Harrisburg Cancels Christmas (Parade)
Things have got to be pretty bad to cancel a holiday parade. There is oil in the northwestern part of the state..and plenty of it. Why not spread some of the wealth..and holiday cheer as well.
Santa Claus isn't coming to town this year for Pennsylvania's financially struggling capital city — at least not to its annual holiday parade.
City officials have canceled the Nov. 19 event because organizers were not able to raise enough money. The parade needed about $25,000 in financial support, but donations have fallen far short, parks director Brenda Alton told The Patriot-News of Harrisburg.
"We had one letter of commitment and one verbal commitment," she told the newspaper.
The city's traditional fireworks on New Year's Eve are also at risk, with a final decision a week or two away.
Mayor Linda Thompson said she hopes the parade will return next year.
The Harrisburg City Council filed a rare bankruptcy petition a week ago, and this week the Legislature passed a new law that will give Gov. Tom Corbett power to assume financial decision-making authority for city government.
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