Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

Change to Parade Route Announced Area businesses, non-profit organizations, school bands, classic car owners, dance teams, and fire departments are asked to please submit their registration forms for Bradford’s annual Cruisin’ into Christmas Parade as soon as possible, but no later than the November 14th deadline. Forms may be picked up at and returned to the Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce office located at 121 Main Street Monday through Friday from 10am-4pm, or will be emailed by request to those interested in participating. The Street Dreams Car Club, Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce and signature sponsor CNB Bank are moving forward with plans to improve the Sixth Annual Cruisin’ into Christmas parade, which will be held on Friday, November 21st at 6 pm on Historic Main Street in downtown Bradford. One significant change to this year’s parade is the reversal of the parade route – instead of lining up in the high-traffic area around Davis and Main Street, participants will r...

The Street Dreams Car Club, Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce and our signature sponsor CNB Bank are proud to announce plans for the Sixth Annual Cruisin’ into Christmas parade on Friday, November 21st at 6 pm on Historic Main Street in downtown Bradford. Cash prizes will be awarded for six different divisions: best holiday music arrangement by a school band, best holiday float by a business, best holiday float by a non-profit organization, best decorated classic car, best holiday arrangement by a dance team, and best decorated fire truck. In each category, prizes will be $250 for 1st place and $100 for 2nd place. Applications can be picked up at the Chamber office at 121 Main Street, Bradford Monday through Friday from 10am until 4 pm. Registration will close on November 15th. If you have any questions, contact Gary Hoy, President of the Street Dreams Car Club or Ron Orris, Executive Director of the Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce. The news leader of the Twin Tier...

The Street Dreams Car Club and the Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce are proud to announce plans for the fifth annual Cruisin' into Christmas Parade on November 22 at 6 pm on Main Street. They will also be lighting the new lights on Main Street and Veterans Square. This year they will be offering cash prizes for different divisions: ~~ Best holiday music arrangement by a school band will receive $500 ~~ Best holiday float by a business will receive $250 ~~ Best decorated fire truck (one from each department) $300 ~~ Best holiday float by a non-profit organization will receive $500 ~~ Best decorated Classic Car will receive $250.00 ~~ Best holiday arrangement by a dance team will receive $250 Applications can be picked up at the Chamber office at 121 Main Street , Bradford, any weekday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Registration will close on November 15. If you have any questions contact Gary Hoy, President of the Street Dreams Car Club or Ron Orris, Executive Director of...

A record number of people turned out for the 16th annual Autumn Daze Car Show held in Downtown Bradford on Sunday. Organizer Gary Hoy says 325 classic vehicles took part in the show. Lois Rupp of Holland, New York, won Best in Show for her 1952 Nash convertible. Three new awards were presented this year: The Honey Collela Memorial Trophy; the Preston Award; and the award for the downtown business with the best decorated window. To see pictures from Sunday’s event, visit our Facebook page, http://facebook.com/1490wesb . The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

These two young guys anxiously await the arrival of Santa Claus during Friday's 4th annual Cruisin' into Christmas parade on Main Street, as Santa's Helper Richard Obermyer hands out candy. Even before Santa's arrival, one of the boys turned to his grandfather and said, "Thanks for bringing me. This is great!" The parade is held a week before the traditional start of the holiday shopping season to bring people downtown to see what local merchants have to offer. This man got the best seat in the house -- Santa's chair -- at the Main Street Mercantile during the parade. And how did he manage to get the job of keeping the Jolly Old Elf's seat warm until he got to the Mercantile. Easy. He's the father of Mercantile owner Todd Hennard. (And that's Todd's Mom, too.) Santa's Mailbox is also at the Mercantile so kids can drop their letters off for Santa to read on 1490 WESB. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Car Show May Move to the Bradford Mall By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director Foster Township residents won’t see tax or sewage rate increases in 2012, but they may see the Autumn Daze Car Show move into the township. During Monday night’s meeting supervisor Dale Phillips said he has been working with the owners of the Bradford Mall and Street Dreams Car Club president Gary Hoy about moving the show from downtown Bradford to the mall. “It looks very good so far, knock on wood,” Phillips said, adding that Hoy was submitting all the necessary information to the mall’s management company. Phillips said the car club would be teaming up with the township’s volunteer fire departments and 100 percent of the proceeds would go to them. The show is scheduled for September 9. Also Monday, Bolivar Drive resident Bill Hallock asked about the $216,000 “error” made in the funding process for the sewer project, saying he believes the supervisors are taking the situation too lightly. “We should be up...

Characters from Beacon Light's Santa House were part of the 3rd Annual Cruisin' into Christmas Parade Friday in Downtown Bradford. Felicia Lively Munday sing's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" on the Burgers & Barbecue float. This little beagle from the McKean County SPCA is all decked out for the holidays -- and could use a good home. The Pitt-Bradford cheerleaders are full of all kinds of holiday spirit. Street Dreams Car Club President Gary Hoy, and his lovely wife Candy, tossed out candy to the kids ... ...as did our own Stefan Arlington

The Cruisin’ into Christmas Parade starts at 5:30 tonight in Downtown Bradford – and Santa will be making his first appearance of the season during the parade. After the parade Santa himself will be setting up the mailbox where kids can drop off their letters to him to be read on WESB’s Santa’s Mailbag show. Santa will be setting up inside the Main Street Mercantile at its new location – 45 Main Street.

The Main Street Mercantile is set to open today at its new location at 45 Main Street in downtown Bradford, and Santa Claus will visit the store following the Cruisin' Into Christmas parade on Friday. The Mercantile was recently acquired by local developer, Todd Hennard, and is operated as a small business incubator program. Incubator programs help businesses grow and develop without business owners taking on the full responsibility of a small business operation. The Mercantile currently houses more that 60 individual businesses that offer such items as antiques, artwork, photography, home décor, primitive décor, old fashioned candy, jewelry, floral arrangements and candles. Additionally a book store is set to be opened soon on the second floor of the building. As part of the Cruisin’ Into Christmas parade on Friday, November 18, Santa Claus will make a special visit to the Mercantile, which will be open until 7 p.m. The Mercantile began more than six years ago. It was initiated ...

The third annual “Cruisin’ Into Christmas” parade will be held in downtown Bradford on Friday, November 18th. The parade is scheduled to start at 5:30pm, at which time the new downtown holiday lighting will be lit for all to enjoy. This year’s parade, which will proceed down Main Street to Veteran’s Square, is sponsored by the Street Dreams Car Club and the Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce. Organizations, businesses, and/or individuals interested in participating in the parade should contact Gary Hoy of the Street Dreams Car Club at 814-362-3717. Parade units will begin lining up at 4:30pm at the Bisett Building Center parking lot on Davis Street. Bring your friends and family and go “Cruisin’ Into Christmas” in Bradford this year! We'll be talking about the parade next week on 1490 WESB's LiveLine.

Food and craft vendors are needed to participate in the annual Autumn Daze event which is scheduled to be held in Bradford’s Historic Main Street area on Sunday, September 11 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The food and craft vendors will be a part of many activities planned throughout the day. The Street Dreams Car Show, sponsored by the Street Dreams Car Club and American Refining Group, will be held from 1 - 4 p.m. on Main Street. Approximately 300 cars are expected for the event. There will also be music and live entertainment. For more information contact Main Street Manager, Anita Dolan.

Kevin Shaffer probably made Santa's "nice" list after offering a ride to a couple of elves. Herb Confer decked out his Firebird for the holidays. Street Dreams Car Club President Gary Hoy tossed out candy to the kids. Frosty and Rudolph wave to the crowd.

Santa Claus makes an appearance in Bradford's 2nd Annual Home for the Holidays Parade, sponsored by the Downtown Bradford Business District Authority and the Street Dreams Car Club. More video and pictures coming soon.

These ladies entertain the crowd with The Charleston during Autumn Daze and the Street Dreams Car Show Sunday in Downtown Bradford. Mandy Miles, Tina Herne, Jeff Sherwin and Robin Palmer also sang. Woody "The President" Woodruff also enjoyed Mandy/Marilyn Monroe's rendition of "Happy Birthday." Wally Melvin of Edinboro won "Best in Show" in the car show with his 1941 Willys.

Gary Hoy, President of Street Dreams Car Club and Jennifer Taylor with Brad Penn Lubricants meet to look over some of the trophies and dash plaques that will be handed out at the Autumn Daze Car Show this Sunday in Downtown Bradford. Over 100 trophies will be handed out and 250 dash plaques. According to Hoy, over 300 Cars are expected to be on display for the show. The Entertainment portion of the show starts at 1:00 where over 40 songs will be performed live. One of the songs featured will be the original Blues Brothers Song about Brad Penn Lubricants that was originally performed at ARG’s 125th Anniversary Parade in 2006. The Bradford Lions Club will also be there serving up their famous Chicken BBQ along with numerous other food and craft vendors. We'll be talking about Autumn Daze on today's LiveLine at 12:40 on 1490 WESB. You can listen live at WESB.com .

Gary Hoy President of Street Dreams Car Club meets with Jennifer Taylor of Brad Penn Lubricants to discuss plans for the upcoming Autumn Daze Car Show to be held in downtown Bradford, PA on September 12th. The Autumn Daze Car Show has become the premier car show in the area. The car show will feature historic and classic vehicles, as well as muscle cars from the past, along with live entertainment featuring local talent. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Taylor

American Refining Group announced today that Brad Penn Lubricants will be the major sponsor of the 13th Annual Autumn Daze Car Show being held September, 12 in downtown Bradford. The Autumn Daze Car Show has become the premier car show in the area. It features historic and classic vehicles, as well as muscle cars from the past, along with live entertainment featuring local talent. Last year’s show featured more than 300 cars and drew thousands of spectators to the downtown area. An estimated 80 percent of the cars at the event were from outside the Bradford area. A total of 100 trophies were handed out last year. This year’s theme is “Sentimental Journey.” “We feel it is a great fit for Brad Penn Lubricants to get involved in this community event not only because of our Penn Grade 1 High Performance Oils that are specifically designed for these types of cars, but also to help support the efforts of the Street Dreams Car Club that gives so much to the local community,” said Richard Glad...

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director A fork in the road to the next Street Dreams Car Show may have been straightened out. Gary Hoy, president of the Street Dreams Car Club, had said that the club would take the show elsewhere in protest of the City of Bradford's new $25 fee to hold an event downtown. Additional costs would be incurred if an organization needs services from the city, including having barricades delivered and set up for street closings, delivery and/or pickup of trash receptacles, and electricity. "Your fees are preposterous to us," Hoy told Bradford City Council Tuesday night. "We, as a group, refuse to pay this." Mayor Tom Riel explained that the city raised fees for various services in the city, not just for organizations holding events downtown. "Because we have such budgetary problems, and because we're having trouble making ends meet, we've taken away people's jobs," Riel said. "We've forced people to pay ...

Amber Bacha drove the Zippo Car in the "Cruisin' Into Christmas" parade, followed by Scott Douglas, followed by Dan Griffin driving the WESB/HERO van. Dan was accompanied in the van by the lovely Amanda, along with Eleanor and Mallory. The Christmas House Characters made an appearance in the parade, and they'll be making appearances at their new location this year -- Beacon Light -- during the holiday season. (John Pockey will be on Monday's LiveLine to talk more about that.) The Bradford Alliance Church reminded people about the "reason for the season." Gary Hoy and other members of the Street Dreams Car Club got decked out for the occasion. And, Santa arrived in style before making his way to his headquarters at 25 Main Street.