Good morning, Lancaster County. Rain is the story today — a chance of rain and thunderstorms this morning, then periods of rain after noon, a 90% chance of precipitation and a high near 80. Good news: almost everything worth doing today is indoors.
In today's Lancaster Local:
A fire company that has served Lancaster County since 1914 spent a Saturday pulling tractors, and streamed two hours of it themselves
Paint a 1:56-scale miniature tonight, or hear a Lancaster jazz group with Temple University roots in Lititz
A Lancaster bar is giving tonight over to the Walk to End Alzheimer's — all ages, no ticket
Registration for one of tonight's events closes at 4 p.m., earlier than you'd expect
COMMUNITY NEWS
Serving since 1914, all-volunteer today. On a Saturday this month, they pulled tractors.
Stevens Fire Company describes itself in one line on its own page, and the line does a lot of work:
"Stevens Fire Company – Station 73, proudly serving Lancaster County, Pennsylvania since 1914. We're 100% volunteer-run, and we're here to keep our community safe."
Since 1914 — 112 years of a fire company in a small Lancaster County crossroads, staffed today entirely by people who aren't paid to do it.
Like a lot of Lancaster County fire companies, Stevens runs events at the station through the year. This month's was a tractor pull.
On Saturday, August 8, they held one. Antique tractors among them. The kitchen was open all day.
And here is the part that stuck with us. Somebody from the company set up a phone and went live on Facebook — not once, but three times. At 9:34 in the morning: "Pulls have begun! Kitchen is open!" Twelve minutes later, a second one: "Antique tractor pulls! Kitchen is open!" Then, that afternoon, they started a third and let it run for two hours and two minutes.
Nobody made them do that. It is just a volunteer fire company making sure the people who couldn't get to Stevens Road on a Saturday could still watch the tractors go.
EVENTS
Three things tonight, all under a roof, which today is the whole point.
🍸 Decades Gives Back: Walk to End Alzheimer's Fundraiser Night — 438 N. Queen Street, Lancaster, PA 17603. Tonight, Thursday, August 20, 5:30–8:30 p.m. Open to all ages, no ticket required. Decades is handing the evening over: come learn about the organization, order the feature cocktail, drop a donation, and talk to people. That's the whole pitch, and it's a good one.
🎨 Miniature Paint Night — Lancaster Public Library, 151 North Queen Street, Lancaster, PA 17603. Tonight, Thursday, August 20, 5:00–8:00 p.m. Ages 18+; registration required and closes at 4:45 p.m. Space is limited. Chris Medalis walks you through dry brushing, layering and glazing at 1:56 scale. The library supplies the 3D-printed miniatures, the paint, the palettes and the brushes — bring your own only if you've already got a project going.
🎺 Temple Avenue Concert — Lititz Public Library, 651 Kissel Hill Road, Lititz, PA 17543. Tonight, Thursday, August 20, 6:30–7:30 p.m. All ages. ⚠ Registration closes at 4:00 p.m., so don't leave this one until after work. Temple Avenue is a jazz group formed by Lancaster musicians and friends they met at Temple University, playing jazz standards and swing.
🐟 On The Hook Fish and Chips — in the Lowe's lot, 1845 Hempstead Road, Lancaster, PA 17601. Friday, August 21, 11:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m. A travelling truck parking in Lancaster for the day to sell hand-battered wild Alaskan cod — three pieces with fries runs $18. Worth knowing before you go: it's pre-order with a pickup window, and you choose a ten-minute slot when you order, rather than turning up and queueing in a parking lot.
🎶 Allegro Chamber Singers: "America 250 — A Mosaic" — Lancaster Church of the Brethren, 1601 Sunset Avenue, Lancaster, PA 17601. Saturday, August 22, 7:00 p.m. Free-will offering. Part of the church's Starlight Tea series, which runs on patrons and what comes in at the door. Allegro sings everything from Medieval music forward under director Jon Clemens, and it's an unusual group: it rehearses and performs only in the summer, so working musicians can take on hard repertoire without the school year on top of them.
🧘 Mindful Mondays at Binns Park — Binns Park, downtown Lancaster. Monday, August 24, 6:00–7:30 p.m. Free. Embodyment Wellness runs family-friendly movement, meditation and a few vendors in the middle of the city — their aim, in their words, is a grounding safe place for downtown families.
🦋 Monarchs: Masters of Migration — Environmental Center, 1 Nature's Way, Lancaster, PA 17602. Wednesday, August 26, 6:30–7:30 p.m. $2 per person, all ages. A monarch weighs less than a paper clip and gets from Canada to Mexico anyway — a trip that takes the species several generations to complete. Naturalist Katie Kruza explains how, and you'll handle live caterpillars and butterflies. Register and prepay by noon Tuesday.
Thursday, August 20 — A chance of rain and thunderstorms, then periods of rain and possibly a thunderstorm after noon. High near 80, calm wind becoming east around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation 90%, with a half to three quarters of an inch of rain possible. Tonight, rain likely mainly before 9 p.m. and areas of fog after 11 p.m., then gradually becoming partly cloudy with a low around 62.
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