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PITTSTON &#8211; Thanksgiving is over and the holiday season has officially begun.
				The Downtown Pittston Partnership has plans for holiday 2020 celebrations, COVID-style.
				With the current and increasingly worsening pandemic, city officials are doing their best to ensure safety to the residents of Pittston while salvaging to capture the holiday spirit.
				&ldquo;We had to reorganize for this year because of the pandemic,&rdquo; Mary Kroptavich, Pittston City&rsquo;s Main Street manager and the Pittston Downtown Partnership, said. &ldquo;You have to get creative, and we didn&rsquo;t want to say there is no Christmas. We wanted to get everyone involved and since we can&rsquo;t have everyone downtown, we will bring Santa to the residents. We have to be safe.&rdquo;
				Kroptavich recently outlined the schedule of activities for the holiday season including a residence and business holiday decorating contest, a virtual downtown tree lighting, and a Pittston City Drive-by Christmas Parade.
				The city is unveiling the first ever; Deck the City Holiday Decorating Contest, where residents and businesses can win cash prizes for their efforts of keeping up the holiday spirit through the COVID-19 pandemic.
				The categories include: the Clark Griswold Award, $250, in reference to the movie Christmas Vacation; Most Creative Residence, $150; Most Original Business, $150; and People&rsquo;s Choice Award, voted by the public, $150.
				The winners will be awarded a variety of gift cards to local businesses in the City of Pittston.
				In order to participate, you must fill out a simple registration form online of your name, address, email, and phone number by going to the Downtown Pittston Partnership website&rsquo;s Deck the City Holiday Decorating Contest page (https://tinyurl.com/y57e2r4t).
				If you choose not to submit via the website, you can download the registration form and mail it to: Downtown Pittston Partnership, 71 South Main St., Pittston, PA 18643.
				Deadline for submitting your form is Friday. Entries will be judged from Dec. 4 through Dec. 8, 2020.
				Once entered, your resident or business must be decorated and lit by Tuesday, December 1, 2020 by 5:00 p.m.
				According to Kroptavich, entries will be judged on curb appeal, meaning what is only visible on the outside of the structure including windows and doors.
				The city is encouraging participants to light displays from Dec. 1 to January to promote Pittston as a holiday attraction and shopping destination.
				The People&rsquo;s Choice Award will be determined by the entry receiving the most &ldquo;likes&rdquo; in the photo gallery on the Downtown Pittston Partnership Facebook page (www.facebook.com/DowntownPittstonPartnership). The numbers will be counted on Sunday, Dec. 13 to determine the winner.
				On Dec. 21 at 7 p.m., Pittston City Mayor Michael Lombardo will announce the winners via Facebook live.
				For further questions on the decorating contest, email Mary Kroptavich at mkroptavich@cityofpittston.org.
				The annual downtown Christmas tree lighting will take place on Dec. 5 at 5:30 p.m., virtually. The event will be seen live via the Downtown Pittston Partnership Facebook page. The event is not open to the public. Violet Pantucci, the 2020 Christmas ambassador, will light the tree.
				On Dec. 19 starting at 5:30 p.m., the city will hold a Drive-by Christmas Parade featuring Santa Claus, through the streets of Pittston City.
				The parade will include: the fire department, the police department, ambulance department, FROGGY 101, the Christmas Ambassador and the city&rsquo;s mayor will travel through city streets. The map of the parade has not been announced at press time but Kroptavich said to look at the Downtown Pittston Partnership&rsquo;s website or their Facebook page.

Pittston announces plans for holiday season