It's the launch of season 2 of the So Good Lancaster podcast and we're mixing things up. This is the first episode of our new format. First off, we're upping the cadence of the show to weekly and expanding to a video format. Phew! Second off, each month we're going to be focusing on recurring topics:

First week — art and updates from Lancaster City
Second week — happenings around the county
Third week — the Lancaster music scene
Fourth week — film and food

On the program today we welcome Ruby Mundok, Social Media and Tourism Marketing Manager for the City of Lancaster and Katherine Horst, owner of Horst Arts Center, located in Manheim. We chatted about the abundance of events coordinated by the city for September, including Welcoming Week, a nationally recognized initiative that is coming to Lancaster through a celebration highlighting our diverse culture, neighborhoods, businesses, & residents. Among a ton of other events we chatted about the first Capital Day Festival, coming to Penn Square on Saturday, September 26, 2026.

Speaking of September 26, it's shaking out to be one of the busier days of the month. Katherine shared that two arts festivals are also scheduled for that day in Lancaster County, including the Landis Woods Outdoor Fine Arts Show and Columbia's "Art in the Park" in the Locust Street Park. As always, the annual Labor Day arts festival at Long's Park is on tap this week along with another First Friday in downtown Lancaster, that has been a staple event in the city for over two decades.

Bottom line, get out and enjoy September while we still have the nice warm weather! There's always plenty to do in Lancaster.

— Jason
(all of these words came from my brain)

LINKS

Sponsors:

The Candy Factory (TCF)
https://clubtcf.com/

Lancaster Gift Box
https://lancastergiftbox.com/

Ruby's city update:

Visit Lancaster City — events calendar
https://visitlancastercity.com/events/

Lancaster Print Crawl, Sept. 4
https://lancasterprintcrawl.com/

Welcoming Week, Sept. 10–19
https://www.cityoflancasterpa.gov/welcome/welcoming-week/

Lancaster Capital Day, Sept. 26 — Penn Square
https://lancastercapitalday.org/

Katherine's arts update:

Horst Arts Center — Manheim
https://horstarts.com/

Long's Park Art Festival, Sept. 4–6
https://www.longspark.org/art-festival

Heart of Lancaster Arts & Craft Show at Root's, Sept. 5–6 — Manheim
https://www.hlcshow.com/

Landis Woods Outdoor Fine Art Show, Sept. 26 — Neffsville
https://www.manheimtownship.org/1644/Landis-Woods-Outdoor-Fine-Art-Show

Create Columbia "Art in the Park," Sept. 26 — Locust Street Park
https://www.createcolumbia.org/events

We want to hear from YOU! What do you think makes Lancaster So Good? Is there a special event or occasion coming up you want to highlight? Fill out the form on our website, and you could be featured in a future episode of So Good Lancaster.

So Good Lancaster is produced by So Good Media at The Candy Factory, a coworking and social club in Lancaster, PA.

Web: https://sogoodlancaster.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/SoGoodLancaster
IG: https://www.instagram.com/sogoodlancaster
YT: https://www.youtube.com/@sogoodmedia

While digging into the Lancaster food truck scene, an interesting theme emerged. The owners of food trucks, and there are many in Lancaster and the surrounding areas, don’t see each other primarily as competition, but more as part of a collective of sorts. Food trucks can’t be at more than one event at a time, so trucks of similar items find themselves referring each other to events, and trucks with complementary items find themselves at the same events and provide snacks for each other. I loved hearing about this sense of collaboration in the local food truck scene.

Danielle Landis, from Lickity Split and W Donuts, is a 20 year veteran of the scene who helps organize food truck festivals around the region. Danielle joined me in the So Good Media studio to chat about the ups and downs of working a truck, the camaraderie of the owners, and a few of the annual food truck festivals to enjoy. Cameos in this episode include David Hiester from W Donuts and Nathan Claycomb from Joe on the Go Coffee Co. recording during previous interviews for the podcast.

Our So Good Music feature is “Oh Jeanine” by Sun Not Yellow, including a chat with songwriter and front man Jesse Barki.

- Jason

(all of these words came from my brain)

Links:
Lickity Split
W Donuts
Joe on the Go Coffee Co.
Sun Not Yellow
“Oh Jeanine” by Sun Not Yellow

Food Truck Festivals Danielle Helps Organize:
Taste of New Holland Food Truck Festival
Occupational Development Center Food Truck Fest
Lancaster’s Best Food Truck Competition

Danielle’s Food Truck Picks:
Walko Taco Food Truck
Radish Food Truck

We want to hear from YOU! What do you think makes Lancaster So Good? Is there a special event or occasion coming up you want to highlight? Fill out the form on our website, and you could be featured in a future episode of So Good Lancaster.

So Good Lancaster is produced by So Good Media at The Candy Factory, a coworking and social club in Lancaster, PA.

Web: https://sogoodlancaster.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/SoGoodLancaster
IG: https://www.instagram.com/sogoodlancaster
YT: https://www.youtube.com/@sogoodmedia

I had the opportunity to learn about the Dutchland Derby Rollers and the Thorns Rugby Club at the Stuff To Do Fair back in January. While I had heard of the Rollers over the years, I had no idea there was a women’s adult rugby club here in Lancaster. Curious, I started digging into these two teams and quickly began to realize that these types of adult sports serve a much bigger purpose than scoring points and claiming bragging rights. They form friendships, provide opportunities for learning new skills, and build community.

Through these two teams I was introduced to our very own women’s ice hockey team, the Lancaster Reapers. It turns out that this trio of adult women’s sports teams recently formed an informal collaborative alliance to help each other spread the word, grow attendance and interest, and even fundraise together. I wanted to learn more, so I welcomed Diosanny Rivera from the Dutchland Derby Rollers, Kelly Leibolt and Zimmy from Lancaster Reapers, and Alex Tarleton and Eva Dombrowski from the Knightmare and Thorns Ruby Clubs to the program to talk about their respective sports and teams, and find out why these kinds of teams are important.

- Jason

(all of these words came from my brain)

Links:
Dutchland Derby Rollers
Lancaster Reapers
Thorns Rugby

We want to hear from YOU! What do you think makes Lancaster So Good? Is there a special event or occasion coming up you want to highlight? Fill out the form on our website, and you could be featured in a future episode of So Good Lancaster.

So Good Lancaster is produced by So Good Media at The Candy Factory, a coworking and social club in Lancaster, PA.

Web: https://sogoodlancaster.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/SoGoodLancaster
IG: https://www.instagram.com/sogoodlancaster
YT: https://www.youtube.com/@sogoodmedia

Lancaster County’s Conestoga River is Pennsylvania’s 2026 River of the Year!

The River of the Year award honors a Pennsylvania waterway, raising awareness and recognizing conservation achievements by those who care for these awesome resources. It’s administered by the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers (POWR) and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).

“This once-polluted river is an example of what can happen when we prioritize clean, healthy waterways. Its transformation has made the Conestoga a hub for outdoor recreation, providing a boost to the region and demonstrating that rivers build thriving communities.” - DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn.

So, who are the primary stewards of this Lancaster County waterway? The Conestoga River Club. On this episode of the podcast I had the pleasure of talking about the Conestoga River with Conestoga River Club Executive Director Malinda Harnish Clatterbuck and club board member Steve Carlson.

- Jason

(all of these words came from my brain)

Links:
Conestoga River Club
2026 River of the Year
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

We want to hear from YOU! What do you think makes Lancaster So Good? Is there a special event or occasion coming up you want to highlight? Fill out the form on our website, and you could be featured in a future episode of So Good Lancaster.

So Good Lancaster is produced by So Good Media at The Candy Factory, a coworking and social club in Lancaster, PA.

Web: https://sogoodlancaster.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/SoGoodLancaster
IG: https://www.instagram.com/sogoodlancaster
YT: https://www.youtube.com/@sogoodmedia

Fringe festivals began back in 1947 when the International Festival of Music and Drama was planned in a post-war Edinburgh, Scotland. Eight Edinburgh theatre companies were left out, but decided to book their own festival in smaller, alternative venues around the city. Without an official connection to the larger festival, the acts performing on the fringe could be more open, accessible, and experimental in nature. In the decades that followed, the idea of performing in alternative and found spaces spread and fringe festivals began popping up around the globe.

While Philadelphia has been hosting a large fringe festival (over 300 acts in 2025) each September, and our closer neighbors, York and Harrisburg, have been hosting their version of the festival for many years, Lancaster has never had its own…until now.

Lancaster Fringe Fest founders Caleb Corkery and Frith Rooney joined me on the program to talk about the inaugural Lancaster Fringe Festival, coming to Lancaster City on from May 21 through May 24, 2026. The festival will include forty performances across twenty venues plus street performances all around the city. Learn more about the festival at LancasterFringeFest.org or on Instagram and Facebook.

Our So Good Music feature is “Good Ghost Goodbye” by Lancaster ambient, electronic, and atmospheric pop artist Dean Thomas. Stay ’til the end of the episode for a quick chat and to hear the full track.

- Jason

(all of these words came from my brain)

Links:
LancasterFringeFest.org
Dean Thomas

We want to hear from YOU! What do you think makes Lancaster So Good? Is there a special event or occasion coming up you want to highlight? Fill out the form on our website, and you could be featured in a future episode of So Good Lancaster.

So Good Lancaster is produced by So Good Media at The Candy Factory, a coworking and social club in Lancaster, PA.

Web: https://sogoodlancaster.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/SoGoodLancaster
IG: https://www.instagram.com/sogoodlancaster
YT: https://www.youtube.com/@sogoodmedia

It’s the second in our two-episode coverage of the Stuff To Do Fair 2026. The fair went down in the gymnasium at Washington Elementary school in Lancaster, PA on a freezing Saturday, January 31, 2026. The gym was filled with over 50 organizations, clubs, and businesses that provide entertainment, hobbies, activities, lessons, and a ton of other “stuff to do” right here in Lancaster County.

Organized by Sav Thorpe Capizzi and state representative Izzy Smith Wade-El, this 2nd (annual) Stuff To Do Fair welcomed over 500 residents who braved the cold to come together to chat, share, and ultimately be in community with each other, learning about a bunch of what there is to do in Lancaster County.

We were there representing The Candy Factory coworking + social club and So Good Lancaster with mic in hand, interviewing just a fraction of the vendors who were representing. Check out the previous episode of the program to hear the first part of this two-part series.

On this episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with:

• Jasmin Pantoja from Mambojaz Studio
• Luke Karpathios from Susquehanna Trekkers
• Shannon from Closing Time Collective
• Lola Omolabi from Hypnotic Pole Fitness
• Danny Mulligan from Danny and the Do-Overs
• JW Spurlock from Lancaster Square Dance
• Jess King from Lancaster County Local Journalism Fund

- Jason

(all of these words came from my brain)

We want to hear from YOU! What do you think makes Lancaster So Good? Is there a special event or occasion coming up you want to highlight? Fill out the form on our website, and you could be featured in a future episode of So Good Lancaster.

So Good Lancaster is produced by So Good Media at The Candy Factory, a coworking and social club in Lancaster, PA.

Web: https://sogoodlancaster.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/SoGoodLancaster
IG: https://www.instagram.com/sogoodlancaster
YT: https://www.youtube.com/@sogoodmedia

I walked into the gymnasium at Washington Elementary school in Lancaster, PA around 9:30 am on a bitter cold Saturday, January 31, 2026. The gym was buzzing with activity filled with people representing organizations, clubs, and businesses who provide entertainment, hobbies, activities, lessons, and a ton of other “stuff to do” here in Lancaster County. These folks were bustling around, setting up rows of tables scattered around the gym floor. By ten o’clock the doors were open, and the general public was welcomed by organizers Sav Thorpe Capizzi and state representative Izzy Smith Wade-El to the 2nd (annual) Stuff To Do Fair.

Over 50 vendors and over 500 residents braved the cold to attend what might look like a job fair, but was actually just a place for the community to come together, to chat, to make new friends, and to learn about stuff they can do to get out of the house and be with others. The Stuff To Do Fair is 100% free, for both the vendors and the participants.

We were there representing The Candy Factory coworking + social club and So Good Lancaster with mic in hand, interviewing just a fraction of the vendors who were representing. This is the first in a two-episode series covering the Stuff To Do Fair 2026. Stay tuned for part two in the next episode of the podcast.

On this episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with:

• Sav Thorpe Capizzi, organizer of Stuff To Do Fair
• Olivia Polaski from Lancaster Bird Club
• Corey Paternoster from The Upside
• Mayor Jaime Arroyo from the City of Lancaster
• Laura Pauls-Thomas from Ride Roll and Stroll
• Heather Davis from Write Now
• Angie Springer from Lancaster Improv Players

- Jason

(all of these words came from my brain)

We want to hear from YOU! What do you think makes Lancaster So Good? Is there a special event or occasion coming up you want to highlight? Fill out the form on our website, and you could be featured in a future episode of So Good Lancaster.

So Good Lancaster is produced by So Good Media at The Candy Factory, a coworking and social club in Lancaster, PA.

Web: https://sogoodlancaster.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/SoGoodLancaster
IG: https://www.instagram.com/sogoodlancaster
YT: https://www.youtube.com/@sogoodmedia

Who doesn’t love a warm cuppa something on a freezing cold day? Well, it’s been freezing cold outside for weeks here in Lancaster, so I checked in with some folks here in Lancaster County who specialize in serving up hot drinks. Heather Marston, owner of Pureblend Tea in Ephrata, joined me to talk about her special custom blends of high quality loose leaf teas and specialty hot chocolate, and where you can find her products around the county.

I also had the pleasure of chatting with Nathan and Denise Claycomb from Joe on the Go Coffee Co. about how they landed in the coffee business based on a “simple” idea among coworkers. We also chatted about the ultra cozy Joe on the Go at Lampeter Cafe, a full-service cafe they opened a little over a year ago.

As a little bonus, we were visited by Adam Grim and Ben Fuller, who launched The Lancaster Review this past fall. It’s a weekly newsletter highlighting fun stuff to do around Lancaster County, along with feature articles and profiles about local small businesses, like Pureblend Tea and Joe on the Go Coffee Co.! Tune in and listen while enjoying your favorite hot drink for cold weather.

- Jason

(all of these words came from my brain)

Links:
Pureblend Tea
Joe on the Go Coffee Co.

We want to hear from YOU! What do you think makes Lancaster So Good? Is there a special event or occasion coming up you want to highlight? Fill out the form on our website, and you could be featured in a future episode of So Good Lancaster.

So Good Lancaster is produced by So Good Media at The Candy Factory, a coworking and social club in Lancaster, PA.

Web: https://sogoodlancaster.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/SoGoodLancaster
IG: https://www.instagram.com/sogoodlancaster
YT: https://www.youtube.com/@sogoodmedia