All Categories - Cochranton Events

Christmas Tree Lane!

8/2/2020

2020 Christmas Tree Lane Theme:
Dreaming of a White Christmas
November 20, 21, 22 Open to Public
(those placing trees for display will be setting up on November 19, closed to public during set-up)
Please consider joining us at Christmas Tree Lane in November (the weekend before Thanksgiving) this year -- and let us hope/pray that we are able to continue that fine tradition!! We will post updates if we are unable to move forward with the event, but our plan as of August 1, 2020 is to host our annual Christmas Tree Lane!!
Applications to participate and details will be available this fall. Cross your fingers, toes, eyes, whatever needed and let's plan that we will be celebrating the end of the pandemic by November and can have fun public events again!

23 YEARS of PARADES!!

7/21/2020

MISSING THE 2020 PARADE?
WE ARE TOO!
With HUGE THANKS to ARMSTRONG CABLE,
You can watch ALL THE Cochranton Fair Parades from 1997 through 2019,
beginning July 27th
and airing for about a week!! Just imagine......
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
TWENTY-THREE YEARS of parades, YOURS TO WATCH for an entire week or so!!
THANK YOU, ARMSTRONG CABLE!!

2020 Fair Parade cancelled.

6/4/2020

2020 PARADE THEME was Cochranton Memories.
It is with sad hearts that our all-volunteer parade committee formally announces that the 2020 parade is, in conjunction with the Cochranton Community Fair, cancelled for 2020. This decision was not reached lightly and we held off hope that we would be able to go forward with the parade even in the absence of an active fair week.
Many factors played a part in this decision including, but not limited to: following social distancing guidelines that may or may not be in place in early August, giving fair opportunity to our participants to plan other activities without having to wait until the last minute for our cancellation, sparing the residents of Cochranton the concern of large crowds coming into town on the heels of the global pandemic, and keeping things on the same schedule with the fair itself.
We are thankful for our volunteers who put in many unseen hours of work for this event and are thankful they will stick with us for the 2021 parade!
We know that participants and spectators will be disappointed in this decision, but as noted above, we did not make this decision without due review of the options to fall within state guidelines and keep everyone (participants, spectators, and volunteers) safe in the coming weeks. We, as your parade committee members/volunteers, are disappointed too! We LOVE our parade, our little town, and all of you! We shall miss seeing your creativity this year at the parade!!
We do ask the courtesy of not speaking badly of our volunteers as we have seen regarding some other community events. Many events rely on each other for support and no volunteer wants to see their beloved special event cancelled. Our volunteers are no different.
We are determined to be back in 2021, bigger and better than ever! Please put your thinking caps on and join us in 2021!! We can't wait to see you all on August 4, 2021!!

Please consider joining us at Christmas Tree Lane in November (the weekend before Thanksgiving) this year -- and let us hope/pray that we are able to continue that fine tradition!

2020 Christmas Tree Lane Theme:
To Be Announced!
Throughout the year, our committee is busy with plans for the annual parade which takes place on Wednesday evening during the week of the Cochranton Community Fair (always the first Full week of August) and with plans for Christmas Tree Lane which takes place the weekend prior to Thanksgiving each year and serves as our sole fund-raising endeavor for the parade. We encourage you to pull up your chair and enjoy our events!

WE LOVE OUR PARADE!!

4/13/2020

YOU are invited to participate in the annual Cochranton Community Fair Parade!!
Date: Wednesday, August 5, 2020
Location: the streets of Cochranton
Theme: Cochranton Memories
Whether you want to be IN the parade OR WATCH the parade OR VOLUNTEER TO HELP with the parade, we have a space for you! We are not permitting the worldwide pandemic of COVID-19 to dampen our spirits. WE LOVE A PARADE!!
We consider our little town's parade night to be a party for thousands and to be the largest evening parade in our neck of the woods, maybe even along the eastern seaboard! (To date, no one has disputed our claims to fame, so we're sticking with them!)
We invite you to join us for a fun time, something we're all looking forward to, especially right now with stay-at-home orders all over the country. Make plans. Please don't let the virus situation smother your plans. Remember, there is always Plan B. Sometimes we need to go to Plans C, D, and clear to Z, but we are proud of our American Spirit!! We shall parade til the cows come home!
Our Letter of Invitation and Parade Policy Brochure are available here: Parade Details. Our Application to Participate and Horse/Animal Application to Participate are located here: Applications Page. We will be sending out invitation/application paperwork via email in the coming days to recent participants -- and paper invitations via USPS after the stay-at-home orders are lifted. You don't have to wait to hear from us, though! The paperwork is now live and available here on our website!
If you would like to volunteer and make this one of the Greatest Parades Ever, please click here!
Like everything in this life (well, almost everything), parades cost money, so, please click here if you would like to donate financially too.
If you aren't able to march down the street with us, volunteer to help us, there is one more very essential job that may fit you perfectly: Spectator!! Make sure you have your lawn chairs ready for Wednesday, August 5, 2020!!
Let's show the world what we're made of here in Northwest Pennsylvania!!

2020 PARADE THEME

4/2/2020

It's here!!
The 2020 Cochranton Community Fair Parade theme is:
Cochranton Memories!
Put on your thinking caps!
Whether you enter a float in competition, march with a band, drive a cool car, this year's theme should provide oodles of fun for all!
Take a look back at our history. Look at your history with our community. We are making history every day!
We are not in a panic, by the way, over the world pandemic. We fully recognize the serious nature of the COVID-19 virus and encourage everyone to abide by the safety measures put forth by the CDC and PA Department of Health.
We are going to be sending out traditional paper invitation letters to those on our mailing list once the stay-at-home order is lifted in our state - BUT, if we have your email address on hand, we will start sending out invitations via email in the next few days! (If you would like to receive your information via email, please send us your contact information on the form under the General Queries tab.)
That said, we are planning to have a parade and get back to living this summer -- and sincerely hope that you are too!
Let's make more "Cochranton Memories"!!

Christmas Tree Lane on the horizon

10/2/2019

Christmas Tree Lane is less than 2 months away!
Our letter of invitation with application to participate, along with vendor/crafter application is now posted here on the website. You may print the pdf version, fill it out, and mail to us OR you may fill out the online version right here on the website.
We are looking forward to seeing your creative ideas evolving from the theme of "Growing the Holiday Spirit!"

Christmas Tree Lane

9/17/2019

ANNOUNCING!!
"Growing the Holiday Spirit" is the theme for Christmas Tree lane 2019!!
Put on your thinking caps!!
Applications and letters of invitation will be available soon, via postal mail to past participants and for download via this website. Stay tuned!

It's Almost Time!

7/28/2019

Guess What??
Go ahead, Guess!!
That's right!
It's almost time for a parade!
Heartiest thanks to those who've applied and been approved to be in our annual parade on Wednesday, August 7, 2019!! We look forward to your participation in this fun evening during the Cochranton Community Fair!!
Invitations extended to those who want to watch our parade as it glides/marches/traverses/moves through the streets of Cochranton! (We know that many of you put your chairs out early to save your favorite gazing spots!)
We are excited to announce that we have an excellent group of parade participants/performers/people for this year's pursuit of the ultimate in parade routes! (Yes, we ARE proud of our parade, deemed by many in the area to be the longest evening parade in Crawford County, perhaps even western Pennsylvania, dare we suggest the entire Commonwealth?!?!
No matter how you categorize our marching units, floats, drill teams, motorized units, animal entries, bands, and others, we know that WE LOVE A PARADE and WE LOVE ALL OF YOU WHO PARTICIPATE, WHO SPECTATE, WHO DONATE, WHO VOLUNTEER YOUR TIME!
We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday, August 7, 2019 in Cochranton PA.. The parade steps-off at 6:30PM. (Line-up begins at 5:00PM for those units that applied and are registered. We do not accept walk-in entries for safety reasons. Thank you for understanding!)
Check out our Countdown Timer on our home page! We're getting excited for Wednesday, August 7th at 6:30PM!!

2019

5/1/2019

Spring Greetings and Happy Parade Season 2019!
In case you missed it at the annual Cochranton Community Fair Breakfast Buffet Benefit, we announced our 2019 Parade Theme: "Growing Our Future"!! Our annual parade is scheduled for Wednesday, August 7, 2019. Deadline to apply is July 15, 2019.
The committee is looking forward to a great parade during the week of the Cochranton Community Fair in August and to seeing YOU!
Updates made today to the website -- you can now utilize our online application system for this year's parade. Information regarding the parade is available on the "Parade Details" tab and applications are available on the drop-down tab "Parade applications."
Paper/hard-copies of the Invitation Letter, Applications, etc. have been going out in the mail this week. If you participated in the parade in the last few years, watch your mailbox for your copies to be arriving any day now.
If you do not receive a paper copy (sometime things do get lost), please feel free to download the same information from the website -- and share it with others who may be interested in joining us this August!
Have an awesome spring/summer!!

Christmas Tree Lane 2018

11/14/2018

Looking forward to Christmas Tree Lane this week!

Hours the annual tree display is open to the public:
Friday, November 16 10:00am - 6:00pm
Saturday, November 17 10:00am - 6:00pm
Sunday, November 18 10:00am - 4:00pm

Santa arrives at noon on Saturday via Firetruck! He will stay until 2:00pm to listen to children's wishes!

Admission:
Ages 12 and up $3.00
Ages 6 - 11 $1.00
Ages 5 and Under Free admission
Never a Fee just to visit with Santa!!

Northcoast Brass Company will be treating us to some holiday favorites beginning at noon on Saturday over the 'Santa/lunch rush' and will welcome Santa to the fire hall with one of his favorite songs!

The kitchen will be open all 3 days for some tasty treats including pie for dessert!

You can vote for your favorite tree and see how your vote compares to the judges' awards, with the People's Choice Winner announced at the close of the event on Sunday, November 18!

If you want to 'stuff a ballot box' - we're pretty sure this is the only place you can get away with that -- The Reindeer Red-Nose Award will be announced Sunday, November 18 at the close of the event, winner being tabulated by which tree raised the most money for the Cochranton Community Fair Parade Committee during the event! Details available at the event!

There are a couple fabulous Chinese-style raffle items available, including a collectible Hershey ornament, donated in January 2018 that we've been waiting to put on display at this year's Christmas Tree Lane!

Trees will be judged by a private panel of judges prior to opening to the public on Friday morning -- Awards will be given in categories as follows"
Ten Divisions of Trees:

Adult with manufactured ornaments
Adult with hand-crafted ornaments
Adult with combination ornaments (manufactured and hand-crafted)
Adult Organization trees (community & religious organizations, i.e., non-profit)*
Commercial trees (businesses, i.e., for-profit)
Adult Miniature trees (under 3 feet, individual, commercial, and organizations)
Youth Individual Miniature (under 3 feet)
Youth Organization trees (full-size)*
Youth Individual trees (full-size)
Adult/Youth: Family Combined Tree (combined age groups, any ornaments)

Additional awards are as follows: (1) Best of Show, (1) Most Original, (1) Best Use of Individual Theme, (1) Best Use of Event Theme, and several Awards of Excellence.
Additionally, the St. Nicholas Award is awarded to the tree which most exemplifies the spirit of the Organization {*see Divisions 4 and 8 below} which creates the tree.

Please come to Christmas in Cochranton 2018! The Presbyterian Church is hosting a pancake breakfast on Saturday; the Cochranton Area Public Library is holding a book sale Friday and Saturday; various businesses are sharing Christmas open houses during the weekend; and the CARE Committee is lighting up Cochranton with a restored display of the H.L..Moore decorations in the yard beside the library Friday evening to usher in the season (and hosting a house decorating contest!!)!!

Come, spend some time, enjoy our little town and her special events. Other towns in northwestern PA are hosting Christmas tree events and holiday open houses this weekend also -- Meadville's Trees of Christmas and Franklin's Barrow-Civic Theater's Christmas Tree Extravaganza!

Visit Christmas Tree Lane in Cochranton and other wonderful displays in the area this weekend to put yourself in the right mood to decorate and celebrate!