September 17, 2023
32nd Heritage Festival. Photos from Gettysburg Connection can be found here: https://gettysburgconnection.org/slideshow-2023-heritage-festival-braves-rain-showers/?utm_source=brevo&utm_campaign=Gettysburg%20Go%2092023&utm_medium=email.
The Heritage Festival took place on September 17 in intermittent heavy rain. Temperatures did not rise above the 50s. The storm materialized too quickly for us to consider canceling or relocating. Only 300–400 people attended, but we were able to hold a full festival. We moved the performers from the outdoor stage to the Assembly Room of the Sterner Building at the Rec Park. The room could seat only 50–60 people, but the acoustics were good, and the bands gave good performances. They were Ladies in the Parlor (American Roots), Simple Gifts (Eastern European), Cam Sounds and Vibrations (African American jazz), and Los Monstros (Latin fusion), invited to return because of their lively performance in 2022. A high point came when Ladies in the Parlor and Simple Gifts joined together for a song. Ricky Czar conducted a drum workshop all afternoon on the vacated main stage. Some food vendors canceled out, but we were able to feature a good array of cuisines, including Caribbean, Colombian, Halal, and Mexican, as well as coffee, ice, and doughnut vendors. Passport booths represented 21 countries. The children’s art activities area featured the painting of wooden birdhouses and other objects and was well attended, though the artists had to pack up early due to a resumption of rain.
September 18, 2022
31st Heritage Festival. Photos by Bob Keefer: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rkeefer/albums/72177720309761750
The Heritage Festival took place on September 18 in excellent weather. An estimated 1200 people attended. Mainstage performers were River Rhythm Ramblers, Di Dim Sae and Washington Samulnori (Korean drum and dance), Storyteller Oni Lasana, and Los Monstros (Latin fusion). The festival included ten cultural display booths, representing twenty-one countries; children could have “passports” stamped by visiting the booths. A group of AYUSA exchange students added vigor to the festival. It was again a scramble until the last minute to find food vendors, but eventually a satisfactory amount of good food was available.
September 19, 2021
30th Heritage Festival. Photos by Bob Keefer: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rkeefer/albums/72177720297056942
The Heritage Festival was held outdoors on its usual third Sunday of September date, September 19 this year. A Covid-19 vaccination booth was provided by WellSpan. The weather was excellent, and an estimated 1100 people attended. Mainstage acts were Coyle School of Irish Dance, Downtown Tumbao, Penn Lions Chinese Dancers, and N-A Chord. A Sharing Our Stories oral history project recorded narratives from local residents. The absence of state grants meant that ICPJ had to make up for a large deficit. Sufficient food vendors were not enlisted until days before the event. But in all the committee judged the festival to be a success.
September 2020
29th Heritage Festival
The Heritage Festival was held as a virtual event in light of the coronavirus pandemic. It can be viewed here.
September was declared Heritage Month, and for the duration of the month visitors to the site could enjoy stories of cultures from community members, music from various local groups, and restaurant recommendations around the area.
A community art project received drawing submissions during the month, representing the heritage of individuals of all ages in the area.
September 15, 2019
28th Heritage Festival. Photos by Bob Keefer: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rkeefer/albums/72157710956124887.
September 2018
27th Heritage Festival
The Heritage Festival was cancelled on account of weather.
September 17, 2017
26th Heritage Festival
For the first time, ICPJ entered into a partnership with the YWCA Gettysburg and Adams County in organizing the festival. Featured performers were Across the Pond (Celtic), Washington Toho Koto Society (Japanese), Vox Cubana with Ernesto “Gato” Gatell (Afro-Cuban), Barynya (Russian dancers), and Dixieland Express. Attendance was estimated at 1100. Photos by Rosalie Moore: http://img.gg/X098rul.
September 18, 2016
25th Anniversary Adams County Heritage Festival
Featured performers were Tom Jolin, with the Barnstormers and the Rock Candy Cloggers; Roya Bahrami (Iranian fusion); Klingon Klez (klezmer); Forastero y los Potrillos (Mexican); and N-A-Chord with Tyrone Burwell (R&B, doo-wop, soul). In threatening weather, the attendance was around 1000. Photos by Rosalie Moore: http://img.gg/Ruwt9Jo.
September 20, 2015
24th Heritage Festival
Featured performers were The Knotwork Band (Celtic), Pennsylvania Native American Flute Circle, Slim Harrison (folk performance for children), Los Beny Boys (Mexican), and Black Hand (folk rock). In addition to a bicycle parade, there was a community walk along the Biser Trail in the Rec Park. Attendance was estimated at 1200. Children’s activities were very well attended, with approximately 200 children visiting each booth. Photos by Bob Keefer: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rkeefer/albums/72157658913283275.
September 21, 2014
23rd Heritage Festival
Featured performers were Sharon Knowles and Fynesound (Celtic), Niyah Trio (Arabic), Onoe Ryu Dance Ensemble (Japanese), Los Forasteros y Padrillos (Mexican), and a children’s play, “Abiyoyo,” directed by Ann Griffith. For the first time, the festival featured a family bicycle parade. Photos by Bob Keefer:https://www.flickr.com/photos/rkeefer/sets/72157647827562776/
September 15, 2013
22nd Heritage Festival
Featured performers were Rootbound (Traditional Americana), Barynya (Russian dancers), Ray Owen (with a performance for children, “Songs and Stories of Freedom, Hope, and Emancipation”). Ustad Sahfaat Khan (fusion, Indian and African American, and Emily Pinkerton Trio (music of Chile). Emily Fox organized a special program of skill demonstrations in Permaculture Gardening, Herbal Teas, and Bicycling Survivalism. Photos by Bob Keefer: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rkeefer/sets/72157635602038193/
September 16, 2012
21st Heritage Festival
Attendance was estimated at 1300. Featured performers were Gamelan Gita Samara (Balinese), Port Righ (Celtic), Eme and Heteru! (Afro Roots), the Contreras Family (Mexican), Vida Charter School, and the Popcorn Hat Players, who performed a children’s play titled “Rollicking Ripsnorters.”
September 18, 2011
20th Heritage Festival
Around 1200 people attended the twentieth annual Adams County Heritage Festival. For the second successive year, no state funding was received, but a Friends of the Festival campaign made up for it in part. Featured performers were From the Well (American traditional), Shafaat Khan (Indian/Pakistani), Friends of Jubilee Singers (African American Gospel), Apollonia Greek Band, and Ray Owen.
September 19, 2010
19th Heritage Festival
Featured performers were Shippensburg Blaskapelle, Svitanya (Eastern European chorale), Sunshine Dance Club (Chinese dancers), Special Request with Tyrone Burwell, Grupo Folklorico San José, and a Children’s Interactive Story, with Ann Griffith as Mary Jemison.
September 20, 2009
18th Heritage Festival
It was another successful festival, with good weather and around 1400 present. Featured acts were The Barnstormers and RockCandy Cloggers, Roya Bahrami Ensemble (Iranian music), Rachita and Bansari (classical Indian dancing), Grupo Folklorico (Mexican music and dance), the Folkemer Family, and a children’s play, “Gospel Cinderella,” performed by Coalition Community Players and Meals and More Ensemble, directed by Ann Griffith and Terrence Marcus.
September 21, 2008
17th Heritage Festival
Featured performers were Simple Gifts, Réveillons (music of Québec), Tin Kettle (Irish music), Generación Diez, Caribbean Steel Band, and Exalted Praise Ministry of New Life Outreach Ministries (dance and drama program on African Americans in Adams County). Simple Gifts offered a workshop after their performance. An estimated 1400 people attended.
September 16, 2007
16th Heritage Festival
Featured performers were Zorzal (music of Spain and Spanish America), the Yong Han Chinese Lion Dance Company, Jessica Gondwe (spirituals and gospel songs), Strawberry Hill /El Centro (Adams County Watershed Ambassadors), Generación Diez Cultural Club and Grupo de Danza San Jose, Voxology (American folk music), and a children’s play, Don Quixote: Comienza la Aventura (The Adventure Begins), by Touchstone Theatre.
September 17, 2006
15th Heritage Festival
Featured Agua Clara (Andean Pan Pipes), Klingon Klez, children from Generación Diez, Soulful Harmony, and a Children’s play, “Hip Hop Aesop,” directed by Ann Griffith. The festival featured a special Jewish heritage display sponsored by Congregation Beth Sholom.
September 18, 2005
14th Heritage Festival
Excellent weather contributed to a turnout of an estimated 1300. Featured performers were Zydeco-a-Go-Go, Vatsala Srinivas classical Indian dancers, Lea Gilmore with Sangmelé, and Cormorant’s Fancy (Celtic music).
September 19, 2004
13th Heritage Festival
Featured performers were Ulali (Native American), Silk Road Dance Company, Clogged Up and Strung Out (cloggers), and the Fire City Jazz Band. The children’s play was “Dig ‘n’ Tel,” by Flora Atkin, who made a guest appearance at the Festival and was honored by the Arts Council with a dinner afterward. Ms. Atkin had written four other plays that had been performed at the Festival over the years.
September 21, 2003
12th Heritage Festival
Received a Pennsylvania Performing Artists on Tour (PennPAT) grant to bring in Atzilut, a Jewish-Arab group emphasizing peace themes. Other entertainers were Jambulay (Caribbean music) and Slingo (Irish). Weather and attendance were excellent—estimated attendance topped 1000.
September 15, 2002
11th Heritage Festival
Featured Bija (Indian music), Danzante (Spanish flamenco dancing), and Namaste (world music). Intermittent light rain fell throughout the festival, reducing attendance to about 600 and causing some vendors and exhibitors to go home, but the heavy downpour held off until tear-down was almost complete.
September 16, 2001
10th Heritage Festival
Just five days after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Several participants pulled out as a result, but most remained, perhaps seeing the relevance of the Festival to a post-September 11 world. Featured performers were Ray Owen, Irishtown Road, and Dusko Katic and his Bosnian Band.
September 17, 2000
9th Heritage Festival
Featured Shona Sharif African Drum and Dance Ensemble, brought here from Pittsburgh on a Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts grant. Stan Merzanis and his band performed Greek music. The Festival included a formal unveiling of a mural painted by children in Generación Diez on a park maintenance building facing Howard Avenue.
September 19, 1999
8th Heritage Festival
Performers included musicians Namaste (world music), Stone Soup, Slim Harrison, and Dante Sobrevilla, as well as Welsh dancers and singers Ffrindiau Cymraeg. A Peace Pole, inscribed with the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in eight languages, was exhibited. (On December 8, 2000, it was installed at the Adams County Library.) For the first time, some participants were paid to demonstrate traditional crafts.
September 13, 1998
7th Heritage Festival
Entertainers included Indonesian dancers, Native American dancers, Irish and gospel and bluegrass music. Demonstrations of traditional crafts in action became part of the festival.
September 7, 1997
6th Heritage Festival
Featured Foggy Bottom Morris Men. More than 700 people attended.
September 8, 1996
5th Heritage Festival
Hurricane Fran forced it to move indoors, at the Gettysburg Fire Hall. John Patterson, of WITF-FM, was the MC. Dances from Hawaii, Thailand, and Nigeria were featured, ending with (closer to home) the Cubhill Cloggers and Orrtanna Mountain Steamers.
September 9, 1995
4th Heritage Festival
Featured CB Pickers. A new feature was a children’s play, “A Wales Tale,” sponsored by the Adams County Arts Council.
September 10, 1994
3rd Heritage Festival
Featured Judy Marti, the Orrtanna Mountain Steamers, and a wide variety of other entertainment, food, and crafts from many different ethnic traditions.
September 11, 1993
2nd Heritage Festival
Despite wind and a power failure, it was a success, with about 350 people attending.
September 6, 1992
1st Heritage Festival
Gettysburg Recreation Park.
Despite pouring rain, or perhaps because of it, the event showed great community spirit.
September 27-28, 1991
ICPJ sponsored a Futures-Invention Workshop, “Envisioning a Peaceable Community in Adams County.” Thirty people attended. At this workshop the idea of the Heritage Festival was formulated. Its purpose was to recognize ethnic heritages that are often overlooked; one specific purpose for having a Festival in 1992 was to provide an alternative to celebrations of the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s first expedition.