Monongahela kicks off the holidays with Merry & Bright Night
The event is a team effort by the Monongahela Area Chamber of Commerce and the city.
Monongahela pulled out all the stops on Friday for the annual Merry and Bright Night, celebrating with music, fireworks and holiday spirit.
Luminaries lit the way on both sides of the sidewalks from New Eagle to the heart of downtown, where the city glowed bright with holiday lights, a parade of emergency vehicles and businesses open late with decorative storefronts.
Monongahela Area Chamber of Commerce President Dr. Randall Rodriguez said the city and the chamber have been working together to hold the event for more than a decade.
“We get excited about it,” Rodriguez said. “You can see how many people come down for this. It seems more busy this year than I’ve ever seen it. It’s an event the city looks forward to, and it kicks off the holiday season. So we love doing it.”
Rodriguez said Monongahela road department crew helped set up the hundreds of luminaries that were lined up along Main Street.
Hundreds of people walked up and down Monongahela’s Main Street, starting from Chess Park up to First Street. The city closed down Main Street, starting from Third Street to First Street, to allow residents to visit businesses in that area, but also to have a moment with special guests, Santa and Mrs. Claus.
As families gathered at Chess Park to wait for Santa and Mrs. Claus, they knew the sound of sirens meant the jolly old elf and Mrs. Claus were on their way, escorted by the New Eagle and Monongahela fire departments. Mrs. Claus was instrumental in handing out treat bags and making sure no families or kids were left out.
After the lighting of the Christmas tree at the Chess Park gazebo, families gathered to see a performance by dancers from Dance Company by Lori of New Eagle. Lori Meszaros, the owner of the dance studio, said they’ve been dancing at the Merry and Bright Night for several years.
“We usually start preparing about a month before, and we get Christmas costumes, and we look forward to coming every year,” Meszaros said.
Elsewhere downtown, dozens of vendors were set up. Diane Mesiarik, owner of Diane’s Cookies, said all the vendors were getting a lot of foot traffic thanks to a good turnout. Mesiarik sells several types of baked goods, including sourdough bread.
“It’s been nice, it’s been crowded, and everyone seems to be having fun,” Mesiarik said. “My daughter and I do this, and we do events all over the place, so we usually sell out because people are crazy about sourdough.”
Also in attendance was state Rep. Andrew Kuzma, R-Elizabeth Township, who said Monongahela’s Merry and Bright Night is one of the treasures of the Mon Valley.
Jaxson and Madelynn Dzek of Baden met Santa and Mrs. Claus at Merry and Bright Night in this 2024 file photo.
“It was nice that we had a really good turnout and phenomenal weather for this event,” Kuzma said. “There are hundreds and hundreds of people here. All of the vendors are very happy with the turnout. We really have the nicest city in the Mon Valley, that’s for sure.”
The Monongahela Fire Hall had several vendors, and businesses along Main Street in Monongahela were open later than usual to let people shop during the holiday event. From the Top Music Shop, owned by Renee and William Teck, was among the city businesses participating in the fun.
“We’ve done this every year that we’ve been in town; every year they’ve had it, we’ve participated,” Renee Teck said. “We have things we give away, we have little snacks. We like when people come in. We enjoy giving things away that a lot of companies donate. We have raffles going on all week through Small Business Saturday. So it’s a fun time.”
Karen Langol, the owner of Noel’s Primitive Shop and Gifts, said it was a great night for everyone in Monongahela.
“There are a lot of people coming in and out, the town’s all pulling together,” Langol said. “It’s a very festive night. Santa finally arrived, so the kids are all happy. People are starting to shop, so the stores are getting busier and busier.”
Refurbished snowflakes debut
One of the main events of the night was the lighting of the newly refurbished snowflake lights. Rodriguez said the effort to get the lights refurbished was led by Laura Magone, president of the Monongahela Area Historical Society, and Peter Dzimiera, who is known for his decorations at Angelo’s II.
“The snowflakes were just refurbished. We have 34 of them, and they’re about 30 years old, but time took a toll on them, so they had rusted,” Magone said. “We undertook an initiative to raise the money to get them redone so they were totally rewired.
“They have all brand new lights. This is the first time we’ve had any colored lights in them and blinking lights. And they’re energy efficient, so these will only use 20% of the energy that the last snowflakes that they used over the years. So the city will save a lot of money, too.”
To cap off the celebration, the city was treated to a fireworks show.
Santa schedule for visits at Community Bank
The Monongahela Area Chamber of Commerce is announcing its 2025 Santa schedule, in front of the Mon Valley Alliance-Community Bank, 235 W. Main St., Monongahela:
• 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 22, 29, Dec. 6 and 13
• 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 19
