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West Chester Remodelers Help Reimagine the Community Event

Each summer Music at Marshall invites residents to the park for a series of concert events.

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After more than a decade of helping families craft the perfect space, professional remodelers Chris and Anglea Payson knew what they were looking for when they moved to West Chester and opened their West Chester Pike Design Studio. However, with a pandemic raging they were not exactly sure how to find it. 

“As far as where you put roots down, that’s a big decision,” said Angela, who moved to the borough with her family in 2020 just before the new showroom opened. “When you put roots down somewhere you are surrounding yourself with people that have made that same decision. I think it’s important to get to know them and let them know you and what you are about.”

These are perfectly reasonable expectations in normal times, but as you’ll all recall, there was nothing normal about those pandemic years. 

Community reimagined

For all the negatives of those years, and there were quite a few, it was also a time of innovation – and, to borrow a phrase from the COCOON playbook, transformation. Long-held traditions were upturned. Some were lost forever, others reimagined, and new ones begun. All this disruption provided fertile ground for creativity and building new. For Angela, Chris, and COCOON, these pandemic reimaginings provided the community introduction they were looking for.   

“It started with the concerts at Marshall Square Park and Santa and the Square,” said Angela. In 2020, with support from COCOON and increased demand for outdoor events, the Friends of Marshall Square Park’s outdoor summer concert series blossomed from a neighborhood gathering to an opportunity for the entire community to come together. They invited food trucks and hired a face painter. They set up community tables – giving people even more opportunities to mingle and connect.   

“I know the police force. They come to every [Music at Marshall] event,” said Angela. “I think a lot of people are willing to use their time and talent toward the greater good.”

The success of the revamped concert series inspired the Paysons to do even more.

Making a list and checking it twice

Every year since its inception in 1979, the Christmas Parade has served as a West Chester kid’s first view of Santa Claus but in 2020 there would be no parade – and no Santa Claus. It was another blow in a year full of disappointments. That is unless there was another way. A way to view Santa safely outside that could be pulled together relatively quickly. The West Chester Parks & Recreation committee had an idea – what if they brought Santa to the park? COCOON saw the event announcement on Facebook – Santa in the Square was coming to Marshall Square Park – and knew they wanted to be involved somehow.

“We are a company made up of many creative people,” said Angela. “I think that creativity piece is one that we really shine at. We try to look at it like, what can we do that elevates the experience? What can we do to bring a little sparkle?” 

A picture perfect Santa surrounded by elves Angela and Chris Payson.

For example, after hearing rumors there wasn’t anywhere for Santa to sit at the park the team went to work. They sourced a nice leather club chair for Santa. Then they added some trees and a scattering of faux presents creating a beautiful backdrop and a festive place for Mr. Kringle to greet the town’s excited kiddos. 

There was a lot of scrambling and relatively little promotion that first year, but still the inaugural Santa in the Square was a big success. Lines of gitty kids snaked the park excited to fulfill a seasonal dream at a time when much person-to-person interaction was still limited. 

“We try to show that positive transformation even when we don’t have a hammer in our hands,” said Angela. 

Practice makes perfect

In the COCOON family, giving back is a team effort.

Since that early start, the Payons have doubled down on community outreach. Each year they sponsor a growing number of events under the COCOON name. This year there was Music at Marshall, Santa in the Square, the Restaurant Festival, Porchfest, the Christmas Parade, and the Children’s Business Fair. “Just to see the creativity of those young minds,” said Angela of one of her favorite West Chester events. Much like their family-owned company, their commitment to the community is united.

“The kids are very much involved,” said Angela. “They are very used to a call or a text – we have a truck full of pumpkins, greens – you name it – can you come and help unload? We laugh about it as a family.”

The COCOON team at this year’s Chester County Restaurant Festival.

They also take their community commitment as seriously as they do any other project they undertake. 

“We do recap as a team. How did it go? What could we improve or add?” said Angela. (Did you see the promo video for “Santa in the Square” this year??)  “I have a fantastic team here that just lights up at getting creative,” she said.

You can tell in the conversation, that there is a passion, a drive behind this work but like any other skill it won’t be there if you don’t home it. 

“Absolutely I think it’s a practice. You are practicing for the rest of your life,” said Angela. “Whether you land here or on the other side of the world – how do I use my talents to impact my community wherever that may be?

This is a sponsored post. Thank you to COCOON for their continued support of Hello, West Chester!

Hello, West Chester! We are COCOON and we also call West Chester home. (You might have driven by our Design Studio on West Chester Pike.) If you didn’t know, we remodel homes – and we do our best to make remodeling as stress-free as possible. If you’re thinking about remodeling, reach out to us! We’d love to help you explore your options!

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