Garden Spot AUGUST 6, 2025
SERVING OUR COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
REACHING MORE THAN 11,290 HOMES
VOL LXI • NO 33
Summer Fun Raiser BY ANN MEAD ASH
A
ccording to Meghan Ervine, d i re c to r o f m a r ke t i n g and communications for CrossNet Ministries, the organization provides the setting for the annual Summer Nights Dinner and Auction fundraiser, and attendees put their personal touches on the evening. “Our goal is to make it a relaxing and fun event where you are with community, eating good and fun food, and listening to good music,” explained Ervine, who added that while tables will be set up by CrossNet, many who attend like to bring outdoor furniture from home. “People bring tablecloths and flowers and make it their own,” she stated. CrossNet executive director Carl Edwards said he looks forward to an evening of ease in a beautiful outdoor setting. “The Summer Nights Dinner and Auction is one of my favorite events of the year,” he said. “It’s a casual event under the stars where guests are able to
The CrossNet Summer Nights Dinner and Auction will feature food, live music, and lawn games.
enjoy great food, great conversation, and support the ongoing mission of CrossNet Ministries.” The third annual Summer Nights Dinner and Auction will be held on Saturday, Aug. 23, from 6 to 9 p.m., in Parking Lot 9 of Garden Spot Village (GSV), 433 S. Kinzer Ave., New Holland. Parking will open at 5:30 p.m. Dress is casual. Unlimited food, live music, and a live auction
will be hallmarks of the event. Lawn games such as Connect Four, a giant Jenga, and cornhole will be available for attendees to play. There is a per person cost to attend the dinner, which may be changed in the case of inclement weather. A focus on tasty food items will be a feature of this year’s Summer Nights event. “We will have nine food stands,” said Ervine, who
pointed out that is an increase from previous events. Seven stands will be devoted to dinner items, and they will include a smash burger stand, a country-fried chicken Caesar salad stand, a topped taters stand, a pulled beef taco stand, a wheel house pasta stand offering Parmesan cheese for pasta Alfredo, and a grilled street corn stand. Two dessert stands will feature ice cream See CrossNet Ministries pg 7
townlively.com
JUNE 11, 2025
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LXI • NO 25
Church Announces Annual Peach Fest
“Swing!” Will Connect Audiences With Their Mojo BY JEFF FALK
Swing music. And the performers of Servant Stage. What possesses the power to “Swing originated in the 1920s bring a tap to your toes, to put and was popular in the 1930s and a bounce in your step, to bring a ’40s,” said Johnathan Bauer, who snap to your fingers? founded Servant Stage in 2013. See “Swing!” pg 8
Local residents watch birds during a recent East Lampeter Township recreation department activity.
Local Recreation Promotes Healthy Work-Life Balance
ast Lampeter Township is 12 months into its grand recreation exper iment. Time for an update. While results have been mostly mixed, some positive and quantifiable progress has been realized. But much work remains in the new recreation department’s mission to get the word out and provide activities that appeal to a majority of East Lampeter Township residents. “I always feel like we can be doing more and reaching more people,” said Lisa Cleveland, who as recreation director makes up East Lampeter Township’s one-person recreation department. “Growth
is not resting. Am I happy where we are in the time we got here? Yes. Do we have more work to do? Yes. The opportunities are endless, so there are always things that are going to be new.” Since officials made the commitment to provide recreational opportunities to the township’s citizens on May 28, 2024, by hiring Cleveland as recreation director, the newly formed East Lampeter Township Recreation Department has instituted a number of programs and activities, some of which have been well received. The department has provided community events like movie nights, a fall festival and an Easter egg hunt; youth events like Hero Hang-Out, Touch-a-Truck
and a summer playground program; fitness and yoga programs; and educational programs like a bird walk and Exploring the Night Sky. This spring, the department introduced a community gardens program that allows individuals and families to rent plots of land at Community Park for growing vegetables, plants and flowers. Twelve of the 16 available plots are currently being utilized. The recreation department has also placed a strong emphasis on promoting and utilizing township facilities like Community Park, Flory Park, Lafayette-Tower Park and Gibbons Park at Nolt’s Mill, as well as fostering relationships with like-minded community partners.
LCWG Is Made Up of a Bunch of Do-Gooders
BY JEFF FALK
Good is universal, timeless and objective. Because it mirrors God, good is good. The Lancaster County Women for Good (LCWG) group knows some things about the concept of doing good. It’s part of the all-volunteer organization’s mission, purpose and reason for existing. “We use that word a lot, ‘good,’” said Anna Horst, the chairperson of the five-member board that oversees LCWG’s operations. “It’s
in our name. I think it’s safe to say our connections and providing nonprofits with resources is part of the good we aim to do. I think there are a number of nonprofits in Lancaster County who have amazing missions. They’re real people trying to help real people. They are problems that a majority of us would agree need to be solved. Maybe we need to be more clear by what we mean by ‘good.’” LCWG, which does not operate from a physical office or building, conducts more than 15 membership events each year, including
See Recreation Department pg 4
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Looking ahead to this year’s Peach Fest, organizer Betty Ferstler noted that there is a feeling of familiarity in the traditions associated with the event. “We do the same things (each year),” commented Ferstler. “It’s comfortable (because) people know what they will find. They stop in to shop and say ‘Hi’ to friends.” The 26th annual Cedar Grove Presbyterian Church Peach Fest will be held on Saturday, Aug. 16, at the church, located at the corner of Organizers of the annual Cedar Grove Presbyterian Church Peach Fest See Cedar Grove Church pg 2 gather in the Cedar Grove.
BY ANN MEAD ASH
While New Holland-area residents may only enjoy the New Holland Fair for a few days in early October, the work of organizing the fair goes on year-round. Fair president Paulene Redding and concessions manager Dave W hitaker are hard at work preparing for this year’s event, which will begin on Wednesday, Oct. 1, with the annual parade See New Holland Fair pg 6
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Cast members perform a musical number from Servant Stage’s production of “Swing!”
In your mailbox & online BY JEFF FALK
Looking Forward to the Fair