“It’s great to have such a big crowd on such short notice,” said Borough Manager Ethan Imhoff. “This was something that we decided to do, kind of spur of the moment, to help celebrate our nation’s 250th anniversary.”

The large star that stands next to the Chimney Rocks is usually only lit for the Christmas season, but it will now remain awash in red, white and blue for the month of July.

“In my mind, there’s nothing more Americana than Hollidaysburg,” said Mayor Chad Repko. “It’s like apple pie, so this is truly a special place to bring the 250th for America.”

The Hollidaysburg Community Band, which recently returned from commemorating D-Day in Normandy, France, played “The Stars and Stripes Forever” leading up to the countdown to light the star.

From left, Blair County Commissioner Amy Webster, Mayor Chad Repko, Dick Meadows, Simon Stephens and Terry Wilt watch the Chimney Rocks star light up in red, white and blue after their count down at the Sylvia H. Schraff Amphitheater at Canal Basin Park on Tuesday evening. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Terry Wilt, a community mainstay and drummer in the band, led the countdown alongside Dick Meadows and Simon Stephens.

“In the beginning, I put it up there,” Wilt said about the star, which was installed in 1963. “I’m glad to see it lit again, especially with those colors.”

The 20-foot star was a project of the Hollidaysburg Jaycees and then-President Richard Meadows, president of the Meadows Original Frozen Custard. It was a larger version of a wooden star erected by Meadows’ grandfather in the 1930s. Its nightly lighting became the sign of the arrival of the Christmas season in Hollidaysburg.

Wilt said the star had never been lit with the red, white and blue before, not even for the bicentennial in 1976.

“It was nice,” Wilt said of the lighting. “Everybody coming through the county will enjoy (the star). It’s going to be lit all month.”

Director Doug Stephens conducts the Hollidaysburg Community Band as it plays “Stars and Stripes Forever” prior to the Chimney Rocks star lighting at the Sylvia H. Schraff Amphitheater at Canal Basin Park on Tuesday evening. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Doug Stephens, who directs the Hollidaysburg Community Band, told those gathered that their performance was a “good preview” of the show they will put on with the Altoona Community Band at 7 p.m. at Canal Basin Park’s amphitheater.

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor-Musselman is at 814-946-7458.