SCRANTON -- Folks in the Electric City kicked off a year long celebration Saturday that they hope will continue into the city's 150th birthday and beyond.
Earlier this week, the City of Scranton turned 149 years old.
Next year, it will have a milestone birthday and people in the Electric City wanted to start the celebration early.
"We didn't think one day was going to be enough. So it's going to be a year long celebration," said Mayor Bill Courtright.
Despite the city's dire financial straits, people came out to show support in moving the city forward.
A parade stepped off at city hall and marched down to the Mall at Steamtown.
"We are all Scrantonians. We live here. We love this city. We are living here for a reason," said Andrea Mulrine, Scranton Tomorrow President. "It's a great place to raise a family."
At the mall is where the party was at. There were tons of vendors lining the mall and also plenty of entertainment.
For the first time in what seems like forever, the ailing Mall at Steamtown saw some life.
Andrea Mulrine, President of Scranton Tomorrow and at the helm of the sesquicentennial celebrations, tells Newswatch 16 she understands Scranton is going through a hard time, but feels the community has reached a tipping point and is trying its best to move forward.
"I think what it takes is everyone saying that this is a city worth saving, a city worth being a part of so it's great to have something positive to reflect on," added Mulrine.
Other folks who stopped by the celebration say they hope to see more celebrations and events like this come back into the city.
"I think it's wonderful, I'm very happy about a lot of the things to do," said Janice Cordier of Scranton. "We're going to do it all year, then there will be lots of parties."
Scranton Tomorrow members say they plan to hold a number of events throughout the year.
Click here for the list of events throughout the year for the 150th celebration.
The Electric City celebration will close out with a firework show Saturday at 9 p.m. at the parking garage on the corner of Penn and Lackawanna avenues.