Keep On Glowing In the Square

Okay. We'll admit it. We're still basking in the afterglow of this past weekend's amazing, two-day and night 50th Anniversary Light Up Night Celebration. After all, this year's bash was the biggest, brightest and most brilliant Light Up Night ever. If you were there, then you were plugged into all the fun, food and festivities that stretched from One Oxford Center all the way to the Clemente Bridge. And at the center of it all for this special extravangana was the most electrifying place of all — the new Market Square. 

From start to finish, this will be one party to remember for the ages. Actually it was a blowout for all ages, with activities for everyone from the young to the young at heart.  Whether you rocked to the performances of No Bad Ju Ju and Jeff Jimerson on the Main Stage or jumped to your own beat in the Tiger Bounce House, the Square was one high-volt place that blinked, twinkled and glittered even before Mayor Luke Ravenstahl — with the help of Colcom Foundation VP John Barsotti and his sons — flipped the on switch for the first-ever Season of Lights holiday display. 

So, just in case you weren't one of the hundreds of thousands of people who streamed through the Square over the weekend, we're posting a few photos to show you what you missed — like Santa, the world's biggest marching band, the horse-drawn carriage parade, fireworks and Lynn Smith and Fred Bell getting hitched in front of thousands of friends and family. And we're going to go easy on the words here, because we really do believe that a picture is worth a thousand words. But we do want to thank Duquesne Light, PNC, Colcom Foundation, Northwest Savings Bank, Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Hotel, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield and all the generous sponsors who supplied the inspiration and illumination to power up a Light Up Night that glowed like 24-karat gold in the most livable  — and brightest — city around.