112 ENTERTAINMENT *»<»■»»*»
Celebrity from North to appear in Holiday Parade
By Barb Roy
Entertainment Editor
The air has a nip in it, and it is charged
with anticipation. Families, couples, friends,
and pets begin to arrive and settle into a spot:
chairs are unfolded, strollers parked, ther
moses filled with cocoa or coffee are un
capped and blankets are unfurled to envelope
one another within every available space
along the streets. The people continue to ar
rive, like the townsfolk of “Whoville”, gath
ered together to welcome the season. The
Grinch hasn’t stolen Christmas on this day:
the crowd, carried up in the spirit of good
will, impulsively holds hands and begin to
sing “Da Who Voray” Okay, it doesn’t get
Frosty the balloon man
this cozy, but there is a tangible spirit of holi
day cheeriness that pervades. The rumbling
beat of the oncoming bands sound in the dis
tance like thunder. The sound grows and sud
denly, the first cars of the lead are spotted:
police cars with lights flashing. The murmur
of excitement rolls down the crowd like a
wave as each person turns to whoever they’re
Hershey opens sweet season
By Diane Finnefrock
Staff Writer
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle
all the...
Oh my! Is it that time of year
again? It must be: The air is getting
colder, the stores are filling up with
Christmas decorations, and the
clerks are getting nastier. It must be
Christmas time again., so here’s a
way to relieve some of the “end of
semester blues” and get into the
holiday spirit.
Hersheypark’s Christmas
Candylane, which opened Nov.
13th and runs through Jan. 2, is one
very “sweet” way to tell Christmas
is coming. Hersheypark transforms
into a Christmas wonderland with
a million twinkling lights setting the
stage for all the sweet smells,
sounds and tastes that come alive
with the traditions of the season.
In Tudor Village you can find
Watch out, better not pout, you-know-who's in town. Santa Claus was last year, and he
returns again for this year's Holiday Parade
with and smiles, “The parade is here!”
The City of Harrisburg’s annual Holiday
Parade will take place on Saturday, Novem
ber 21 at 10:30 a.m. It will be televised live
on WHP TV-21 at 10:30 a.m. This year\s
theme is “Hollywood Holidays” and it will
feature over 2,000 marchers in more than 100
parade units. Besides fire trucks there are
dozens of floats by area businesses, radio sta
tions, civic groups and clubs and organiza
tions. A popular spectacle are the giant he
lium balloons, featuring characters like
“Mighty Mouse.”
There are also a dozen marching bands,
various color guard units, and kid clubs like
beautiful hand-crafted gifts and col
lectibles as well as Hershey’s
chocolate for everyone on your
shopping list. Hershey’s product
characters come to life in their holi
day best to greet you, and stroll
along with carolers and brass en
sembles warming the air with their
festive tunes.
Santa makes his pastle right here
with his eight tiny reindeer but
don ’t forget Rudolph—where chil
dren can learn more about them.
Speaking of children, there are over
a dozen rides for the kids, includ
ing the newly added Minetown
Train Village, a wonderland of ex
citing train displays. The newly
expanded area opens on Nov. 27
and is full of many other exciting
surprises.
For the young and old, there is
now access to Zoo America on
weekends from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
and Hershey’s Chocolate World is
boy and girl scouts and baton twirling schools
strutting their stuff. Even these organizations
add flourishes to their uniformed appearances
to match the holiday season. One group, the
Coyle School of Irish Dance, will be march
ing in this year's parade for their first time.
The dancers will be in their traditional Irish
dance costumes and wearing green stocking
caps. About fifty dancers will be participat
ing, dancing to “Christmas in Killamey.”
One tradition that never changes is the
grand finale of the arrival of Santa Claus. For
many years, Santa chose to travel the parade
on a fire truck, but in recent years, he has
appeared in an elegant horse-drawn carriage.
open for its 25th Anniversary cel
ebration. In the Hershey Museum
you can explore Christmas past
with old-fashioned trees and orna
ments, and learn about the legacy
Milton S. Hershey left behind. A
miniature train and trolley exhibits
Hershey in the roaring 1920 s and
features many famous Hershey
landmarks this year.
The heated theater is featuring A
Music Box Christmas, a song and
dance cast that will perform all of
your favorite holiday songs in a 25
minute show.
Admission is free to the park, but
you must pay as you ride the old
fashioned Carrousel, The
Candylane Twilight Express and
other selected rides. You can even
snuggle up with your significant
other on the horse drawn carriage
rides while sipping hot chocolate in
the crisp holiday air.
For more information, call (800)
Photos courtesy of Harrisburg Mayor's Office
HERSHEY, or visit the Web site at can’t deny it, so we might as well
www.Boohershey.com. enjoy it before it disappears in the
Christmas is fast approaching with blink of an eye to sneak up on us
only 37 shopping days left! No, we again next year.
The parade route begins on City Island and
then travels up Second Street to North Street,
then down to and continuing along Front
Street, and then back onto City Island, where
it disbands.
On-street parking is free for the day except
on the parade route. There is also free park
ing at the Market Square and Locust Street
Garages from 9a.m. to 5 p.m.
The parade also kicks off the Fourth An
nual Bell Atlantic-Harrisburg Holiday
Winterfeston City Island. Thousands of lights
illuminate the downtown area and city Island.
There are many events every Saturday (Noon
to 8 p.m.) and Sunday (Noon to 6 p.m.) from
Nov. 21 to Dec. 13 on City Island which in
cludes a Kidsfest, Holiday Marketplace with
crafts for sale, and a Winterfest Cafe. Call
255-3020 for information.
Bring friends, family, chairs, blankets, ther
moses, snacks and smiles. Most importantly,
don’t forget your little kid: the one that you
once were.
Smile and wave!