EDITOR'S NOTE: You can tune into the Main Street Traffic Cam, sponsored by MVB Bank and accessible from our home page, to watch festivities from the Benedum Civic Center. 

 

You might call it a triad, a triple threat – or even a hat trick. Saturday features three events which can be enjoyed separately, but even more fun when combined.

 

The Bridgeport Lions Club Pancake Feed, the Jingle Bell Jog 5K and the Bridgeport Christmas Parade make for a full Saturday morning in the City of Bridgeport.

 

Festivities start at 8 a.m. as the Lions Club will start serving an all-you-can-eat pancake and sausage breakfast. Through noon, community members are invited to stop in the all-purpose room of the Civic Center to enjoy a meal and visit one another all while supporting the Lions Club’s mission to serve and support the community. Adults and kids over age 12 eat for $8, kids ages 6-12 eat for $5 and children under the age of 6 are free.

 

The Jingle Bell Jog starts at 8:30 a.m. Runners and walkers will leave the Benedum Civic Center, crossing Virginia Avenue to City Trail, then to Bridgeport City Park for a lap around the park before heading back to the Civic Center. Participants should register before 8:30 a.m. in the Civic Center auditorium. There is no registration fee, but it is asked that each participant bring a new, unwrapped toy for the Salvation Army Toy Drive. Participants are invited to sport festive holiday attire for the event.

 

At 10 a.m., the Bridgeport Christmas Parade starts at the intersection of Main Street and Route 131, traveling east to the railroad tracks beyond the Civic Center. Bridgeport Parks and Recreation Coordinator Amy Callahan said about 45 units are registered for the holiday procession, about 15 more than last year.

 

Lined along Main Street, spectators will enjoy the Bridgeport High School Marching Band, high school, middle school and youth sports teams, dancers, civic clubs, church floats, and several area businesses, including the always popular Central Supply rotating cement truck. Among new units are Operation Firm Handshake, Upper Monongahela Valley Shrine Club of Fairmont, Well2Live LLC, and Miss Amazing.

 

As is tradition, the parade will end with Santa and Mrs. Claus riding atop a Bridgeport Fire Truck. The couple will hang around the Civic Center for meet and greets with kids. 

 

If you are unable to make Saturday's parade, watch live feed from the live traffic camera at Benedum Civic Center on Main Street. Sponsored by MVB Bank, the live stream can be viewed from our home page. There will also be some video coverage of the parade.