You’ll Love it at Lititz, Esp Fire and Ice Festival !!

February 20, 2022 by HughE Dillon Leave a comment

Mike and I escaped to Lititz for an end of the week re fresh and attend Lititz Fire and Ice Festival 2/18 – 2/27. We had been to Lititz in 2020 to visit friends who had an Air B&B near a cute cover bridge in the countryside, but Mike and I stayed at the Wilbur Hotel that time. You might remember that trip report, the air inside the old chocolate factory smelt of chocolate. By the time the trip ended I ate an entire box myself. It was so good. Sorry mom no gift that year, I ate it.

This time I stayed at Rock Lititz Hotel. You might recall this little nugget, Rock Lititz as Justin Beiber stayed there a few weeks ago while he was readying his tour , which kicked off on Thursday.

phillychitchat

Justin Beiber spotted in @discover_lancaster county yesterday!! H/t @q102philly He’s here staging his tour @rocklititz again.

The Rock Lititz campus is a series of huge sound stages where musical tours, Broadway shows, or any large staging needs to be produced, constructed, and in this case for Beiber, rehearsed so the user gets a feel for how it will be when used in public. “Tech” rehearsals include operating a show’s audio systems, lighting and staging. Taylor Swift, the Rolling Stones, and Lady Gaga have all staged here I hear. They’re very secretive so no confirmation given.
They also have an onsite hotel for the acts, roadies and people who need to assemble said staging. I met a few while staying there. Very cool atmosphere.

We really enjoyed the hotel . To the left is the bar/eatery Per Diem. Justin Beiber ate there several times I hear a townsfolk told me. The rooms are adorable, with refrigerators and a microwave. All the comforts of home. We would definitely stay there again. It’s about 5 minutes from downtown, in the countryside. They have a pool table and shuffle board, pool and exercise room, which Mike enjoyed.

Thursday night Mike and I headed to the kick off party of Lititz Fire and Ice Festivities

Thanks to Ed Harris, Executive Director of Discover Lancaster for hosting Mike and I. Congratulations to Rebecca Branle, Executive Director Venture Lititz on such a cool event. We had a great time.

Lititz Fire and Ice festival is a 10-day celebration, 2/18 – 2/27 featuring ice sculptures, food from local restaurants, food trucks on Friday & Saturday, and my favorite shopping,

Tomorrow: Monday it’s a kid-focused day with activities, including a scavenger hunt specially prepared by the Nittany Lion, a special Maker’s Market Day.

On Friday Mike and I headed out to enjoy the ice sculptures and all Lititz had to offer.

They have a very informative Visitor Center right at Lititz Springs Park, in the center of town, near the Wilbur Chocolate store.

After checking out the ice sculptures, which will be created through out the week, Mike found a great vegan eatery at the Market Place, and I went shopping. I can’t wait to go back with an empty trunk and buy more from Cherry Acres and Atlas General Store and so many adorable shops downtown.

Through out Lititz you will see the ice sculptures.

Thanks to Discover Lancaster for hosting Mike and I for this much needed staycation. We can’t wait to go back to Lititz and all Lancaster County has to offer. It’s so close to Philly too. Only 1.5 hours away. My parents used to take us to Dutch Wonderland, and the Host hotels when we were kids, and I forgot how beautiful it was, and how much there was to do in Lancaster County. It’s really a great area, now even better than when I was a kid. Can’t wait to return soon to discover more of Lancaster.

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Jefferson Tops Off; Historic Robing, Justin Bieber Sighted, What is Rock Lititz?

February 4, 2022 by HughE Dillon Leave a comment

Hello Chit Chatters, I hope you had a wonderful week. Winter got real these past few weeks. It was cold, it snowed, but life continues with caution and optimism . One of futures hope is the beautiful, life changing Jefferson Specialty Care Pavilion which held it’s Topping Off Ceremony earlier this week.

Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health topped off a $762 million, 19-floor Specialty Care Pavilion at 11th and Chestnut streets that will eventually become the centerpiece of its Philadelphia campus. One of the

H. Richard Haverstick, Jr., Interim President and CEO of Thomas Jefferson University

The new facility, spanning approximately 462,000 square feet, will feature:

more than 300 exam rooms
58 infusion chairs
10 operating rooms
six endoscopy rooms
imaging and lab services
a pharmacy
three levels of underground parking for added patient convenience

Designed by renowned architectural firms Ennead Architects and Stantec, the Specialty Care Pavilion will be especially welcoming to aging neurodiverse populations, such as patients with autism and dementia. The building is anticipated to house many of Jefferson’s nationally ranked services in one location, creating unparalleled convenience for patients. The future looks bright. Read more about the Specialty Care Pavilion at Metro Philly, and Phila Biz Journal.

Justin Beiber was spotted in Lancaster County Wednesday according Lancaster Online to (PS I had heard the Beibs was rehearsing at Rock Lititz last week, but was sitting on the story until I wrote about my own visit to Lancaster which I will do on Monday.) He’s at the famed sound stages of Rock Lititz staging his upcoming concert tour, Bieber’s world tour, called “The Justice World Tour 2022” which starts later this month. If you recall right before the pandemic started, he was spotted in Philly at the Rocky Steps, and the Four Seasons, which I wrote about. After his tour was scrapped I mentioned he was headed to Rock Lititz to rehearse his tour then as well. Since then I have visited Lititz to check out the place. It’s very cool, a very large campus of warehouses in which several musicians have come to rehearse their shows before heading out on tour including Katy Perry, Mumford & Sons, Green Day and Ariana Grande to name a few. Next up for Lititz is the Fire and Ice Festival in a few weeks. I wonder if Beiber will stop by. Here’s the INFO

Frank Potts, Elmer C. Hudson and Jameel H. Worthy help with the robing ceremony of Judge Lori Dumas

Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court welcomed its newest judge as Lori Dumas was sworn in Wednesday during a ceremonial session led by state Supreme Court Justice Kevin M. Dougherty at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

The setting at the Constitution Center was perfect, in the shadow of Independence Hall. The tributes paid to Judge Dumas were moving, and her comments about others who went before her and planted the seeds was monumental (like the first black women elected, Doris A Smith -Ribner Retired of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania for the United States Supreme Court.) Thank you to those who went before us. More photos and stories at CBSPhilly, and Phila Tribune.

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Sunday Drive

May 26, 2020 by HughE Dillon 1 Comment

It really was Monday, but it felt like Sunday. I saw a lot of nature, which is exactly what I like to see on my drives.

And Amish people. I try to capture them without them noticing me, but they must know how attractive their simple, quiet, hardworking life is to us folks always running. (OK not too busy these days.)

While my business is on pause, I might go back to creating cards of my nature shots. I used to do this hobby for a few years before I became PhillyChitChat.

A raccoon during the day is to be avoided. He was at least 300 yards away when I took this with a long lens.

Groundhogs are often seen out in the day.

Sometimes I find back roads that have treasures on them.

Thanks Mike for driving. Plus thanks to my cousin Deb & Dave for the hospitality on Sunday with social distancing on the porch, and my sister Marg and bro in law Frank for social distancing on the patio yesterday. It was a great weekend.

Philadelphia

Stolen Souls: Or My Day Photographing Things in Lancaster County

July 18, 2011 by HughE Dillon 2 Comments

The Tim’s, Mike and I headed out to Lancaster
on a Sunday
to see the beauty of the countryside
and we weren’t disappointed
I love shooting the Amish in the most polite way possible. I think my fascination with them is the simple way of life I sometimes wish I could live, but I would be bored to death. Who am I kidding.
They’re friendly and always give a wave, mostly to each other but this kid waved to me. A few minutes after this the guy behind me tried to pass us both nearly running the buggy off the road. So seriously people don’t visit or move to Lancaster County if you don’t have patience. It was a NJ license plate and I wanted to throttle him.
Instead I continued my way to Starsburg to ride the rails. I HIGHLY recommend doing this. So much fun riding a train through the farm fields.
You might even get a chance to have Thomas the Train be your engineer.
The Tims. They just celebrated 7 years.
I love flags. Although this one shouldn’t be touching the ground.
Courting
fighting
frightening
So cool I caught the Amish kids in a swimming hole. I didn’t have my long lens, but their black pants and white shirts were all piled on the side. Until next time.