Lititz, Pennsylvania Craft Fair 2009

Lititz, Pennsylvania is host to one of the largest annual juried craft fairs on the east coast. Tens of Thousands of people will be coming to the 31^st year of the craft festival. Some will be traveling on bus trips from as far away as New York City. Others will travel in from New Jersey. Will you be one of the lucky ones that will attend the festivities?

Each year the fair seems to be better than the previous years' shows, competition for a booth at the fair is stiff. This year it will have over 800 vendors. Although Lititz has smaller craft shows during the year, this is the BIG craft fair; this is the one for which Lititz is known.

The craft fair is so large that the central downtown area of the town is closed to all traffic; Broad and Main Street are closed off; the fair is held on these streets, as well as in the Lititz Springs Park. For those who are unfamiliar with Lititz, Broad Street is also Route 501, one of the main North and South routes into Lancaster.

Detours around the craft fair are always well marked, but there may be delays if driving near Lititz on the day of the Lititz Craft Show, August 8, 2009.The event will be held rain or shine from 8 am to 4 pm. Unlike some juried craft fairs, admission is free for this event.

The show is sponsored by the Lititz Rotary Club. Off street parking can be found at both the high school and the middle school. This year the craft fair will have over 800 vendors. Many of the vendors have traveled across the country, to sell their unique handcrafted wares.

While visiting the show, there are plenty of great restaurants in the town to grab a quick treat. Try Café Chocolate or Dosie Dough, if you need some 'Joe', try Spill the Beans. Lititz is home to the Wilbur Chocolate Factory; no stop is complete without Wilbur Buds.

Nothing goes better with Wilbur Buds then Lititz Pretzels from the Sturgis Pretzel House; it is the oldest commercial bakery making pretzels. There will also be food vendors on hand at the various food court clusters. Keep checking the Lititz Rotary Club Website Lititz Rotary Club Website for updates concerning the big event.

To get the most of your day in Lititz, get plenty of sleep the night before the show. No matter what the weather, wear comfortable shoes. The craft fair requires a lot of walking. If it is rainy, an inexpensive rain poncho can keep you dry and is more functional than an umbrella in crowded conditions.

If it is sunny, wear sun block and sun glasses. Make certain to stay hydrated if it is warm; bring along a bottle of water and any medications you may need. There will be a first aide station available; hopefully, that will be the one booth at the festival you will not visit.