Good morning, Lancaster County.
This week: an independent grocery on West Lemon Street turns 15, a Manheim teaching kitchen and bistro opens its doors for an evening, and Sunday brings a drum show to Lititz.
In today's Lancaster Local:
Lemon Street Market turns 15, with anniversary sales all October
The last three shows of an Amish-country musical comedy
A Thursday-night look inside Hope Served's new teaching kitchen in Manheim
The Pennsylvania Drum Show at Mickey's Black Box on Sunday
COMMUNITY NEWS
Fifteen years of local groceries on West Lemon Street.
Lemon Street Market, the independent, woman-owned grocery at 241 West Lemon Street in Lancaster city, is celebrating 15 years.
The store marked the milestone Saturday with a free outdoor Fall Festival: local vendors handing out samples, pumpkin painting, corn hole, raffle prizes and an ice cream trailer.
The store called it "our way of saying thank you to everyone who has helped make Lemon Street Market what it is today."
If you missed the party, the store says its special anniversary sales run all month long.
It's a full-service grocery focused on "sustainable and healthy living," with many local, organic, vegan and gluten-free options among more than 4,000 items.
It carries two or three brands of each product, "locally and regionally produced whenever possible," and says shoppers there directly support more than 75 local farmers and vendors.
Some of the milk from local dairy farms comes in reusable glass bottles.
Pay a $2.25 deposit, bring the empty bottle back, and you get the deposit back.
Since 2017, shoppers can also round up their purchase to the nearest dollar at checkout, with the change going to a local organization that changes every two months.
The store is open 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. every day, and its kitchen serves coffee, tea, espresso, fresh juices, smoothies and grab-and-go takeout.
EVENTS
✉️ Dear Soldier Boy — Bird-in-Hand Stage, 2760 Old Philadelphia Pike, Bird-in-Hand.
Final performances: Tuesday, October 20, 1:00 and 7:00 p.m., and Wednesday, October 21, 1:00 p.m.
A musical comedy from Blue Gate Musicals.
It's 1990, and Anna King and her friend Sofia volunteer to write letters of encouragement to America's troops.
It's all fine until the pen pals get weekend passes and show up to surprise the girls at work, all on the very same day.
Written by Martha Bolton, with original songs by Wally Nason.
Show-only tickets are $47 for adults and $18 for children.
Lunch-and-show and dinner-and-show packages are also available.
Tickets: (717) 768-1568.
🏛️ Who Were the Pennsylvania Associators? — Rock Ford Barn, Historic Rock Ford, 881 Rockford Road, Lancaster.
Tuesday, October 20, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Part of Rock Ford's America250 Lecture Series. U.S. Army historian Joseph Seymour talks about the Associators, who served the colony and state for 30 years until the Militia Law of 1777, and how some of their notable members' service intersected with that of Edward Hand.
$10, or $5 for Rock Ford Foundation members.
Admission is for the lecture only.
🌊 An Evening with RiverStewards — Millport Conservancy, 737 East Millport Road, Lititz.
Thursday, October 22, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.
A social evening to meet the RiverStewards Collaborative, with a food truck, a basket raffle of items from local businesses and a short presentation on the group's work.
The Millport Trail along Lititz Run will be open for a walk.
Tickets are $28.52 on Eventbrite and include one drink and one meal.
Ages 21 and up.
🍽️ Illumination 2026: Come to the Table — Hope Served, 201 West High Street, Manheim.
Thursday, October 22, 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. Doors open at 5:45 p.m.
Hope Served, whose work centers on adults living with disabilities, is transforming the former Manheim Mennonite Church into a teaching kitchen and bistro.
Its celebration of disability inclusion, moved from September because construction ran long, invites guests to the newly completed kitchen and bistro for food, entertainment, guided tours, a coffee tasting, a mocktail and "dirty soda" bar, a silent auction and raffle prizes.
All ages.
Tickets start at $39.19 on Eventbrite.
🎶 The MAKs with Kenny Arbuckle — Lititz Shirt Factory, 5 Juniper Lane, Lititz.
Friday, October 23, 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. for dinner and drinks.
The Philadelphia trio brings radiant vocals, original songs and instrumental work.
Acoustic singer-songwriter Kenny Arbuckle opens.
Tickets are $20, with no added fees.
🦗 Edible Insects — The Carriage House, LancasterHistory Museum & Research Center, 230 North President Avenue, Lancaster.
Saturday, October 24, 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.
A Friends of the Tanger Arboretum Nature Series program.
Lisa Sanchez, a naturalist at the Lancaster County Department of Parks and Recreation's Environmental Center for 30 years, explains which insects are edible and how they can be a good source of protein.
Then she cooks some up for attendees to try.
$10 for adults.
Free for children 17 and under, who must come with an adult.
🥁 2026 Pennsylvania Drum Show — Mickey's Black Box, 101 Rock Lititz Boulevard, Lititz.
Sunday, October 25. Early entry at noon, general admission 1:00 to 7:30 p.m.
Started in 1995, it's the second-longest-running drum show in the country, now run by Lancaster's Drums Etc.
Expect a big marketplace of new, used and vintage drum gear, clinics by Gregg Bissonette of the Ringo Starr All Star Band and others, an open drum circle, and a meet-and-greet lounge with drummers including Matt Greiner of August Burns Red.
Every attendee gets a raffle ticket.
General admission is $20, and early access is $30.
Kids under 10 are free.
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Sunny today, with a high near 62.
Tonight is partly cloudy and down around 43.
Tuesday is mostly sunny and 65, and Wednesday is sunny and 65.
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Have a good Monday.
— The Lancaster Local