Celebration of Lights
GenreWinter holiday season
BeginsThanksgiving
EndsEarly January
Location(s)Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Inaugurated1991
Most recent2011
Attendance170,000 (2011)[1]

The Celebration of Lights was a winter holiday season Christmas lights show in Pittsburgh.[2] Held at Hartwood Acres Park from 1991 to 2011, it generated funds for WTAE-TV's "Project Bundle-Up" charity and the Salvation Army.[2]

The show consisted of a 3.5 mile drive through Hartwood Acres Park.[3] Over the 20 year life of the show, it generated $3.7 million for charity.[2] In 1991, the 28 displays has 250,000 lights; by 2011 it had grown to 2,000,000 lights.[1][4] The Oglebay Winter Festival of Lights is a similar event at Oglebay Park in Wheeling, West Virginia.[5]

In 2010, a 3-year sponsor, Rite Aid withdrew from sponsorship.[6]

In September 2012, Chief Executive of Allegheny County Rich Fitzgerald announced that he was cancelling the Celebration of Lights due to inability to find corporate sponsorship.[2] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette defended the decision in light of public outcry.[7] Following the announcement, private citizens began to search for new sponsors.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 Barcousky, Len (September 10, 2012). "Allegheny County pulls plug on holiday lights at Hartwood Acres". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Fitzgerald Suspends Celebration of Lights Due to High Costs, Low Sponsorships". Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. September 10, 2012. Archived from the original on December 30, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Weekend Guide - Holiday Lights". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 31, 2009.
  4. ↑ Barcousky, Len (September 11, 2012). "Dim finances force Allegheny County to end Hartwood holiday display". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  5. ↑ "Holiday happenings trip the lights fantastic". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. November 23, 2006.
  6. ↑ Wills, Rick (March 18, 2010). "Rite Aid pulls sponsorship of Celebration of Lights". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
  7. ↑ "He's no Grinch: Fitzgerald is just prioritizing county spending". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. September 13, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Promoter Wants To Save Celebration Of Lights At Hartwood Acres". KDKA-TV. September 11, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
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