08/07/2026
LBPD 2026 Craft Show Survival/Information Guide
We’ll open this up by setting the stage. Between the time you’re reading this post at this exact moment and Saturday morning as the sun is peaking over the horizon, Downtown Lititz will slowly transform from the peaceful, picturesque, tranquil, Norman Rockwellesque town we all know and love into one of the largest Craft Shows in the northern hemisphere.
A seemingly endless convoy of enclosed trailers, box trucks, and vans descend from near and far packed to the gills with crafts to peddle to the masses. The much anticipated event attracts THOUSANDS of people to the area for a fun day in Lititz, and a massive boost to the local economy. And while all of this already sounds like a blast, there are some drawbacks to an event of this scale and popularity. The following information we feel is necessary to deposit into your brain not only so your day goes smoothly, but also to ensure that our day goes smoothly and we don’t have to send any of our Officers to post Craft Show therapy.
We say this every year, EVERY FRIGGIN’ year……if you're a Lititz resident and you're not fond of the high volume of vehicular and pedestrian traffic this event brings to the LTZ, or the huge boost to the local economy, or the success of the Rotary Club of Lititz and donating the proceeds from the event back into the LTZ, than by all means EVACUATE, and preferably before Saturday morning.
Load up the family truckster, find a state park, take a hike, or a rail trail, breathe in some fresh air, have a picnic, don’t leave any litter behind, don’t get eaten by wildlife, come home later in the day after with a rejuvenated soul and all is well, it’ll be like the Craft Show never even existed.
If you're not from around here and visiting our quaint little town looking to enjoy all of the interesting and unique crafts on display for purchase, please remember that where you choose to park your vehicle can drastically impact the rest of your day. What we mean by that is that under NO CIRCUMSTANCES is it appropriate to park in a manner which blocks driveways, roadways, alleyways, sidewalks, fire hydrants, handicap spaces, etc…..or for that matter park in any other way not specifically mentioned that is also illegal, like parking in the yellow at the corner of an intersection with half of your vehicle protruding into the intersection. The traffic laws are not void during your pursuit to find the hand crocheted pumpkins for your fall decor.
Parking violations often result in vehicles being towed, which is not to be confused with, "Officer my vehicle was stolen while I was at the Craft Show." We tend to get a lot of "stolen vehicle" reports on Craft Show day. If by stolen you mean that you parked your vehicle somewhere it shouldn’t have been and a tow truck towed it away, then I guess that does qualify as a "stolen vehicle." Tow bills are expensive people, save the money for the crafters.
If you have parked illegally and your vehicle is still parked illegally where you left it when you return, it will most likely be adorning a bright yellow “coupon” that was not there when you parked it. No, this “coupon” it is not an invitation for you and your plus one to the LBPD Fall Formal(great time by the way, you should come), it’s a ticket that the LBPD uses to FUND our LBPD Fall Formal(did we mention it’s a great time, open BAR!!!!)
**DISCLAIMER** a parking ticket is not used as funds for the LBPD Fall Formal, that would be illegal, but if we did do that, we'd probably have enough funds to hold our LBPD Fall Formal somewhere warm and tropical! We don’t actually have a Fall Formal either, but if anyone wants to throw a Fall Formal for us, for free, with an open bar, in a tropical climate, give us a shout!
To follow up on the parking situation, please, please, please, remember where you park your car when you arrive………TAKE A PICTURE with your smart device of the closest intersection, or house, or whatever landmark is nearby. This will make it much easier for us to point you in the right direction when you come to us at the end of the day and tell us how you can't remember where you parked your car. Explaining to us that it's "near the red brick house" or "near the church" doesn’t particularly narrow it down.
BarriCADES, BARRIcades, more BARRICADES, and even more BARRICADES!!! With an event this large in a town this small, there are BARRICADES(say the word out loud) placed at strategic locations to ensure the safety of all those involved and attending. An immense amount of pre-planning goes into an event like this. You showing up on Craft Show day, having not been a part of the pre-planning, demanding to be permitted past the barricade for any reason simply won't fly. It does not matter to us that your best friends step moms college roommate dated a Cop back in 1981. It does not matter to us that you called in a carryout order to Roma Pizza (Lititz) or Nino's New York Style Pizza & Italian Restaurant and you need to get there to pick it up. We love our Romas and Ninos pizza, but we've heard it all, we can go on for days. Short of landing a helicopter on the roof of a downtown building and repelling below to pick up your pizza, which we don’t recommend by the way but would be incredibly cool to see, if you are in a vehicle and you approach a barricade, your thought should be at that point to figure out an alternate route. Pull over, hop on the smartphone, go to the map feature, and figure it out like a fully capable functioning adult navigating their way through 2026.
BARRICADES(say the word out loud again) are NON-NEGOTIABLE. If you're the wisenheimer(say this word out loud too) that doesn’t heed the previous advice and gets out of your vehicle to attempt to move the barricade, or simply drive around the barricade, just know that the LBPD Barricade Ninja Strike Team has been itching to get to work, they’ve been bored with all the activities getting cancelled this past year. Unlike our diet consisting of Coffee, Mt. Dew, and regret, the LBPDBNST members function on 5 hour energys poured into Paradise Punch Monsters and the thought of all the souls of those they have yet to claim. They are not taking any prisoners, this is your only warning, heed the Barricades.
So far you’ve followed all the previous mentioned advice, you’re on a roll, feeling confident, and out of your vehicle(legally parked) walking towards the crafts. Remind yourself that this is not a big box store on Black Friday, pushing small children and the elderly out of the way to get to the hottest birdhouse gourd to go along with your 17 other birdhouse gourds in your backyard will not be tolerated. You will earn a trip to the adult timeout room located in the basement of the LBPD and you’ll be gourdless!
Under no circumstances will we tolerate shoplifting either. Intentionally failing to pay for the hand crocheted pumpkins will earn you a trip to LBPD timeout, and there’s nothing more embarrassing than being escorted by an Officer on the walk of shame to LBPD timeout wearing a fresh set of bracelets through the large crowd of people while another Officer tows your red flyer wagon full of stolen loot back to the PD.
Please take a moment to SHARE this post so your social media “friends” can be as informed as you are, because after all we don’t want them to be misinformed, and everyone knows misinformation breeds more misinformation;
Misinformation example…….. Random citizen posting in Community Page: Does anyone know what they’re building at Rock Lititz along 501? Random Citizen #1 Its a stage for Lititz Springs Park so Taylor can rehearse there the next time she’s in town. Random Citizen #2 I heard from my neighbor who has a cousin who has a friend who works at Rock Lititz that said it’s a time traveling device that catapults you back in time to when Springsteen was rehearsing and playing impromptu shows at the warehouse on North Water St. Random Citizen #3 I heard it’s a first of a kind Chick Fil-A / Taco Bell in one. Random Citizen #4(hijacking the thread with a new and absurdly unrelated new question) Does anyone know what that loud boom was I heard 94 hours, 36 minutes, and 23 seconds ago….. it sounded like it came in the direction of the ‘ol Stoltzfus farm who had the barn that burnt down in the 90’s, correction, it was now 94 hours, 36 minutes, and 27 seconds ago.
See attached photos for shuttle information and locations, as well as a general map of the show area.
Finally……Congrats, you’ve made it to the end. You probably somewhat regret sticking around to the end of this, but yet here you are, waiting for one last zinger, but sadly that is all. The Author(s) of this post will be on duty during the Craft Show and are available for autograph signings, photographs, etc…. Just look for anyone wearing the LBPD uniform!
