 One block west of Penn Square, the center of Lancaster City, is the Fulton Theater, America's oldest continuously operating theater. When it was completed in October 1852, the large Victorian-style theater became the city's cultural center, and performers have included Mark Twain, the Barrymores, George M. Cohan, Sarah Bernhardt, and Al Jolson. This National Historic Landmark serves as a remarkable venue for dramatic production, musicals, and orchestra performances throughout the year. The recently completed Pennsylvania Academy of Music offers the perfect venue for performing arts in the city.
The Demuth Gardens Foundation was founded to promote the work of artist Charles Demuth (1883-1935); to maintain his home as a museum and art gallery, and to preserve the adjacent 18th century buildings that have belonged to the Demuth family. Charles Demuth was a watercolor artist who mixed new cubist influences with realistic subjects. Some of his close acquaintances included playwright Eugene O'Neill, painter Georgia O'Keeffe and poet William Carlos Williams. As a special treat, be sure to visit the family’s tobacco shop, which was founded circa 1770 near the corner of Duke and King Streets. Tobacco is still a traditional crop grown on Amish/Mennonite farms.
The Lancaster Museum of Art (the extravagant 1845 home of iron master Clement Grubb) features exhibits by regional, national and international artists. Past exhibitions include seasonal holiday art, original work by Junior and Senior High School students, watercolors, Classic Rock posters, and photography. The Grubb Mansion is the most intact and sophisticated expression of Greek Revival style domestic architecture in Lancaster County and features an oval staircase, cast iron fireplace, and Egyptian marble mantel.
A significant part of the cultural heritage of the Lancaster area is theater arts as offered at American Music Theater, Sight and Sound Living Waters and Millennium Theaters, Theater of the Seventh Sister, The Fulton Theater, Rainbow Dinner, and the Dutch Apple Dinner. This year-round theater presents live musicals with an orchestra and serves a buffet of classic American cuisine. Past performances include Footloose, Guys & Dolls, and The Sound of Music.
Long’s Park is a festive place to visit, offering a free Summer Music Series (every Sunday), and the International Juried Art & Craft Festival, as well as the Sertoma Club’s Mothers’ Day chicken barbecue (largest in the US). Enjoy summer’s free sounds of Blues, Salsa, Folk-traditional, Funk, or Jazz in its amphitheater, bring a picnic basket or purchase savory foods from the vendors, then settle down on your blanket for a fun, lively evening. Each Labor Day weekend, Long’s Park hosts its annual International Art & Craft Festival (recognized as one of America’s top arts/crafts shows) showcasing jewelry, apparel, ceramics, sculpture, musical instruments and food venues for making it the best outing for your Labor Day’s long weekend.
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