1. Twin Pine Manor Bed & Breakfast
City: Ephrata, PA
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (717) 733-8400, (888) 266-0099
Address: 1934 W. Main St.
Description: The Alpine Suite is the most expensive room in this circa-1970s A-frame house, but it’s a truly lovely hideaway with cathedral A-frame ceilings, big stone fireplace, and 2-person Jacuzzi. But even the other 7, more economical, guest rooms have fireplaces and are cute and comfy. Children 16 and older are welcome. Full breakfast is included on Sat and Sun.
2. Ephrata Fair
City: Ephrata, PA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (717) 733-4451
Address: 19 S. State St.
Description: Pennsylvania’s largest street fair traces its roots all the way back to 1919, when local businessmen sponsored a celebration to honor World War I veterans. Bigger and better than ever, this 5-day extravaganza attracts tens of thousands of locals and visitors to this tucked-away town. On the annual agenda are multiple parades, an antique tractor pull, scarecrow making, and baking. A giant midway is pay-as-you-go except on a one-price “All You Can Ride” night.
3. Ephrata Cloister Lantern Tours
City: Ephrata, PA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (717) 733-6600
Address: 632 W. Main St.
Description: Junior high and high school students portray the residents of this unique religious community to give a glimpse of how they may have lived in the 1700s. Reservations are required for these special post-Christmas evening (6 to 9 p.m.) tours.
4. Ephrata Playhouse in the Park
City: Ephrata, PA
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (717) 733-7966
Address: 320 Cocalico St.
Description: Well-known for its lavish Broadway musical productions, the theater also showcases original works and presents the Family Series of original and classic tales for children. Tickets are $25 to $27. If there are any seats remaining on Saturday right before the show, you may pay as you wish.
5. Green Dragon Farmers’ Market & Auction
City: Ephrata, PA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (717) 738-1117
Address: 955 N. State St.
Description: The dragon comes alive every Friday year-round with indoor and outdoor shopping featuring 400 local growers, merchants, and craftspeople. Open since 1932, it’s one of the largest farmers’ markets on the East Coast.
6. Ten Thousand Villages
City: Ephrata, PA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (717) 721-8400
Address: 240 N. Reading Rd. (Route 272)
Insider Pick:
Description: You have probably seen Ten Thousand Villages shops in various parts of the US and Canada, but Ephrata is where it all began and where this nonprofit program of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), which has been working to fight poverty around the world since 1946, has its headquarters. In this shop, the MCC sells exquisite crafts handmade by third-world adult artisans from more than 30 countries. The wide selection of truly unique crafts includes pottery, jewelry, baskets, toys, crèches, hand-loomed textiles, and musical instruments.
7. Ephrata Cloister
City: Ephrata, PA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (717) 733-6600
Address: 632 W. Main St. (Route 322
Insider Pick:
Description: The name, derived from the Bible, means “fruitful,” and the 18th-century Cloister at Ephrata, founded in 1732, did produce an impressive amount of original art and music, particularly in the 1740s and 1750s, when about 300 members of one of America’s first religious communities worked and worshipped here. The devotion of these Brothers and Sisters to a faith based on Anabaptism, asceticism, and celibacy (that’s why nobody lives here anymore) is dramatically apparent everywhere on this 24-acre campus of 9 medieval-looking structures with their sparse furnishings—they slept on bare benches with “pillows” of wood. Guided tours of 2 of the houses and self-guided tours of the others are available daily, including Sun, year-round.
8. Adventures Aloft
City: Ephrata, PA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (717) 733-3777, (877) 508-1380
Address: 890 E. Main St.
Description: Allot 3 to 5 hours for the total experience, including 1 hour in flight.