Good morning, Lancaster County. The long weekend is almost here - just one more Friday stands between you and a Memorial Day full of parades, pancakes, and possibly some ice cream. Pull up a chair, because today's issue is packed with everything you need to make the most of it.

In today's Lancaster Local:

Downtown Lancaster Now Has a Museum Worth Making a Trip For

LancasterHistory has officially opened the Thaddeus Stevens & Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History and Democracy at 13–15 E. Vine Street in downtown Lancaster. The new museum and education center spans 16 exhibition galleries covering slavery and abolition, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and constitutional change - all through the lens of two Lancaster figures central to that history. Stevens was the Lancaster congressman who helped shape the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments; Smith was a mixed-race businesswoman and property owner who was a trusted member of his inner circle. The project has been in the works since the early 2000s, with LancasterHistory working in earnest on it since 2020. The Center is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 AM to 5 PM. More info →

Memorial Day weekend is here - and Lancaster County is not letting it pass quietly.

🍷 Great PA FlavorFest - Day 2 - Mount Hope Estate & Winery - 2775 Lebanon Road, Manheim, PA. Sunday, May 24, 11 AM–5 PM. The final day of FlavorFest brings wine and spirits sampling, festival food, merchants, and activities to the grounds of Mount Hope Estate. General admission includes a tasting glass; tickets are date-specific. Get tickets →

🎻 Irish Session with Paraic Keane - Tellus360 - 24 E. King Street, Lancaster, PA. Sunday, May 24, 2–5 PM. A free, loosely structured Irish jam session in the pub led by Paraic Keane - bring an instrument and join in, or just stop by and enjoy the music. This is a 21+ event; those under 21 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian age 25 or older. More info →

🐺 Wolf Sanctuary of PA - Guided Public Tour - Wolf Sanctuary of PA - 465 Speedwell Forge Road, Lititz, PA. Sunday, May 24, 10 AM. Get up close (safely) with several wolf packs on this guided educational tour, which covers wolf biology, conservation, and the stories of the wolves who call the sanctuary home. Advanced booking is required. Get tickets →

🥞 Oregon Dairy Memorial Day Pancake Breakfast - Oregon Dairy - 2900 Oregon Pike, Lititz, PA. Monday, May 25, 7–11 AM. Oregon Dairy's classic Memorial Day breakfast on the deck overlooks the farm, playground, and animals - pancakes, sausage links, butter and syrup, and a choice of beverage. Few mornings feel more Lancaster than this one. More info →

🎺 Lititz Memorial Day Parade - Lititz Borough - parade starts at West Lincoln Avenue and Warwick Street, Lititz, PA. Monday, May 25, 10:45 AM. American Legion Post 56 sponsors the 2026 Lititz Memorial Day Parade, which travels east on West Lincoln Avenue, south on North Broad Street, east on East Main Street, and concludes at Church Square. A service follows at Moravian Cemetery. More info →

⚔️ Memorial Day at Historic Rock Ford - Historic Rock Ford - 881 Rockford Road, Lancaster, PA. Monday, May 25, 10 AM–2 PM. Spend Memorial Day with living historians, patriotic family activities, and self-guided tours of the Hand Mansion and Snyder Gallery. The 2026 focus exhibit, "Lancaster's Revolutionaries," is included. More info →

THIS WEEK Out and about in Lancaster County

🍦 Lancaster County Ice Cream Trail - Season Launch - Countywide; prize redemption at Discover Lancaster Visitors Center. Launching Monday, May 25 and running through September 7, 2026. Discover Lancaster's free mobile Ice Cream Trail is back for summer - check in at local ice cream shops and creameries across the county, unlock special offers, earn points, and redeem Lancaster-themed prizes. It's free to participate and genuinely delightful. More info →

🎺 Strasburg Memorial Day Parade & Service - Strasburg Borough - parade begins at the west end of Miller Street, Strasburg, PA. Monday, May 25, 9 AM. Strasburg's annual parade travels along West and East Main streets before a memorial service at Strasburg Cemetery, all sponsored by the Strasburg Area Sertoma Club. A quieter, small-town way to start Memorial Day morning. More info →

FEATURED LANCASTER COUNTY HISTORY

The house on Vine Street has been waiting a long time to tell this story.

Lancaster has always known it had a role in the big moments of American history - but now, for the first time, there's a place to walk through that history room by room. The Thaddeus Stevens & Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History and Democracy just opened its doors this month and it's the kind of museum that makes you stop and reconsider how much you thought you already knew.

Most people have heard of Thaddeus Stevens - the Lancaster congressman who was instrumental in passing the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments and who pushed harder than almost anyone in Washington for a Reconstruction that would actually deliver on the promises of emancipation. But the Center gives equal standing to Lydia Hamilton Smith, who has long deserved more than a footnote. Her story - of agency, of community, of navigating a world that made her life extraordinarily difficult - runs alongside Stevens' throughout the museum.

Sixteen galleries. Decades in the making. And it's right here in downtown Lancaster.

👉 Read the full story →

Weather For Friday, May 22 - It's a cloudy, mild one to close out the week, with highs around 62°F and a chance of showers - good motivation to get your Memorial Day plans locked in before the weekend hits. Sunday looks like the best outdoor bet of the long weekend, so keep that in mind when you're sorting out parades versus pancakes.

Thanks for reading Lancaster Local. A big, history-making museum just opened downtown, and the best Memorial Day weekend in recent memory is right around the corner - feels like a good Friday to us. If you found something useful, forward it to someone who still gets their news from a Facebook group.