Programs, Programs, Programs

I hope that you had a safe and fun Independence Day yesterday. (The weather forecast as I write this on July 1 is a bit iffy, so who knows?) Last week's post features Trails of History events through July 11, and the July program page will take you through the end of the month.

As we move into the thick of the summer (I've already been complaining about the heat for two weeks now), there are lots of programs going on (see links above to find out more). There's also plenty of activity behind the scenes and out front for visitors exploring our sites. Here are just a few highlights.

Harpist performing at Ephrata Cloister's Summer Fest artisan event on June 29 (photo via Facebook)

Ephrata Cloister partnered with Artisans in the Park to offer their first annual Summer Fest, which brought artisans and musicians to the site for a lovely open air event (luckily the thunderstorm held off until mid-afternoon). Photo above is from Saturday's event; you can see more on Ephrata Cloister's Facebook page. Artisans in the Park has also partnered with Conrad Weiser Homestead on several events and will offer a Harvest Festival there on September 28 (see Facebook event page).

PA Lumber Museum curator Joshua Fox recently shared the post above related to the production of birch oil in the lumber region. The museum has a reproduction birch still built by dedicated volunteers. You can see it in operation this weekend at the annual Bark Peelers' Festival.


This year's Patch Town Days event at Eckley Miners' Village featured Italian heritage and culture, and included performances by students at the Keystone Ballet Academy. One of the parents shared video of the dancers - be sure to turn the sound on to hear the music.


PHMC's Keystone Summer Internship program is in full swing and we have a number of great interns working in Harrisburg and at various sites. The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania introduced their Keystone intern, Mitchell Rebuck, in a recent Facebook post (above) and also featured Benjamin Barnhart, an intern from Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology who is splitting his time between the Railroad Museum (in the restoration shop) and Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum (in the tin shop and blacksmith shop). We'll try to introduce you to some of the other summer interns before summer is over.