stuff to do in Lancaster

(Check out information about kids, travel and hotels, attire, gifts and more below!)

In between wedding events, you might have time to see the sights of lovely Lancaster County, PA. Here are a few suggestions:

Central Market: Apparently, Central Market is the country's oldest continuously running farmer's market. It also has some traditional Lancastrian foods, like shoofly pie and whoopie pies... and maybe some stuff that isn't pie.

Lancaster Barnstormers: The local baseball team is in town on Labor Day weekend. Even if you aren't crazy about baseball, it's a fun time -- the ballpark is new and very nice, and the mascot (pictured) is awesome.

Dutch Wonderland: A themepark based on the Pennsylvania Dutch! Good for younger kids and adults who have a good sense of humor and/or are very short. (Beware: This site has horrible music.)

Hershey Park: A big, chocolate-themed amusement park about 30 minutes away from the hotels. Chocolate World, at the entrance to the park, is a vast expanse of chocolate-themed capitalist cornucopia.

Wilbur Chocolate Factory: Tour a local chocolate factory and get delicious Wilbur Buds at the end.

Rockville Square outlet shopping: Excellent outlet shopping, with lots of stores all in one place.

Strasburg Railroad: Super-cool railroad museum, where you can climb on real-live old trains.

Intercourse Pretzel Factory: Just what it sounds like, except that "Intercourse" is the name of a town.

Pennsylvania Dutch stuff: Learn more about the Amish and Amish-type places to visit in Lancaster.

More Lancaster attractions: Bowling! Bicycling! Golf! Theaters! Museums! More stuff!

hiya

Welcome to our wedding Web site, friends! It will deliver action-packed excitement and non-stop thrills, as well as logistical information and a cute orange owl. (But we promise it will not be a "showcase for unbridled narcissism.")

Please scroll to the bottom for the newest post, and email us if you have any questions at all: gglazer[at]gmail.com and/or jbhertzberg[at]gmail.com.

Hooray!

Marriage equality

We feel lucky to live in an age when more and more people believe in equal rights for all citizens -- equality under the law and in all areas of society. As we take our marriage vows this September, we will remember the thousands of couples across the country who want to do the same but are still denied by law because they are gay.

This is something we feel strongly about, and all the more so since we decided to get married. Couples who love one another and want to form a family ought to be able to marry, regardless of race or religion or gender.

You can find out more from organizations working for marriage equality: Freedom to Marry and Equality California.

Attire for the wedding

You may ask yourself, "What should we wear to Jared and Gwen's wedding?" Indeed, you may ask yourself, what should you wear to any occasion? For guidance in these important matters of sartorial etiquette, we recommend the following handy illustrated guide.



The gentleman in the cartoon will be attending our wedding dressed in an outfit from one of the last two panels.

No, seriously. This is a nighttime wedding held at a house of worship. Some people may want to come in tuxedos or formal gowns, but we're not expecting everyone to do that. Think "cocktail attire," "semi-formal attire" or "black-tie optional." Feel free to give us a call if you have questions.

(And if you happen to be seated at the table with the guy from the cartoon, please do not mention his missing eyeballs, he is very sensitive about that!)

Travel & accommodations

Travel
If you're flying in for the wedding, consider these airports:

• Harrisburg - the closest airport, but has fewest flights
• Philadelphia - about 1.75 hours away by road, but the airport is downtown so if you're driving, the directions are complicated, and you'll have to watch out for traffic.
• Baltimore Washington International - about 1.5 hours away by car, and a pretty easy drive

Super Shuttle service and other airport taxis are available to Lancaster. Information can be found on the airports' Web sites or on SuperShuttle.com.

Amtrak also runs to Lancaster; see its Web site for schedules. Local taxis are usually available, and both the hotels and the synagogue are within a 15- or 20-minute drive of the station. You can also rent a car there through Avis Rent-a-Car.

Directions
The wedding will be held at Temple Beth El in scenic Lancaster, PA. Directions are available here.

For our out-of-town guests who received invitations to the Saturday evening dinner, the dinner will be held at Symposium Restaurant in Lancaster. Google maps can give you directions here.

Accomodations
Blocks of rooms have been reserved at two hotels:

• MainStay Suites of Lancaster County: mainstaysuiteslancaster.com, 877-424-6423 or 717-285-2500
• Sleep Inn and Suites, Lancaster County: sleepinnlancaster.com, 877-424-6423 or 717-285-0444

For special rates, please mention the Glazer/Hertzberg wedding. Reservations have to be made by Aug. 3 to get the super-special block rate.

Both hotels are on Route 30 in Mountville, PA, about a 15- or 20-minute drive from the synagogue. They're actually located right across the parking lot from each other, too. (They share that parking lot with a miniature golf course and an ice cream shop and grille, too... who's up for mini-golf?)

All of MainStay's rooms are suites with full kitchens, and they all have pull-out sleeper sofas. Some suites have separate bedrooms, too, and some of them have whirlpool tubs. Sleep Inn has some regular single rooms and some suites. Some suites have refrigerators and microwaves.

For other entertainment options, both hotels also have fitness facilities and small swimming pools. MainStay's is outdoor; Sleep Inn's is indoor. Both also have a free high-speed Internet access, a few networked computers and free continental breakfasts, as well as coffee and tea all day in the lobbies.

Gifts (donations & registries)

We feel that your presence at our wedding is a gift in itself. We have most of the things we want for ourselves, our home and our life together -- but, at this point in our lives, we haven't been able to give as much to charity as we'd like. So, if you want to give us something, we would be honored if you would consider making a donation in our name to a cause that is important to us.

We have listed several below. When the site asks for an address to notify us of your donation, please use gglazer[at]gmail[dot]com. (If you're worried that you will get on the group's mailing list for nuisance solicitations, look for the "opt out" selection.)

Freedom to Marry. We wish that all couples -- including same-sex couples -- had the same rights to marry as we do. Donation page.

Bread for the City. This organization serves D.C. residents in need of food, clothing, medical care and other services. (Donate in our name at this page.)

Heifer International. This group donates animals to hungry people worldwide who keep and raise them as a "sustainable source of food and income." (Just think ... instead of giving Gwen a goat as a wedding gift, give a goat to someone who really needs one!) Our wedding registry at Heifer.

UJA Federation of New York. The Jewish Federation and United Jewish Appeal support Jewish life with programs both domestically and in Israel. You can use their Donation page, or contact their donations office at Donorcenter@ujafedny.org, or 212-836-1486.

National Yiddish Book Center. We've taken Yiddish classes together, and we believe in the preservation of the Yiddish language. A groysn dank! Donation page.

The Freedom to Read Foundation. Help librarians support First Amendment rights! Donation page. (When you donate, check the box marked "in honor of someone" and write our names and address in the "comments" section. There is no "opt out" check-box on the donation page, but the foundation's program coordinator told us that they "don't have a mailing list for non-members who donate . . . so [donors] will never receive additional correspondence from us.")

If you'd like to give a more traditional gift, we are registered at Williams-Sonoma and Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Kids

Now that you know what to wear, perhaps you're thinking, "Should I bring my kids to Jared and Gwen's wedding? Or will that man with no eyeballs scare them?"

Answer: Probably, but it's OK, because we wouldn't seat them at the same table.

Real answer to the real question: Yes, your children are welcome at our wedding! All the events of the weekend are child-friendly, but there are a few things to note about the wedding itself on Sunday night:

• The synagogue has a small "family room" adjacent to the sanctuary that will be available during the ceremony. You can take fussy or crying children into the room, where you can see and hear everything going on in the sanctuary but no one else can hear you.
• The evening will run quite late. There will be hors d’oeuvres, but dinner will not be served until about 9 p.m. If your child has any special food needs that we could help with, please let us know so we can speak to the caterer.
• Because the synagogue is kosher, we're asking that no food at all be brought into the building. Some Cheerios will be provided at the babysitters, and there will be tons of kid-friendly food (crackers, cheese, fruit and veggies, plain pasta) as part of the hors d'oeuvres immediately after the ceremony.
• The synagogue does not have any cribs or highchairs. If there's a way for you to bring your own booster seat, that would probably be the easiest thing; if not, let us know and we'll help you find one.
• We will be able to provide babysitting at the synagogue (depending on how many people would like it). Please let us know if you think you'd like to use an on-site babysitter so we can figure out how many we might need.
• If you choose not to bring your children to the ceremony, we can help you find a babysitter who can stay at the hotel with your kids, and other childcare arrangements with family friends might be possible too. We can try to connect you to other parents who are interested in similar options.

Most importantly (and with apologies for sounding like a broken record), would you email or call us when you start to make plans? We would be happy to talk things over with you and figure everything out together. Hooray, thank you!