Schuylkill County Holiday 2020

One of the biggest items on everyone’s holiday to-do checklist is shopping. The time crunch is real and so is the frustration. We can’t help you with the time crunch but we’re definitely on board with a remedy to the frustration associated with shopping and Explore Schuylkill’s Holiday Spirit list is your anecdote! Our local holiday shopping scene offers relaxing, festive, enjoyable experiences at cool places like The Arts Barn, The Nature and Discovery Store, Leesport and Hometown Farmers Markets, Lewis General Store, Alchemist Cove Games & Comics, Murphy Jewelers, Pressed Coffee & Books, and Schaeffer’s Harley Davidson and Motorsports just to name a few.  Why not treat yourself to some truly unique holiday shopping experiences in Schuylkill County this year? Our community’s holiday spirit list is centered on celebrating the season in small unique settings throughout the county that will provide you with a memorable and enjoyable experience. We’re absolutely sure of it!

Maybe you’re seeking handcrafted beverages, delicious foods, art, pottery, outdoor recreation gear and accessories, or education and fun children’s toys? No worries; we’ve got you covered.  Whether you’ve got foodies on your list, adventure seekers, history buffs, curious kiddos, stressed moms, or beer-loving dads; we’ve got that. Maybe you have no idea what that special gift will be but just need a festive experience to get you motivated? No problem; we’ve got those too. 

Hope Hill Lavender Farm’s Holiday Open house on December 5th will enchant and delight you. Named number 3 of Travel Channel's most beautiful lavender farms you can visit in the US, Hope Hill Lavender Farm in Pottsville has a beautiful farm store stocked with the highest quality lavender beauty and culinary products, friendly animals, and unsurpassed scenic beauty. They’ve also come up with a creative “ticketed” shopping experience to ensure everyone’s safety with details available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/9th-annual-holiday-open-house-tickets-126664732625. 

Vintage 61 Storehouse in Orwigsburg is a one-of-a kind mother-daughter owned business with an affection for all things vintage and antique turned new again housed in a cool warehouse specializing in refinished furniture, CeCe Caldwell Chalk & Clay Based Paints, Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paints, refinishing classes, repurposing all types of items to usefulness, and a full line of gift items as well. Vintage 61 Storehouse is known for quality, innovation, and their outdoor marketplace weekends complete with food, beverages, and tons of creative vendors.  Plan to come to A Very Vintage Christmas on December 12th and check them out for yourself.

Schuylkill County Council for the Arts’ Chriskindlmarkt on December 5th and 6th will enthrall and delight you with a traditional German holiday market set in the historic Yuengling Mansion in Pottsville. Elaborately decorated for the holiday, this fine example of early twentieth century Tudor-Jacobethan Revival architecture provides the perfect setting for the plethora of craftspeople and artisans who’s unique handmade gifts await you. The Walk In Art Center in Schuylkill Haven is another unique venue for holiday shopping. Their outdoor holiday market on December 5th promises to be replete with handmade gifts, treats, and good cheer. 

Our community consistently ranks high in Pennsylvania for Christmas tree production and at Pioneer Evergreen Farms in Orwigsburg they offer beautiful trees and an abundant assortment of gifts and decor neatly packaged with excellent customer service. While Christmas carols fill the air, friendly staff will greet you and be sure you know exactly where to go. The folks at Pioneer Evergreen invite you to bring the family out and plan to cut your own Christmas tree this year. They offer free baling and trunk drilling, convenient on-site parking, and hot chocolate to complete this old-fashioned yuletide experience.

Wineries, distilleries, and breweries abound with holiday cheer and delicious hand crafted gifts. A stop at Yuengling Brewery, Stoker’s Brewing Company, Long Trout Winery, or Main Street Moonshine, will provide an opportunity to relax and unwind a bit during your shopping trip and grab some handmade holiday spirits everyone will love! 

If you’re looking to maximize safety while shopping this season plenty of our small businesses and organizations offer online shopping options as well to provide you the opportunity to spend local, shop local, and support local from the convenience and safety of your own home. Another big win! If you go to www.schuylkill.org, you’ll find some videos on our unique shopping venues as well as pour tour and foodie videos, a local shopping section, and events calendar. We’ve got the resources to help you have an authentic, warm, wonderful, locally-sourced and supported holiday and we hope you’ll join us in Schuylkill County this holiday season

Enjoy Everything Schuylkill County has to offer is 2020!

Happy New Year, everyone! A new year, a new decade, a blank canvas, and limitless potential; this is the magic 2020 holds in its hands. Some of that magic can be found in your own backyard. There’s a lot more to Schuylkill County than what meets the eye. Why not make a resolution to explore it this year?

Now, we know most people don't keep their New Year's resolutions. In fact, 92% of all New Year's resolutions are broken with 80% of them broken by February, but we feel this is a resolution that can be kept, and we've created a Skook New Year’s resolution list to help! We’re confident that even though this list is a drop in the bucket of what you could do, it will definitely inspire and assist you. We back up the list with lots of other resources on www.schuylkill.org including the Schuylkill County Outdoor Recreation Map, the brand new 2020 Visitors’ Guide, trails directory, our Pour Tour craft beverage trail, an awesome events calendar with our partners at www.skoocal.com on our events tab, our blog, plus lots of hardcopy resources like the Northeast Pennsylvania Hiking and Biking Trails Map, Schuylkill River Trail Map, and Weiser State Forest Map & Recreation Guide at the visitors’ center. We know that with all of this at your disposal, you're definitely going to enjoy everything Schuylkill County has to offer in 2020!

• Gather some friends and challenge yourselves at The Art of Escape at Made in PGA
• Take a painting, pottery, or drawing class at Tamaqua Community Arts Center, Mud & Maker, The Arts Barn, or Walk In ArtCenter.
• Try your hand at something new at Alchemist’sCove Games & Comics
• Find your “mindful” spot at Yoga on the Mountain at Hawk Mountain.
• Consider turning one of your talents or hobbies into a business as a vendor at The Marketplace.
• Step back in time at Jerry's Classic Cars& Collectibles Museum.
• Buy a pass and check out over 20,000 acres with over 600 mapped miles of trails for outdoor adventures for both motorized and non-motorized vehicles at Famous Reading Outdoors
• Enjoy delicious fresh fruit and vegetables every week at the Hometown Farmers Market or Stone Mountain Wine Cellars.
• Make someone’s day with flowers from Forget-Me-Not Florist
• Hit the completed sections of the SchuylkillRiver Trail or make tracks with Schuylkill On the Move.
• Treat your taste buds to Brandon’s innovative weekly specials at The Washington Hotel
• Delve deep (1800 feet deep to be exact) into our anthracite mining heritage and go on the Pioneer Tunnel Mine Tour.
• Experience some of the incomparable “pizza genius” going on at Roma with their Peppa Pig, Wiz Cheesesteak, Firecracker, Special Crispy Sicilian, Old School Artisan Pepperoni, Taco, Mac and Cheese pizzas, as well as a complete line of Wood-Fired Pizza Napoletana
• Elevate your camping game in a yurt at Tuscarora State Park.
• Take a summer Saturday tour at Hope Hill Lavender Farm. Details are on their website at hopehilllavenderfarm.com. 
• Take your kids (or grandkids!) to experience the fun and truly hands-on atmosphere of The Nature and Discovery Store in New Ringgold
• Take in a free concert during Tamaqua Chamber’s Summer Concert Series at the historic 1874 station while dining alfresco at Tamaqua Station Restaurant
• Learn more about the remarkable and inspirational life of American professional boxer, activist, and philanthropist, Muhammad Ali by taking a tour at Fighter’s Heaven
• Test your competitive eating mettle and enter the Skook Grilled Cheese Challenge at Wheel Restaurant or the pierogi eating contest at Yuengling’s Oktoberfest.
• Treat someone you love to an indulgence from Lewis’ General Store, C&C's Candies, and Momma Millie’s, the sweetest bakery in Pennsylvania.
• Kick up your heels, in a jig or a reel, at the Annual Girardville Saint Patrick's Day Parade.
• Be amazed at a Gabriel Chamber Ensemble concert
• Improve your putt with a round of mini golf at Heisler’s Dairy Bar.
• Embrace our community's eastern European roots with the many delicacies the three “Kielbasi Kings” have to offer at Kielbasi Fest on May 16th
• Plan for some fun at Coal Region Night at the Reading Phillies
• Explore Lithuanian heritage at the 106th Annual Lithuanian Days (the oldest ethnic festival in the USA) at Catalpa Grove at Lakewood Park
• Experience incredible fireworks with The Crackerjacks Inc. at the Valley View Park
• Take off into blue skies on your own tour with the good folks at the Schuylkill County airport.
• Celebrate Pennsylvania’s strong history of brewing by taking some friends on the tour at America’s Oldest Brewery
• Enjoy wicked good food truck fare and the German biergarten atmosphere of Stoker's Brewing Company, and fill a growler to take home, too!
• Learn some innovative ways to improve your health and overall well-being with interesting foods and ideas from Peace Frog Natural Foods and Healthy Habits Market.
• Unplug yourself in nature and take a hike on the Appalachian Trail
• Start training for the 2021 Yuengling Light Lager Jogger race & register in early October!
• Grab your kayak and do a day (or the whole week!) of the Schuylkill Sojourn
• Find your inspiration in 20,000 square feet of awesome at Vintage 61 Storehouse
• Treat your palate to the fabulous libations found at The Brickhouse Grill or the Crimson House
•  Try the small batch flavored moonshine, whiskey, and rum at Spring Glen’s Jack Azz Distilling
• Gather your family (your well-behaved dog, too!) and take a ride on one of the special event excursions on the WK&S Railroad
• Gain an understanding of the life and culture of our anthracite mining history by taking a tour of the No. 9 Mine & Museum in Lansford
• Take a relaxing break with java and crepes at Pressed Coffee & Books.
• Create your very own pour tour on our craft beverage trail at http://schuylkill.org/pour-tours-and-more/
• Discover our unique collective history and volunteer at the SchuylkillCounty Historical Society.

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