Miracle on Main Street: Not just for the great community turnout that happens each year, she said, but also for the deep generosity of Zelienople residents.
“The main thing about Miracle on Main Street is the charity,” Ziegler said. “We will have the coat giveaway, we will have the fabulous Butler County food pantry there, the Salvation Army kettle will be there.”
An initiative, which began in 2019, in which guests could donate foodstuffs for the Southwest Butler County Backpack Program, which provides backpacks filled with nourishment to children in the area, also will return, as will a slightly modified furniture set giveaway.
“Last year we also still gave away three sets to single moms of six-piece living room sets,” Ziegler said. “This year it’s going to be done the same way, but instead of the living room set — because it’s impossible to get furniture right now — we’ll pay up to $500 of mortgage or rent.”
A new initiative this year is Toys with the Grinch.
“They’ll be able to purchase toys, both at Discovery Toys and Room to Grow, with a top price of $20, and all those toys will go to children,” Ziegler said. “We’ll start with CVE (Connoquenessing Valley Elementary School), any needs there, then Glade Run, and then it will go to anywhere in southwest Butler County. They all stay right here for our children.”
Plus, with any leftover proceeds Miracle on Main Street will purchase gifts for residents of Passavant Community, including four formerly homeless families who currently live at Glade Run.
“We’re going to help them out, too,” Ziegler said.
Giving back
In addition to the myriad ways in which guests can donate to charity, Miracle on Main is set up in a way that doesn’t disadvantage those with less money.
“All the merchants donate through these little booklets that we have, and what happens with that is, some of that will go to charity, but for the most part it makes it so that everything is free for the children, and adults as well,” Ziegler said. “Everything that happens on Main Street is free.”
Even for families who aren’t necessarily struggling, it can be a saving grace.
“I think it’s really special,” Ziegler said. “I think families, especially when they have a large amount of children, it’s really hard to pay for all of the things the children want to do.”
Some of these festivities include carriage rides down Main Street and potential visits to a live Nativity or seeing live reindeer.
Ziegler said while both the Nativity and reindeer were in the park last year to encourage social distancing, they will be back on full display Thursday.
Other events making a return include cookie decorating with Mrs. Claus, and, of course, the tree light-up and 6:30 p.m. Christmas parade.
For Ziegler, it’s important to combine the celebration of the Christmas season with the “true meaning of Christmas.”
“The whole story behind Miracle on Main Street is bringing hope to Christmas, and that’s what we hope to do: Bring a joyful time to what everyone has been through in the last year and a half,” she said.
And there’s no better group of people to share that with, she said, than Zelienople residents.
“It’s the most generous town ever,” Ziegler said. “They’re very generous in their giving, from the churches to the community and the businesses. They’re so generous. It’s just amazing to see.”
