(LITITZ, Pa. – LititzDailyNews.com) You stand expectantly in the chilly night air on the brink of a new year, surrounded by family and friends on a street in downtown Lititz, Pennsylvania, awaiting the iconic symbol of the historic town to descend signaling the start of 2022.
It’s going to be a long wait. Has Lititz dropped the ball on New Year’s Eve?
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For Lititz, a town that has more than enough iconic items which it could drop (or raise) into the night sky on New Year’s Eve and a clear passion for celebration, the town shows a startling lack of interest in ringing in the new year. (column continues below)
It seems the community missed an opportunity to draw people to town for one last year-end bash that could boost local restaurant owners, merchants, and hoteliers trying to recover from nasty COVID-19 losses.
You see, there is no community New Year’s Eve celebration in Lititz. No giant chocolate drop will drop. Anderson Cooper will not gush over the rise of a giant Wilbur Bud in town like he did in 2015 for the famed Hershey’s Kiss in the namesake town to the delight of 30 million viewers watching CNN’s New Year’s Eve. That’s a sweet amount of publicity for a small town. (continued below story link)
Oh sure, the Lititz Moravian Congregation raises a Moravian Star before Advent that remains in place for its annual Watchnight Service on New Year’s Eve, a tradition started by the congregation in 1756, but there is no official community-wide celebration. The Church Square doesn’t rival Times Square.
Are the local powers-that-be hesitant to host a spectacle because they are conflicted over which local commercial icon to drop?
A Wilbur Bud mouse. Photo by Lynn Rebuck/LititzDailyNews.com
The obvious choice for an iconic Lititz emblem would be a Wilbur Bud, since the chocolate morsels are considered an entire food group by residents and the town is the site of the historic former chocolate factory where the delicious drops that pre-date Hershey Kisses were originally made.
The giant pretzel outside the Sturgis Pretzel Bakery in Lititz, PA. Photo by Aremo Massa/Special to LititzDailyNews.com
Or would an enormous, salty pretzel like the selfie site in front of Sturgis Pretzel Bakery provide just the twist that Lititz needs to make in onto the media “must-see” live broadcast list? Perhaps a chocolate-covered pretzel would provide the quintessential culinary compromise for a New Year’s celebration.
How about dropping a golden microphone from Rock Lititz Penthouse at the Lititz Springs Inn and Spa to honor of those ingenious Clair Brothers, Roy and the late Gene, whose legendary sound business has enabled the world to experience temporary hearing loss at live concerts for decades, and whose legacy and progeny have paved a path for Grammy-winning stars to shop local in Lititz. After all, Ariana Grande graced the aisles of our Target, Taylor Swift patronized our McDonald’s, and I nearly collided with Lady Gaga outside of the old General Sutter Inn.
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Maybe Clair Global could convince some of their concert-prepping clients to belt out a few songs for the locals. How about holding a “Lititz New Year’s Rocking Chocolate Eve(TM)” celebration? The star-studded event could be capped off by raising a massive Moravian Star under the evening stars. Or lowering a Wilbur Chocolate bud. Perhaps they should raise the star while lowering the bud. Either way, count me in on the countdown. 3…2…1…
Happy New Year, Lititz! May you have a wonderful and safe celebration tonight, and a stellar 2022!
LititzDailyNews.com Editor Lynn Rebuck
Lynn Rebuck is an award-winning columnist and the editor of LititzDailyNews.com. Her columns have been recognized by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, and the Pennsylvania Women’s Press Association. Email Lynn at [email protected] to receive the weekly LititzDailyNews.com insider newsletter for free or to share news tips. Follow the LititzDailyNews.com Facebook, LititzDailyNews.com Twitter, and LititzDailyNews.com Instagram.
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