Good morning, Lancaster County. There’s rain in today’s forecast, but the week ahead is stacked with reasons to get out anyway — a neighborhood mural unveiling, a farmers-market fundraiser for shelter dogs, and a candlelight ghost tour through Strasburg. Here’s what’s worth circling on your calendar.
In today’s Lancaster Local:
A West Lancaster neighborhood mural built from 390 residents’ drawings gets its official unveiling
Free pup cups and adoptable puppies join the Lititz Farmers Market tomorrow afternoon
A weekend packed with a ghost tour, a mural reveal, and a back-to-school market day
Sunny Sweeney plays Phantom Power, plus a charity poker run and two free park concerts
COMMUNITY NEWS
A West Lancaster park just turned 390 kids’ and neighbors’ drawings into one mural — and let almost everyone help paint it
It started with one question put to the West Lancaster neighborhood: what makes you feel alive? More than 390 drawings came back — flowers, bicycles, a dad and daughter tossing a football, a bike trailing lightning behind it — each one somebody’s answer.
Lancaster artist and West Lancaster resident Shauna Yorty took those submissions and wove them into a single mural for Rodney Park, working alongside a Lafayette Elementary art teacher and neighbors from the block. Some images landed close to how kids originally drew them; others pulled from themes that kept showing up across dozens of submissions.
Then came the part that makes it a genuinely community mural instead of a commissioned one: nearly 70 people showed up for a community paint day, ranging in age from 5 months old to 71 years old, and put brush to wall together over the same weekend.
This Saturday, from 2 to 3 p.m., the neighborhood gathers at Rodney Park to unveil the finished piece. For the afternoon, the park’s fences double as an open-air gallery, hung with the original drawings that inspired every panel of it. The project came together through the West Lancaster Jewels neighborhood group, the Lancaster Recreation Commission, and the City of Lancaster’s Neighborhood Art Project.
EVENTS
Nine picks across six towns this week — a big Saturday, a laid-back Sunday, and a couple of weeknight ones worth planning around.
🎨 Rodney Park Mural Unveiling — Rodney Park — West Lancaster, Lancaster city, PA. This Saturday, August 1, 2–3 p.m. The community mural above gets its official reveal, with the original drawings that inspired it displayed along the park fences. Free.
🐾 Pup Cup Giveaway Fundraiser — Lititz Farmers Market, Lititz Springs Park — 24 North Broad Street, Lititz, PA 17543. Tomorrow, Thursday, July 30, 3–7 p.m. Hotel Rock Lititz is handing out free "pup cups" and bringing adoptable puppies to the market — bring your own dog and make a new friend. Free.
👻 Ghost Tour of Strasburg — meets at Main & Decatur Sts. — 1 E. Main St, Strasburg, PA 17579. This Saturday, August 1, evening candlelight tour. A costumed guide walks you through Strasburg's haunted-house lore and unsolved mysteries — advance tickets required. $28 ($18 ages 4–12).
🎒 First Saturday at Artisan Mill Co — Artisan Mill Co, The Shops at Rockvale — 35 Willowdale Drive Suite #1709, Lancaster, PA 17602. This Saturday, August 1, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. A back-to-school vendor and food-truck day — bring a school-supply donation and get a raffle ticket for a gift card. Free to attend.
🎺 Twin Rose Community Band — New Holland Community Park — 400 E Jackson St, New Holland, PA 17557. This Sunday, August 2, 7–9 p.m. A community band with roots back to Civil War-era York County, now playing free summer shows across the county line. Food trucks on site. Free.
🎱 Bingo Fundraiser for New Holland Fair — New Holland Legion Banquet Room — 35 S. Hoover Ave, New Holland, PA 17557. This Sunday, August 2, doors 1 p.m., games start 2 p.m. Cash bingo benefiting the New Holland Fair, with extra cards and add-ons available at the door. $20 advance, $25 at the door.
🏍️ Across the Border Poker Run — starts at The Rawlinsville Brickhouse — 3 Drytown Road, Holtwood, PA. This Sunday, August 2, 9 a.m. card distribution. A motorcycle poker run touring six family-owned Lancaster County businesses, including Sickman's Mill and Britain Hill Venue & Vineyard, to benefit the local food bank. Call 717-923-0373 to register.
🎤 Sunny Sweeney — Phantom Power — 121 W. Frederick St, Millersville, PA 17551. Next Wednesday, August 5, doors 7 p.m., show 8–11 p.m. The country singer-songwriter headlines this 21-and-up show at Millersville's own live-music room. $20 advance, $30 seated.
🎸 BAD SLICE — Strasburg Community Park — 151 Precision Avenue, Strasburg, PA 17579. Saturday, August 8, starts around 6:30 p.m. Central PA's self-proclaimed premier cover band closes out the park's free summer concert series with '70s and '80s hits. Bring a blanket or chair. Free.
Wednesday, July 29 — Expect showers and thunderstorms most of the day with a high near 81. Keep the umbrella in the car, but the weekend ahead is shaping up clearer for all that outdoor stuff above.
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