Good morning, Lancaster County.
It's the Weekend Edition: the New Holland fair's last day, a steam train ride with a pumpkin for every child, and country stars at Overlook.
In today's Lancaster Local:
A new handmade harness for the horses at Landis Valley
A steam train ride with a pumpkin for every child in Strasburg
The New Holland Farmers Fair's final day, parades included
Seven model train layouts open to visitors in Elizabethtown
COMMUNITY NEWS
A new harness, made down the road.
Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum has a new team of horses, and in the museum's words, "we felt that a new harness was in order."
They didn't have to look far.
Farmer Jake worked with a local Amish harness maker named Samuel.
If you visited Landis Valley before 2019, the museum says, you may already have seen much of Samuel's leatherwork on the farm's teams.
Together, the two studied paintings, photographs and historic farming magazines.
The goal wasn't to recreate one particular harness, but to bring together details a farmer of the past would have recognized, a harness that "combined historic tradition with modern ingenuity." One touch the museum singles out: custom nameplates on the nosebands of the bridles.
It took just over two months to go from sheets of leather to a finished harness.
The museum received it in early September, and after some adjustments the team began regular work in its new gear.
The museum says you'll now find Farmer Jake and the team around the site, pulling a cart or doing fieldwork.
And it plans to show off the team and the new harness at Harvest Days, Saturday, October 10, and Sunday, October 11, with fieldwork demonstrations both days, weather permitting, and the barn open to visitors.
THIS WEEKEND
If you do one thing
🎸 I-105 FallFest — Overlook Community Campus, Manheim Township.
Sunday, October 4. Music from shortly after 11:00 a.m. until about 6:00 p.m.
Tyler Hubbard and Nate Smith lead a lineup with Josh Ross, Harper Grace, and Trent Becker & The Collective.
General admission is $25 in advance, and kids 5 and under get in free; VIP is sold out.
General admission gates open at 8:30 a.m.
It's rain or shine, with no umbrellas, tents or canopies allowed, so plan accordingly, and bring chairs and blankets.
There's free parking at Root's Market, 705 Graystone Road, Manheim, with a free shuttle.
Free
🎡 New Holland Farmers Fair: the last day — the 100 blocks of East and West Main Street, New Holland.
Saturday, October 3. Free.
Last chance this year.
There's no admission fee, the midway runs 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and rides open at 11:00.
The Baby Parade steps off at 1:00 p.m. from St. Stephen Reformed, 249 East Main Street, and the Pet Parade follows right after.
With kids
🎃 Pumpkins in Paradise — Strasburg Rail Road, 301 Gap Road, Ronks.
Saturday, October 3.
A 45-minute steam train ride through the countryside, then a 40-minute stop at Groff's Picnic Grove for fall games and live music.
Every child gets a pumpkin.
The railroad moved this year's run to October 3.
Adults (12 and up) $34.98, children 2 to 11 $29.68.
Book a departure online, arrive 30 minutes early, and dress for the weather.
It runs rain or shine.
Date night
🎷 Shirt Factory Jazz Jam Session — Lititz Shirt Factory, 5 Juniper Lane, Lititz.
Sunday, October 4, 2:30 to 6:00 p.m.
Make it a date afternoon.
On the first Sunday of every month, the Shirt Factory welcomes jazz musicians and singers to jam on its stage.
A $5 cover, students free, pay at the door.
Worth the drive
🚂 MV&E Model Railroad Club Open House — 1 Masonic Drive, Elizabethtown.
Saturday, October 3, and Sunday, October 4, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
The first open houses of the club's 2026–2027 season, on the Masonic Village campus.
Seven operating layouts, from the tiny Z gauge to the big G gauge; the O scale layout alone has more than 1,600 feet of track.
Some of the trains on the Standard gauge loop are as much as 100 years old.
If it rains
Sunday has a 50 percent chance of showers.
The model railroad open house is indoors, in the club's clubhouse, and both FallFest and the pumpkin train run rain or shine.
Still collecting: Where's the best whoopie pie in Lancaster County?
One name is all we need.
Hit reply.
We may print a few answers with your first name and town.
Partly sunny and a high near 86 today, with a 30 percent chance of showers after 2:00 p.m. and gusts as high as 20 mph.
Tonight brings a chance of showers before 11:00 p.m., then partly cloudy and down around 56.
Saturday is the pick of the weekend: mostly sunny and 70.
Sunday is mostly cloudy and 66, with a 50 percent chance of showers.
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Have a good weekend.
— The Lancaster Local