Lititz, Pennsylvania is a special place with deep, proud roots. It’s also very much alive today with exciting things to delight the eyes, ears, and of course, the taste buds! Get to know why we love Lititz, and why you will too (if you don’t already)! The Sights 4th of July Lititz has held a July 4th celebration every single year since 1818, and held its earliest celebration way back in 1811, making it one of the oldest continuous community-wide celebrations in the USA.
That’s a lot of fireworks over the years…and candles! In 1843, Lititz began a unique tradition as part of the 4th of July known as the Fairyland of Candles. In 2018, this beloved candlelight festival (born from the tradition of “illuminations” for special events in the Moravian church) marks its 175th anniversary with particular fanfare, and EVEN MORE CANDLES. Lititz Springs Park Well-known as the home of the July 4th celebration since its earliest days, Lititz Springs Park (just across the street from Wilbur’s retail store) has always been a place for Lititz citizens to relax. It’s earliest documented use as a park was in 1778 during the Revolutionary War, and it’s still well-used and loved today. Festivals In more recent time, Lititz has inaugurated an astonishingly large number of festivals celebrating everything from beer (Lititz Craft Brew Fest) to pretzels (Lititz Pretzel Fest) to wintertime and chili (Lititz Fire & Ice Festival) to, of course, CHOCOLATE (Lititz Chocolate Walk). In fact, the town throws a party every 2nd Friday to just appreciate the Lititz way of life – Lovin’ Lititz Every Second!
The Sounds Fireworks With its impressively long tradition of hosting July 4th celebrations, the sound of fireworks booming majestically is one of the first most people think of when they think of Lititz. Although recent building developments have presented the question of whether fireworks displays are too dangerous, Lititz has many pyrotechnics fans, and the tradition continues. Rock ‘n’ Roll Lititz may just be the biggest little rock ‘n’ roll town in America. In 2014, music industry businesses Tait Towers and Clair Global built Rock Lititz to provide production rehearsal facilities for live touring shows (think megastar acts like Katy Perry and U2), and created a revolution. The Rock Lititz campus now houses a huge number of smaller companies that also support the music and touring industries, as well as a hotel, a climbing gym, and even a yoga studio, on its 96 acres. This rock mecca didn’t just appear overnight, though. Roy and Gene Clair – the world-famous Clair Brothers – built their first speakers in Lititz in 1966, which established the town as an important, if unlikely, music industry hub. Horse Hooves on Pavement Lititz is located in Lancaster County, which is known to be the Amish capital of the United States.
Horse-drawn buggies are a common site on local roads and streets, and the clip-clop of hooves can almost always be heard. Airplanes Just south of town is the Lancaster Airport. While you’ve probably never connected through Lancaster (though many commuters make use of daily commercial flights to several destination airports), this airport is always busy with small planes coming and going – charters, privately owned planes, and flight schools housed here regularly fill the skies around Lititz with smaller aircraft. Sweet Silence Even with all of the busy industry and exciting celebrations, Lititz is still a quiet retreat. The sounds of crickets and gentle breezes in the trees can still be heard on lazy summer nights.
Lititz is also close to several wilderness areas and parks for outdoor recreation in the solitude of the woods. Nearby Speedwell Forge Lake is a favorite canoeing, kayaking, and fishing spot, and the Furnace Hills just north of town offer hiking and biking trails and hundreds of acres of PA State Game Lands. [Do you hear what I hear?] Every Easter morning, well before sunrise, the Lititz Moravian Trombone Choir (which consists of trumpets and tubas, too), takes to the Lititz streets from 3:45-5:45AM to proclaim to the good news of the holiday. This unique tradition dates to 14th century Germany, and has been practiced in Lititz since about 1766. The Flavors CHOCOLATE (of course!)
Infographic Source: http://www.wilburbuds.com/visit-lititz-pennsylvania
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