Big News!

Everyone at Celebrate Gettysburg has been a bit stressed out lately—but the good, exciting stress. We have joined forces with our printer—locally owned Graphcom Inc, we have started a new creative agency—Graphcom Creative, specializing in all things print and web, partnered with ShopLocalBuyLocal.com founder Jeremy Schaffner and we have opened a second location in Gettysburg—which now serves a growing team of designers, web developers and of course our talented editor Jaime and fabulous sales executive Terrie. And all of this happened in a span of 1 month!

Here are a few pictures from our new location which includes the outside of the building, the three-story fire pole which is the centerpiece of two offices, our ingenious coffee station, an interior shot of the main area, my unorganized desk and the view from our roof deck, overlooking the Gettysburg Airport. Definitely the best creative environment that anyone could ask for!

New Offices

Celebrate Gettysburg has lots of exciting news to announce next week. To peek your interest, here is a beautiful image of a sunset taken at our new, second location offices, on the Chambersburg Road in Gettysburg.

The Wall That Heals

Gettysburg College is the current location for the traveling exhibit, The Wall That Heals, a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. This is the only stop in Central PA this fall.

A traveling museum and information center can also be found at the exhibit. The museum chronicles the Vietnam War era and the unique healing power of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, while the information center serves as a venue for people to learn about friends and loved ones lost in the war.

Of course the entire display is moving, but I took a few shots that I thought were particularly striking.

Gettysburg Wine and Music Festival

Terrie (our advertising and marketing director) and I, with some help from Troy (co-publisher and my husband) worked our booth at this year's Gettysburg Wine and Music Festival.

We had a wonderful time despite the very soggy grounds on Saturday and were able to meet hundreds of new readers, current subscribers and advertisers. Our "lounge" was a hit, and remained completely full all weekend. Sometimes it was standing room only!

Enjoy the photos from the event!

Upcoming local events

Be sure to check out these local events:

September 4
Hauser After Hours— Lively jazz, blues and funk

Hauser Estate Winery
410 Cashtown Rd., Biglerville
Free live music by The Reese Project. Catered food available for purchase. 5-8 p.m. 717-334-4888. www.hauserestate.com.

September 12
35th Annual East Berlin Colonial Day

This 18th century town’s National Historic District will be lined with juried vendors of traditional handmade wares including redware, forged iron, baskets, woodenware, scherenschnitte, rag and hooked rugs, floorcloths, toleware, copper and tin items, a great selection of pottery and much more. Lively entertainment, great food, demonstrations. Sponsored by the East Berlin Historical Preservation Society. Rain or shine. No pets. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Free admission. 717-259-0822. www.ebhpspa.org.

September 13
Gettysburg Chamber Orchestra Concert

Seminary Chapel 147 Seminary Ridge, Gettysburg
The concert will feature the 15-year-old violin winner of the Johansen International Competition, from Seoul, Korea, performing Vivaldi’s Seasons. Other works by Shostakovich and Barber. Sponsored by Music, Gettysburg! 4 p.m. Free. 717-334-5508.

Shop Local, Buy Local

Gettysburg business owner and Hanover resident Jeremy Schaffner has created a new social networking site for small businesses via the Internet. Schaffner created http://www.shoplocalbuylocal.com/ to promote small, independently owned businesses in America, according to a video interview on the website.

“The mom-and-pop stores offer a lot that I think the big box stores don’t offer,” says Schaffner, owner of Seasons Bakery. “They offer a lot of character to your town, they offer a personal level of service that you don’t necessarily get at the big box stores, and it’s also reinvesting in the community.

“The shoplocalbuylocal.com logo is a takeoff of the recycling logo, which is recycling the money back into the community,” he continues. “The money you spend at the mom-and-pop store is going to stay in the community. … For every dollar you spend at a big box store, typically only 6 cents stays in the community, versus if you spend a dollar at a mom-and-pop store, 60 to 70 cents stays in the community, so it’s a big difference.”

The site has two levels: business and local business supporter. Local business supporters register for free and can search for local businesses in their area. Small business owners pay $12 a year to be part of the shoplocalbuylocal.com network. Membership gives the business the ability to provide details and photos about their business and even allows them to create a blog if they wish.

Look for the Shop Local Buy Local logo at participating businesses. For more information or to register, visit
http://www.shoplocalbuylocal.com/

Busy Bees!

The summer has been very busy for everyone at CG. We have expanded the publication, are printing more copies with each issue, hired a number of talented contributors and have finished quite a few graphic design projects.

Some of those projects include: a brand new website for the Adams County Farmers Markets, (http://www.acfarmersmarkets.org/) another brand new site for the Adams County Community Foundation, (http://adamscountycf.org/) and a new e-newsletter for Boyer Nurseries & Orchards.

Be sure to see what our contributors are up to by visiting their websites which can be found at: http://www.celebrategettysburg.com/contributors.html

Upcoming local events

Gettysburg has a number of wonderful events taking place in the coming days. For a complete listing visit, http://www.celebrategettysburg.com/localEvents.html

Below is a sampling of what is to come:

July 24
Evening with the Painting

Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center 1195 Baltimore Pike, Gettysburg
Enjoy a presentation on the history of the Battle of Gettysburg Cyclorama painting with national Cyclorama expert Sue Boardman. Join Boardman on the Cyclorama viewing platform as she explains more about this historic work of art. This special program is limited to 50 attendees. 6-9 p.m. For tickets, call 877-874-2478 or visit www.gettysburgfoundation.org.

July 25
Hauser After Hours

Hauser Estate Winery 410 Cashtown Rd., Biglerville
Enjoy warm food from the N.E.W. A-Ville Inn and live music from The Reese Project. 5-8 p.m. 717-334-4888. www.hauserestate.com.

August 3
Biggerstaff's Quiz Night

The food buffet will be available starting at 6 p.m., and the event starts at 6:30 p.m. BYOB if you like. Cost for the evening is $12 per person. Call 717-334-3855 or e-mail biggerstaffscatering@comcast.net to make your table reservations.

Cher, Tina Turner, Janis Joplin and Jen LeVan

At the Women on Their Way networking event last evening, the group had the honor to hear from entrepreneur, philanthropist and family woman, Jennifer LeVan.

It was a wonderful setting and we were able to get some insight regarding Jennifer's background and the different causes she is passionate about, even learning about some of her role models growing up.

To learn more about this group and the other upcoming Let's Talk events visit:
http://wotwgettysburg.blogspot.com/

Gettysburg Memorial Day Parade

Enjoy a few photos from this year's Memorial Day parade, sponsored by the Gettysburg Joint Veterans Memorial Day Commission. This was the 142nd year for the parade and the weather was beautiful!

Composting Class at the Ag Center

I just returned from a wonderful class about composting held at the Agricultural and Natural Resources Center in Gettysburg. The class was given by Liz Miller, Master Gardner and it was packed! There were at least 35 people who attended tonight's session and we were all given the composting bins above. The bins are really sturdy and made from recycled plastic.

Did you know that 75% of the material in a landfill is organic matter that could be composted?

Be sure to keep an eye out for similar classes, as all are free and fun!

Ban the Bras

Jaime and I attended the Callie awards last night and in typical Callie fashion there were lots of laughs and watery eyes.

The Callie awards were created by the local chapter of the United Way in order to recognize local women and their achievements.

This year's recipients included: Vickie Corbett, Sandy Beauchat, Carolyn Nunamaker, legacy of a lifetime; Stephanie Hibbs, education; Kathy Glahn, agriculture; Barbara Huggins, young woman; Dr. Linda Neiswender, health and human services and Deb Yocum, community
service.

Congratulation to all of these wonderful women and their very inspirational accomplishments!

Sprucing up the window boxes!

Spring is here and I am so relieved to finally get some flowers in the office window boxes! I picked up some beautiful pansies at Agway in Gettysburg, but had to refrain from buying out the entire store, as it is still too early to plant most flowers.

Agway has a really neat assortment of plants—the ole standbys like petunias, begonias and marigolds—and some very different items like irish moss.

Hold Up on the Square

This morning for about 1.5 hours, all of the streets around the square in Gettysburg were clogged due to the large truckload above. I kept looking out of my second story window, wondering why the traffic was so still. Finally, this truck emerged with a huge load that spanned both lanes of traffic.

Survivors Fashion Show

Last night a fashion show fundraiser was held at the Days Inn Gettysburg, to raise money for Survivors. The event was organized by the local Mary Kay Cosmetics representatives with clothing provided by Jones of New York. This was the debut of the event, and the organizers hope to make it an annual fundraiser.

Survivors, is a local organization that supports those who experience domestic violence or sexual assault.

Inauguration and Lincoln: A New Birth of Freedom

Yesterday, I took this picture of the Lincoln statue in front of the David Wills House in Gettysburg. This was Gettysburg's first measurable snowfall this winter.

The Wills House renovations are nearing completion, and the new museum will open February 12 (to coincide with Lincoln's 20oth birthday). Inside, visitors will be able to view galleries, artifacts and restored rooms—one of them being the room that Abraham Lincoln stayed in and finished the Gettysburg Address.

I feel very fortunate to live in Gettysburg and have the opportunity to witness so many historic events, both in Gettysburg and just down the road in DC!

For more information about the Wills House be sure to visit:

http://www.mainstreetgettysburg.org/willshouse.html
http://www.gettysburg.travel/visitor/member_detail.asp?contact_id=25431

Ice, Ice, Baby!

It is a cold, dreary day in Gettysburg today. Thank goodness we do not have icy roads, only ice covering everything else!

The mood in town has certainly shifted towards more of a hibernation. Many of the seasonal businesses are closed, while others have been affected by the economy and sadly, have closed for good.