Happy Mario Day Loopers!

Today is March 10th or “MAR10”. Happy Mario Day. Nintendo fans call today Mario Day in celebration of the classic videogame pixel hero. Grab a Mario themed donut from W Donuts all day today and play some Mario Kart.

It all reminds me of the playful weekend I enjoyed. Lanco Hunts had a successful launch! I pulled out a t-shirt for a Sunday hike and some playgrounding. And lastly, I began setting up the Mahjong game gathering (details below).

This week’s newsletter is packed full of ways for you to play in Lancaster.

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Today’s cover art is by Lancaster Local Jo Davis and available on her website. Her art is on display at West Art for the rest of the week - don’t miss it! She also offers a weekly watercolor class, creative release class, and many opportunities to experience creating and healing thru art.

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Looking for a fun way to shrink Lancaster County and make some new friends?

Take the quiz, get matched, and come out and have dinner with 5 new “neighbofriends”.

Not sure the best way to mash the words ‘friends’ and ‘neighbors’ together….friendbors!?…let’s just call it neighbors meeting neighbors.

The next Dinner Club arrives Thursday, April 9th, at restaurants in Lititz.

Cheers to longer daylight and t-minus 10 days until spring! -Ed

I met Nick last fall, before I sent the first edition of the Lancaster Loop. We’ve crossed paths several times and I appreciate our kindred approach to fatherhood and community.

Fast forward, to when I hosted the first Lancaster Loop Dinner Club, Nick Brightbill stepped up to sponsor the evening. We snapped the photo below in commemoration of the community-filled night.

Nick is a partner at Hershey Financial Advisers, where he works with families, business owners and, executives to build wealth strategies that align with what matters most in life…family, generosity, and legacy. 

In other words it’s not just how much money you have, but what your money is meant to do. If you’re thinking about the impact of your life’s work and ensuring a secure financial future, Nick’s the kind of guy who listens first, before calculations or spreadsheets.

The Lancaster Loop is a conduit for community. One of my pillars is to align with businesses that strongly lean into community and seek to lift up Lancaster.

who / what / where/ when / why

Last Saturday, Mike and I had a blast hiding 20 packages across 4 parks in Lancaster City & Lititz.

We both live, work, and play in Lancaster. Mike runs FilterTracker and you know a bit about me. We are passionate about finding fun ways to lift up business and community.

If you happen to follow us on social media or you were one of the lucky ones who found a package you know that a lot of joy and generosity goes into these hunts.

This past Saturday our theme was, A ‘Patty’ for St. Paddy’s Day.

Every hidden drop was valued at $50; including a $25 Cabalar gift card, $10 in Lancaster Downtown Dollars, a mix of $5 Denim gift cards, a mix of Good Luck Society t-shirts, a mix of Moser premium coffee mugs, and one lucky winner found tickets to the Paint The Town Green event.

To the best of our knowledge and thank you to all of you who shared your finds, all packages were in place by 7 am and claimed by 1230 pm!

This was all possible thanks to the support of our sponsors:

We’re already cooking up our next iteration…Find 4 golden eggs in Lancaster County;

→ Columbia → Elizabethtown → Lancaster City → Ephrata.

Follow the Lanco Hunts Instagram for a recap of Saturday and future location clues and details.

Or visit the website Lanco Hunts for updates as well.

Interested in sponsoring the next round of Lanco Hunts? Or want to become a partner of the Lancaster Loop? Reach out and let’s see how your business can help celebrate Lancaster and find itself in front of over 10,000 locals.

I stumbled on a fun piece of Lancaster history this week. And per usual, there’s a way you can help spin it back to life. Right now in a gallery at 118 N Water Street, 48 animals rest awaiting their moment to be spun back to life.

The Rocky Springs Carousel dates back to the late 1800s and is considered one of the most beautiful, extremely rare, hand-carved wooden carousels in the country. Those 48 animals include horses, a giraffe, zebra, lion, tiger, deer, ostrich, rooster, and even a few dogs…hello Weimaraner.

They were carved by the legendary Dentzel Carousel Company. After operating for decades at Rocky Springs Park in Lancaster, the carousel eventually left the area and even spent time circling in Dollywood. Then in 1998 a Lancaster cohort raised $1.2 million in private donations to bring it home and escape being sold off as individual pieces.

Today, a group of local volunteers is working to bring this Lancaster treasure back to working order. Plans are underway to give the carousel a permanent home in Strasburg through a partnership with the Choo Choo Barn Foundation.

While long-term restoration continues, you can actually see some of the carousel animals and artifacts right now at the Rocky Springs Carousel Association gallery on N Water Street. You can even ‘adopt’ an animal for the year.

RSCA is also seeking volunteers & donations. Visit the gallery, Saturday, March 14th from 12-3p!

Your Loop will always remain 100% free to read, independently owned and locally operated (yep, it’s just me behind the curtain).

It’s human-curated, always from the heart, and loveably lanco local.

Many thanks & alliterations!