November 2004

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Thank You for Heritage Festival Contributions

(This letter was sent to the Gettysburg Times but was not printed, so we are publishing it here.)

To the Editor:

The weather was magnificent, and we estimate, on the basis of the number of programs handed out, that at least 1100 people attended or participated in the Adams County Heritage Festival on September 19. “I believe it was the best entertainment ever!” were words on more than one set of lips. Through food, music, and exhibits, we embraced many heritage groups, including Native Americans, the Scots‑Irish of Appalachia, African Americans, Latinos, Greek, Thai, and some less familiar to us, like Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.

We are grateful for everyone who took the time to come to the festival and to share in our mission: to appreciate the cultures of Adams County through music, food, and the arts. But we want to say a special thank you to those who helped the Festival go so smoothly, such as the strong armed young people of the Cornell-Abraxas program who help us set up tents and move tables, and Jim Wivell, who set up his tents in what was something just short of a gale on Sunday morning. We all enjoyed the wonderful fruit donated by the Rice Fruit Company and appreciated the medical presence of Nurse Bonnie Isenberger and her colleagues.

Jerry Christianson deserves our thanks for being such a terrific MC, as does Ray Miller, who gave us the sound we needed when we needed it. But the monetary contributions made by the Arts Council Star Grant, the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts regrant, the Le Van Family Foundation, and the Robert C. Hoffman Trust are truly what made the Festival possible. It takes a lot of hard work to put on the Heritage Festival, which gains in size and significance every year, but those of us on the Planning Committee believe it is worth it and that we continue to make a contribution to the harmony of our community. Next year’s Festival will take place on Sunday, September 18. We hope you will plan to be part of it.

Sincerely,

William Collinge, Chair

Adams County Heritage Festival Planning Committee

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