At the end of one month and the start of another came temperatures below the freezing point.
But that didn’t stand in the way of success for a couple of Millvale Community Development Corp.-supported events.
Nov. 30 was Small Business Saturday in the borough, and shoppers didn’t hesitate to check out what local merchants had to offer.
“I was surprised,” Millvale Community Library executive director Melissa Mason said. “I was like, nobody’s going to want to come wander around in the cold. But there were tons of people out, so that was nice.”
The next day, during a similar chill, Mason bundled up to greet guests for the borough’s annual Light Up the Night celebration. Festivities started at McCarthy Park, where people were welcome to hang ornaments on a tall tree brought to the site for the occasion, and later shifted to the Millvale Community Center for a potluck meal.
Be Our Neighbor Millvale, effectively a development corporation welcoming committee, took the lead this year in organizing Light Up the Night.
“We have a pretty large immigrant and refugee population,” Mason explained. “Their goal is really to bridge the gap between the cultures of the people already in the community and the new people.”
As such, participants in the potluck were invited to bring traditional cultural dishes, if applicable, or something their families particularly enjoy.
“What’s really nice about Millvale is all the groups that make things happen go together and work together,” Mason said. “So the borough was nice enough to let us have this space. You see the police are helping us out.”
Cruisers were parked in key positions to divert traffic away from the park, which is at the triangular intersection of Howard Street and North Avenue, allowing everyone to enjoy Light Up the Night safely.
Participants were invited to decorate their own ornaments to hang on the tree, and ready to help youngsters was Jenny Jo Mendak, who co-owns Hometown Tattoo in Millvale. She is the founder of Rivertown Kidz, a program under the development corporation umbrella that provides childhood experiences that youngsters may not have access to at school or at home.
“For years, Jenny led the movement with free haircuts, last-day-of -school celebrations, swimming pool summer field trips, clothing drives, pizza parties and so much more,” according to the Rivertown Kidz web page.
Mendak said that for quite a few children, Light Up the Night represents their sole opportunity to decorate a Christmas tree.
Through the library, Mason has gotten to know a lot of Millvale’s youngsters, as well.
“We work really closely with a lot of the families,” she said, “and it’s just a way to make everybody feel welcome and happy and represented.”
For more information about the Millvale Community Development Corp., visit https://www.millvalecdc.org/.