More than 70 vehicles decked out in Disney themes made their way down Gerald Street in College Township Saturday afternoon. There were fire engines, a State College police car, an ice cream truck, light and sound production, song performances and special guests.
It was probably one of the biggest organized events in the State College area in more than a month.
And it was all the work of a community coming together to show support and raise the spirits of a local woman battling cancer.
Lori Ebert-Tyworth was diagnosed last year with glioblastoma, a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer, and has been undergoing treatment ever since.
‘It’s such a wonderful outpouring from so many good friends and family,’ she said after the surprise parade concluded. ‘I’m so glad to spend this time with all of you. Things are getting a little bit harder, but we’re going to keep fighting and having a great time together.’
Vehicles line Gerald Street on Saturday for a surprise Disney-themed parade for Lori Ebert-Tyworth and her family. Photo by Geoff Rushton | StateCollege.com
An enthusiastic Disney fan, Ebert-Tyworth, her husband, Mike, and daughter, Katie, were planning a special trip to Walt Disney World next month. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic it seems unlikely the resort will be open by then, but more pressingly, Ebert-Tyworth’s condition has declined and the family made the decision to cancel, regardless of whether the attractions reopened.
‘Disney’s huge for my mom and dad,’ her son, Andrew Ebert, said. ‘That’s where they went on their honeymoon. They’ve always been huge Disney fans, huge Star Wars fans. They were going to go and kind of relive some of the magic, give her some of that magic before she can’t see it anymore because she’s losing her sight, because of where the tumor is.’
Andrew Ebert, a physical therapist, wasn’t going on the trip because of work, but he was disheartened that his mother and the rest of the family would be missing out on the special experience. So he decided to bring something special to her and turned to her colleagues in Penn State’s Office of University Development donor relations department, where Ebert-Tyworth is an associate director and has worked for more than 20 years.
His first call was on April 17 to executive director Kris Meyer, his mom’s friend and supervisor, and they came up with the idea for a Disney-themed vehicle parade.
‘I was going to be happy with maybe 20 people coming by in Disney gear and saying hi, and then it turned into all this,’ Ebert said.
Meyer began getting a coordinating group together, one that eventually included colleagues and friends Dawn Weiss, Mya and Chad Swires, the Snavely family, Kelly and Rob Nguyen, Andrea McGregor, Derek Polay and Mark Golaszewski. By 11 p.m. that first night they had a plan for a multi-faceted celebration that included the parade, a treasure chest handmade by Mike Swires and filled with Disney items, and a video produced by Snavely Associates that will presented to the family, as well as a private Facebook group where friends, family and well-wishers posted photos, videos and other messages throughout the week.
‘By the end of the day Saturday, it had blown up creatively because of Mya and Chad and Dawn and Kelly .. It had progressed into the parade. We got entertainment, antique fire trucks and police cars and all sorts of ideas for what we could do with the lawn,’ Meyer said. ‘People have been fabulous. They’ve been emailing ‘How can I help? How can I volunteer?”
‘For me the goal is for her to see as many familiar loving faces as possible,’ Andrew Ebert added.
A treasure chest, which was handmade by Mike Swires and filled with Disney memorabilia, was among the surprises for Lori Ebert-Tyworth and her family on Saturday.
A week later, the show was on. A small crew of volunteers decorated the lawn with custom-made Mickey Mouse silhouettes and bubble machines. One family painted deck chairs for Ebert-Tyworth and her family to watch the parade from. Delectable Delights’ Heather Luse provided a three-tier Disney-themed cake. Professional light and music equipment was brought in thanks to the Bryce Jordan Center, Nittany Entertainment, Redbrick Productions and Best Line Equipment.
‘It’s one of those things that you go to do something nice for a family that you love and then you realize how widely they are loved across the community,’ Meyer said.
The parade kicked off with a voiceover from Goofy, which was recorded specifically for the day by Bill Farmer, the longtime voice of the character for film and television, from a script by Mya Swires.
Pastry chef Heather Luse created the tiered Disney cake, while the cups were made by Shawn and Bryan Swires. Photo by Geoff Rushton | StateCollege.com
Over about an hour, cars and trucks of all kinds with an array of special Disney decorations made their way down the street, along with a Boalsburg Fire Company engine, a privately-owned, antique former Alpha Fire Company truck, a State College police truck and the Classic Cones ice cream truck.
Penn State Vice President for Development Rich Bundy stopped to give Ebert-Tyworth her certificate for 20 years of service to the university and former Vice President for Development Rod Kirsch presented her with the Honor and Integrity Award.
‘She’s brilliant. She’s just one of those perfectly brilliant, kind people,’ Meyer said. ‘She takes such pride in Penn State. Her work ethic is amazing. She loves that university so much and I think that [was] the best way to start the parade.’
Interspersed throughout the parade were singers and instrumentalists who got out to perform songs from ‘Frozen,’ ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘Aladdin.’
Mater from ‘Cars’ made an appearance during the Ebert-Tyworth Disney vehicle parade. Photo by Geoff Rushton | StateCollege.com
The organizers wanted to leave her with something lasting after the parade, so in addition to the video and treasure chest — which included memorabilia and custom art, such as original sketches by Haley Charney — they created the Facebook group, which was opened to the family after the parade and where hundreds of Disney-themed photo and video messages have been posted throughout the week. It also featured special greetings from people like former Penn State tight end and current Miami Dolphin Mike Gesicki, Detroit Red Wing Chris Larkin, ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ star Mary Chiefo, and NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez, among others.
Ebert-Tyworth received treatment at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston last year, and visits to the Johnson Space Center became a respite, her son said.
‘NASA is special to us because when we were at MD Anderson we went and visited mission control a couple times as a getaway from all the radiation treatments,’ Andrew Ebert said. ‘We started to get really interested in NASA and space and we were down there for the 50th anniversary of the moon landing…. I wanted to show my mom an actual astronaut reached out to her and wanted to wish her well and I thought that would mean a lot.’
Olivia Biever, in character as Elsa, sings a song from Frozen during the Ebert-Tyworth Disney vehicle parade. Photo by Geoff Rushton | StateCollege.com
Meyer said the entire effort felt like ‘a little bit of a light in a dark situation,’ and she was proud to see how the community rallied around it.
‘The way this has grown in our community is heartwarming,’ she said. ‘All of us feel like we’re finally able to at least do something positive.’
Ebert, meanwhile, said the family ‘can only attack each day with positivity.’ And while he knew his mother is well-loved, even he was taken aback by the outpouring of support in the days leading up to Saturday.
‘It makes me honored to be my mother’s son, just to see how much people really truly appreciate and love her,’ he said. ‘The outpouring of love for her and my family is really touching and unbelievable. I knew she meant a lot to me. I knew she was really good at her job and meant a lot to a lot of people. But I didn’t realize the whole scope of how many people she really touched, and how many people would want to contribute to something like this to help make her day special.’
Katie Tyworth, Lori Ebert-Tyworth and Mike Tyworth enjoy the surprise parade. Photo by Geoff Rushton | StateCollege.com
Erin Ashe, of Bellefonte, performs a song from ‘Beauty & The Beast.’ Photo by Geoff Rushton | StateCollege.com
See more photos in the gallery below.
