Solanco APRIL 1, 2026
SERVING OUR COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
REACHING MORE THAN 11,250 HOMES
Your Next PA Adventure Begins Here
VOL LXII • NO 50
Tools, Trades and a Place to Get Started BY CAT SHANNON
EASTER FLOWERS Locally Made Easter Candy OPEN GOOD FRIDAY
1955 Beaver Valley Pike, just N. of Quarryville
(717) 786-4713 Mon.-Fri. 8am-6pm, Sat. 8am-4pm
mecksproduce.com
See PA Travel pg 6
See Tools pg 5
People attend a previous year’s PA Family Travel Fair. BY CAT SHANNON
“I
like to call this event ‘the most fun you’ll have planning your vacation,’” said Wendy Royal, event coordinator for the PA Family Travel Fair. “It’s free to attend. You can go around, get all kinds of information - visitors’ guides, brochures and information about things only the locals know.” The eighth annual PA Family Travel Fair will be held on Saturday, April 11, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Lebanon Valley Expo Center and Fairgrounds, 80 Rocherty Road, Lebanon. It will feature more than 50 vendors and exhibitors showcasing destinations and attractions from throughout the state. “They are there to hand out free information. There’s no selling,” Royal said. “You can talk to the vendors, and they can answer any questions you have. Nobody knows
their area or their attraction better than they do.” Vendors will represent all corners of the state, providing ideas for summer getaways, day trips or longer vacations. Participants will include amusement parks; campgrounds; museums; and visitor bureaus, including the PA Great Outdoors Visitors Bureau. “People love the outdoors in Pennsylvania. One of our new vendors is the Keystone Elk Country Alliance,” Royal said, adding that the Elk County-based group will have lots of information on the elk herds that populate the region. “ They ’ll have information on the best times to see the elk, and they’ll give people lots of ideas of things to do in the area.” New this year, the PA Family Travel Fair will feature two grand prize giveaways. “We have two big getaways this year, instead of one like we’ve
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2 Annual Easter Festival Friday • April 3 • 10am-4pm Saturday • April 4 • 10am-4pm
• Easter Egg Hunt • Hayrides • Highland Cows • Goats
• Foods & Games • Photo w/Bunny • Straw Maze
12.99
$
Ages 2 And Up
400 Long Lane, Lancaster, PA 717-872-9311
(Rt. 741 & 324)
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Easter Flowers
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had in the past,” Royal said. “Both are for families of four, and they include lodg ing , attractions, vouchers, gift cards for restaurants and more. One is from Happy Valley Adventure Bureau, and one is from Destination Gettysburg.” The first 500 people in the door at the travel fair will receive a goodie bag, perfect for stuffing full of information picked up at vendor booths, Royal said, adding, “Your bag will be full by the end of the day.” The event is truly for the whole family, with plenty of options for kids to have fun. “We have a kids’ passport, which encourages kids to interact with the vendors,” Royal explained. “One lucky youngster will win eight all-day passes to DelGrosso’s Amusement Park & Laguna Splash Water Park.” Additionally, a balloon artist will entertain from 10 a.m. to noon,
Like many creative people, Emily Fritz comes from a crafty family. Her grandfather was a woodworker, but he died before she could learn from him. Eager to explore the craft, she wasn’t sure where to begin, and that exper ience inspired her to help others find their starting point. She is the founder and executive director of Lancaster Workshop + Tool Library, opening later this year. “Finding mentorship, tools, space, etc., was a serious lifelong limitation until I shared this story with my friend, mentor and now co-founder, Gene Shaw, a retired cabinetmaker and artist in the city of Lancaster who invited me to learn with him,” she recalled. “By lesson three, I told Gene we must start a community workshop to give our community an opportunity to learn skilled trades in a mentorship, cohort environment, from seasoned experts.” She connected with SCORE, wrote a business plan, created a budget and pitched her idea to the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County. The Trust agreed to serve as fiscal sponsor, supporting the workshop and tool library under the Trust’s 501(c)(3) status. “It’s really thanks to them and their belief in our mission along with the Steinman STEM Alliance for giving us the gift of startup funding to get off the ground,” Fritz said. In August 2025, Shaw began setting up space in a warehouse located at 433 Ice Ave., Lancaster. T he organizers ’ vision is