August 2006

return to contents

Heritage Festival, September 17, to Feature Klezmer Band
by Jan Powers

Members of the Planning Committee for the 2006 Adams County Heritage Festival are hard at work filling in details for the fifteenth annual celebration of music, food, and the arts, scheduled for Sunday, September 17, from noon to 5 p.m. at the Gettysburg Recreation Park, Long Lane. This year’s celebration will feature a focus on Jewish heritage, with the help of Klingon Klez, a musical group from Philadelphia playing danceable klezmer music rooted in both Europe and the Middle East.

Extending the Jewish theme will be a Jewish heritage exhibit and delicacies from the Middle East, along with the usual broad range of food offerings, including Thai, Indian, Mexican, Jamaican, Greek and Slavic. Pan pipes from Ecuador and Peru are also on the musical menu, with Andean harmonies provided by Agua Clara, a six‑man group based in New York. South-of-the border dances will be presented by the young people of Generación Diez, whose beautiful costumes and lively rhythms always please.

If it’s Soul Music or Motown you’re after, you won’t be disappointed by the cool songs and instrumentals of Soulful Harmony, a 10-man band from Lancaster, PA. They will play from 3-4 PM, just prior to the children’s play, “Hip Hop Aesop,” to be presented by the Adams County Children’s Traveling Theatre Troupe in the amphitheater. A full range of children’s activities will be offered all afternoon in a special area set aside for children of all ages to engage in hands-on crafts.

Ethnic items from a variety of cultures will be featured during the festival, while demonstrations of early American crafts will include weaving, musical instrument‑making, chair caning, and broom-making. Non-profit organizations will display information and program exhibits, offering festival-goers an opportunity to find out more about volunteer opportunities in Adams County.

The festival came into existence in 1991 as the result of a visioning workshop held by the Interfaith Center for Peace and Justice. As new faces moved into the community and racial tensions heightened, community members tried to envision what they wanted their community to look like in twenty years. That first celebration of many ethnic backgrounds, held under a single pavilion with rain pouring down all around, has grown to much larger proportions and is now a well-supported community tradition.

Unique in offering great entertainment free of charge for the whole family, the Heritage Festival brings together people from all parts of Adams County as well as surrounding communities. It will go on, rain or shine. It always has. For more information, call the Interfaith Center for Peace and Justice at 717-334-0752 or visit the ICPJ website at www.icpj-gettysburg.org/festival.htm.

back to top | return to contents

Last updated August 17, 2006

Interfaith Center for Peace and Justice
©2007 All Rights Reserved
Contact the webmaster.