There’s only  87-days left until Christmas, but who’s counting?  Even though the fall leaves haven’t changed colors yet, local organizers responsible for decorating Johnstown’s Central Park are already busy.

“Every community has a downtown and it really is the heartbeat of the region,” Melissa Radovanic, president of the Discover Downtown Johnstown Partnership, says.

Last year the 36-foot-tall animated Christmas tree made the holiday season feel like the old days in the city Radovanic says.  She liked to call it the “good old new days in downtown Johnstown,” in terms of Christmas.

“It really changed hearts and minds.  It gave our community a sense of joy and pride again in what’s happening in downtown.”

This year they’re ready to take the Christmas spectacular one step farther with more holiday houses set up in the park, a Christmas village with vendors, and train rides will be available for a small fee on December 2 and December 3.

“We’re also working on small things too like putting wreaths on all of the parking meters on the length of Main Street.  We’re working on bands performing every Saturday in the gazebo before the tree starts .”

The goal is to bring folks from near and far to Johnstown, not only increasing the holiday spirit, but also benefiting business.

Radovanic says they have something special planned that they won’t reveal just yet, “We do have a grand surprise this year, so it’s something that we’re adding to the park and it’s going to be very unique that people will be very excited about.”

The tree will be set up in Central Park starting on November 4, but you are going to have to wait for that extra surprise.

The extra surprise can be seen on Light up Night, November 18, in Central Park.