This is Dauphin County's 4th annual Cultural Festival in downtown Harrisburg! I will be drawing…read morecaricatures and kids!

This spot is kids paradise. I planned most of our day here and my kids still didn't want to leave…read more I typically saw this spot whenever I rode the Strasburg Railroad. We typically would do their Christmas Train, and rarely got back to Lancaster in the warmer months. As soon as I planned my latest summer trip, I knew it had to be on the itinerary. This place has it all from gigantic slides to gold mining sluice areas to a mini kids village that mine couldn't get enough of from the mini vet office to the drive in theater. It was really impressive. From here, you can make your way up the hill where there is a restaurant, a coffee kiosk with a delicious coconut water cold brew (wild!), and plenty of shaded sections with swinging chairs. You'll find paintball, basketball, skee ball, a pedal cart for the family, launching devices. I mean, there is a lot! The place is large so it never felt overly crowded. Come with water bottles. Even with the shaded sections it gets hot. They have water fountains by the bathrooms.

We could easily spend the whole day here. The kids had so much fun! It is acres and acres of fall…read morefun. We did apple blasters and it was very loud but the kids loved it. They also loved the slides, the pig show, the escape room, the chicks, and there was so much more!

WARNING!!! DO NOT VEND AT OR ATTEND THIS FAIR!!! This fair is a total scam!!! For vendors and for…read morepatrons. The fact that it is the first fair in America and it's been run into the ground is honestly sad for America. We tried to vend at this event in the memorial hall, and there was little to no foot traffic. The grandstand was completely empty on a Saturday their opening weekend and the people attending the grandstand performance don't even get access to the fair they are shuffled out of the fair completely after the show. The vendor entrance is barricaded by huge trucks and there is nothing showing that vendors are inside. They have blocked me from commenting on their social media warning other people about how they're scamming their vendors and they've limited all comments on their posts so no one can comment about how terrible the fair is. At fairs like this a normal vendor should make $10k to $50k and a few thousand the first weekend is normal, all vendors I spoke with haven't even made their booth fee back which was around $1000 for a 10x10 to sell for the week. Vendors outside were saying they only made two sales all weekend long. This fair used to bus people in from the surrounding cities but changed their dates and stopped bussing people because of their race. These people running this organization are committing fraud and theft by deception. This is the absolute worst fair I have ever sold at and as terrible as it gets. I will NEVER and I mean NEVER be recommending or attending this fair again to anyone for any circumstance. They can try and silence me but I refuse to be silent about fraud, scams, and injustice. As a matter of fact I will be spreading the word at every single To every single person that I come in contact with to not attend or vent at the York State fair ever. At this point, we are better off, leaving early and utilizing our time more wisely on our farm then staying and wasting a whole other week worth of time doing nothing but twiddling our thumbs and looking at other vendors because there's no one walking around at all. We even tried speaking with management about making changes to benefit all of the vendors that have been having these complaints and no one wants to do anything about it to change it and they're in complete denial. The people in charge have told us that we are wrong and that they are perfectly managing the fair and that no one else has any issues yet every single person in the memorial hall has either moved or tried to move outside and all the vendors are calling me Memorial Hall, death row for vendors. I will be posting my social media as well telling all of my followers about how horrendous this is.

It's in July, now (WHY?!) and we went Fri, 7/31 in evening and still really warm. Parking was bad…read more We were being directed to parking for pick-up trucks when there were empty spaces scattered throughout areas we had to drive past. We made executive decision to take an empty spot that we knew our truck could fit in. We could see the parking attendant still waving for us to move on as we parked. Nope. Went in and not very many food or merch vendors. Rides were cut back as well. Did not even see my fave, Tilt-a-Whirl. Size of the fair felt more county than state. There was an area where you could "Cuddle with Baby Goats", but $5 per person - WHY?! That would have been a good petting zoo experience. Overall, I do NOT recommend this fair anymore. Save your money for MD State Fair end of Aug/begin Sept, or Bloomsburg PA Fair second half of Sept.

My wife and I are "regulars" at the Maryland renaissance festival, and paid performers at the…read moreOakenmist renaissance festival. one thing I can honestly say (without reservation) is that the faire in Manheim PA is EVERYTHING the Maryland renaissance festival IS NOT. We attended this past weekend and were taken aback by the overall cleanliness, paved walkways, and (air conditioned) restrooms with running water and flushable toilets. Little to no lines for food. Food was slightly more expensive, but worth it. Portion sizes were all double what you get at the Maryland faire. turkey legs were (no exaggeration whatsoever) anywhere from 12 to 18" long and actually had (a lot of) meat on them, as opposed to Marylands which are all "tendon." Steak on a steak were not ribbons, but large CHUNKS of tender and juicy steak. Scotch eggs were big, and perfectly cooked. People (at least on the day we were there) obeyed the smoking and vaping rules and stayed in their designated areas, and we did not (repeat) not one time, did we smell marijuana throughout the entire event, which is not something that you cannot say about the Maryland Faire. Music entertainment was an absolute delight to sit listen and watch. (One with a "hurty-gurty", one with a hammered dulcimer, and an array of other comical acts). PA were much more relaxed on their "LARP" and foam weapons policy, where Maryland will only allow wooden swords that you purchased there. (Let's face it folks... I could do more damage with my wrist-watch wrapped around my fist, then I could with a foam, or polypropylene weapon that resembles a sword. Let's get real, Maryland faire...) Not once, did we lose cellular reception, throughout the entire grounds. Vendors there have Gatorade available for sale, as well as soft drinks. The soft drinks are more expensive, but twice the serving size as Maryland. It was evidently clear that Queen Elizabeth l was classically trained as an Elizabethan actress. This our (very first) visit to the PA faire will inevitably and most certainly lead to our return.

Bring back the renaissance fair from 35-40 years ago. Have 2 or 3 weekends of costume dress ups,…read moreviking, fairy, furries. It's ridiculous to call yourself renaissance when far from what it actually is. There used to be a storyline from beginning to end and you followed the Queen and her entourage throughout the village. The food is not worth the money. Hamburgers that are smaller than bun size. Pretzels that taste stale. Drinks that are 3/4 cup full and expensive. Turkey legs are $17 and boney! GROSS! Price of admission is understandable, it's the cost of below par products. Even the trinkets and souvenirs are $50+ SAD! You all need to do better. Bottom line.

There's something kind of magical about Hope Hill - it's quiet, scenic, and smells wonderful. We…read moreenjoy visiting and, in the summer, walking amongst the lavender plants and watching and photographing the bees. Wendy usually is in the store offering speciality lavendar items - today it was delicious chocolate. You can also purchase ice cream, cookies, tea and other lavender-related items. One of our favorite things from Hope Hill are the "Hope" bracelets we have worn everyday for the past several years. Highly recommend visiting the farm and spending a few hours. The smell of the lavender and gentle buzzing from the industrious bees in warmer weather is an experience not to be missed.

I first visited this farm two years ago in early July when the lavender was in full bloom, and…read morereturned the following year around the same time because I wanted to relive that amazing sensory experience of the lavender field in full bloom. The products in the gift shop never disappoint, especially the lavender dark chocolate and the lavender brownie which was incredible. I've also purchased products online including the lip balm, the cookbook, culinary lavender, the bloom tea, the hope tea and the lavender hand soap. I've taken the farm tour and recently a culinary lavender class to determine a preference for English or French lavender. Both of these events were wonderful experiences. If you don't live near the farm, I highly recommend that you check out the products they offer online, but please don't purchase ALL of the lavender dark chocolate.

Great place to take kids, they have 2 giant slides, tug of war, some farm animals to pet, corn…read moremaze, corn pit, tire swings, jumping pillow, tricycles to race, water duck races, hayrides to the pumpkin patch, a zip line swing (which was closed when we went), and other things. They have a snack shack where you can buy apple cider donuts, slushies, kettle corn popcorn, etc. and they do take credit cards. Be sure to confirm the hours of the Snack shack. Parking is across the street. Cute place, will return!

We went on a particularly wet weekend, after a week full of rain. Still had a total blast! The corn…read moremaze was challenging but not too hard to do and took about 30 minutes for us to go through. Had fun going through the petting zoo, playing with bubbles, and competing with each other in the duck races. We spent a little over 2 hours here and had a relaxing fall day.

The 2nd annual Choctoberfest (CF) took place yesterday in ChocolateTown Square on a perfect autumn…read moreday. The music from local bands was playing, beer was being poured, bites were being eaten and -most importantly- the chocolate was sweet. All of those things came together for a family-friendly fall festival. I heard about the event on Yelp and decided to check it out. I'm glad we went on such a gorgeous day. Admission was free and parking was easy at the lot across from the theater. One of the nice things about a small festival is that you don't have to walk for miles to see everything. The area for listening to the bands was a great spot for viewers; they had haystacks for seating and tall tables throughout the park for drinking and eating. The lights strung from the trees were a nice touch. However, the tents area was cramped, crowded and not where I wanted to be. I wish they had a better space to spread them out. Luckily, once people got their items, they were able to move over to park area. The lines weren't too long, thankfully. I didn't eat any of the bites, but I did try one of the beers and it was good. In the back, they also had some activities for the kids. There was a bounce house, chalk drawing, free pumpkins and bags to paint, Frisbee Toss and a few others. They also had some portable toilets along with a hand washing station, which was good for those chalky fingers! I would definitely go back next year and I bet they will continue to grow. It seemed like a well-organized event and Hershey is a nice town to visit. I'm not a fan of festivals in general but CF is my type of small-town festivals. I'll be back!

From the owner: oin us for Choctoberfest 2023: A celebration of bands, beers, bites, and chocolate!…read moreThe 8th annual Choctoberfest will be held on Saturday, October 14, 2023 from 11:00 am – 6:00 pm in ChocolateTown Square Park, located at the corner of Chocolate and Cocoa Avenues in Downtown Hershey. Join us with family and friends for a fall afternoon full of great live music, local craft beer, delicious food from downtown restaurants, and, of course, chocolate! Choctoberfest offers an array of activities for all ages to enjoy and is free and open to the public, with food and beverages available for purchase. Check back as we detail more of the events for the day!

This is a fun three day event that the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church puts on every year. I…read moretried the chicken dinner which came with green beans, rice, a roll, and garden salad for $11. For dessert, I was hoping to try the baklava cheesecake, but they had sold out. Instead, I went with the loukoumades garnished with nuts, honey, and cinnamon. Yum!

I love this Christmas tradition. Look around at more than 600,000 on a half mile trail. Five…read morebuildings line the trail, a small building, a concession building, a train building with a wonderful train display, an entertainment building where group sing and play music, and Santa's building, all heated and three with a burning fire place. Outside the buildings lies a winter forest. Different areas contain different types of decorations, one area contained toy soldiers as a tribute to American soldiers, another Christmas Carol era nights, another ginger bread men, another contained animals, and the final trail is a music show. This is truly a tradition that will be passed down the generations and please all. The only problem is the turn onto back Mt Zion Road is on a hill and extremely dangerous please be careful.

A visit to Christmas magic is a family tradition and by the line of cars to get in it must be…read moreeveryone else's tradition as well. The entry fee is $8 for adults and you walk though about a mile, maybe little less, of Christmas lights. They have 5 building to walk into as well, each with a theme. The train garden is my kids favorite. The little kids and even big kids too can sit on Santa lap and get a photo taken. They do serve typical concession type food (hotdogs, fries, burgers) but we usually go out to eat after. We do however stop in the refreshment building for some popcorn, cookies and hot chocolate or cider.