Lancaster – Just Get in the Car

Miracle of Christmas at Sight and Sound Theater

Just Get in the Car — Fri, 15 Nov 2019 22:21:48 +0000

Our kids love Christmas. They get it honest – I love Christmas. I love the cozy, warm and fuzzy feeling you get with the twinkling lights and fun music. I love spending time with family and eating delicious food. I love the traditions, and the memories. For me personally, Christmas is a season – not just a day- and a family centered holiday. Yes – Christmas has become commercialized, but as with all things, I believe the pendulum will swing back. Families are attempting to reign in their children’s demands for bigger and more elaborate gifts in lieu of experiences that create meaningful memories.

In that light, we were thrilled to be afforded the opportunity to kick off the holiday season at Sight & Sound Theatre in Lancaster, PA with their production of the Miracle of Christmas. What a wonderful way to keep the ‘reason for the season’ in our children’s minds as we embark on more secular and family based activities in the coming weeks.

For those not familiar with Sight & Sound Theatres, they are a religious based theater that puts on very well produced shows, with locations in Lancaster, Pa and Branson, MO. As it says on their website, they are “Passionate about Bringing the Bible to Life.” Besides Miracle of Christmas, other shows include Samson, Jonah, Queen Esther, and the life of Jesus. Each production is a 3-4 year endeavor- and results in a stage set and quality performances that enable the audience to be transported to biblical times.

We were provided tickets to this show in exchange for our coverage. The opinions are 100% our own.

The Miracle of Christmas is not your kids’ preschool Nativity scene – the production values are Hollywood-esque. But the storytelling is not. The Miracle of Christmas tells the Biblical story of Jesus’ birth on stage. Though they add some dialogue and scenes to advance the story, there is nothing that alters the Biblical tale you are probably familiar with.

The exterior of the theater itself is quite impressive, and the very long line to enter the parking lot indicated the popularity of Sight & Sound. Inside, it resembled a large auditorium, but on the outside, it resembled a church. As you can imagine, many churches and organized groups attend shows at this venue. As you can see from our picture, simple but beautiful lights and wreathes adorned the façade of the building – providing us with that warm and fuzzy feeling I mentioned above.

The inside lobby of the building did not disappoint, either. There was quite a bit to look at inside the entrance. Statues, signs for the shows, a sky on the ceiling – which our three-year-old loved. And the smell of roasted candied almonds was pretty irresistible.

Not a family to forego snacks, we did indulge our kids and ourselves at the snack bar before heading to our seats. There is a full concession stand with an impressive selection to choose from. We had eaten before arriving, but we could have found something at the theater. And yes – we got some almonds, which did not disappoint!

Finding our seats was very easy, with separate entrances for A,B,C, and D. Seems insignificant, but with a large theater it is helpful to know exactly where to go. Ushers showed us right to our seats, and they were in a great spot. Once we settled in, a staff member came over to our children and made sure that they could see, and offered a booster seat, which our ‘big boy’ declined.

To open the show, a group of acapella singers wowed us (well me anyway) with a rendition of Joy to the World. I am always impressed when people can sing so beautifully without any instrument accompaniment! Very impressive!

The show began with a starry sky appearing all over the ceiling, and that was a huge hit with our children. It felt like we were outside, not inside a theater.

Throughout the production there are plenty of things to keep the kids engaged – singing, dancing, moving around, stages on three sides, flying actors, and live animals. Considering the ages of our kids, they did not get restless during the show.

If you are a believer in the story of Jesus – historical or religious, I think you will find the show very detailed and true to what is taught to Christian believers. The story captures many of the stories you are familiar with: The Annunciation by the angel Gabriel, the story of John the Baptist’s parents, the trip to Bethlehem, the birth of Jesus in the manger, and the Three Kings.

It also adds in some other tales you may not be as familiar with, such as the betrothal of Mary and Joseph, which opens the show. It also provides some background to life in Galilee at the time of Jesus, as there are scenes depicting life under Roman rule, rebellion against the Romans, as well as the dangers Mary faced being accused of adultery.

The story is also very family friendly. Despite some minor violence, some of the more difficult things to explain to little kids, like the Massacre of the Innocents, is not depicted.

Given the thoroughness of the story, it is quite long, running over two hours. A 15-minute intermission was helpful for a bathroom break and some fresh snacks to sustain our kids for the second half. But like we said earlier, our guys did not get restless during the show, which really surprised us.

I won’t spoil any particulars, but our middle son thought some of the special effects (can we say lightening zaps) in the second half were quite entertaining, and the meaning behind them certainly seemed to impress many audience members. In fact it was evident that this portrayal of the story of the birth of Jesus was quite moving for many people in attendance, and quite enjoyable for us.

It is easy to find family activities around the Christmas season. But if you are like us, you probably need a break from multiple shopping trips, Hallmark movies, Christmas cartoons and Santa visits. Do yourself and your family a favor this Christmas season: kick-off your Christmas season with the Miracle of Christmas. Then do the things that are really important this holiday season: help out the unfortunate, visit a sick or lonely relative, spend time with your loved ones, and be thankful for all the blessings in your life.

-Kristin

Farm Fun in Lancaster…without the Amish!

Just Get in the Car — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 04:49:39 +0000

“Kids – just get in the car. We are going somewhere fun today. It’s a surprise!” The kids were excited. Why wouldn’t they be? Whenever they go somewhere, they don’t have to pay anything. They get fed free food, and all they have to do is entertain themselves and maybe ask you “are we there yet?” a thousand times. Being a kid is awesome. No one ever randomly drives me to the brewery or a ballgame!

My wife was not as enthused. Somehow, she managed to pick up on my plan for the day – taking the family to Corn Cob Acres in Lancaster, PA! “Great”, she thought. “A beautiful sunny day and I get to spend it at a farm ninety minutes away. Sounds like a blast!” We are pretty Delco – our farm experience consists of pumpkin picking trips to Linvilla Orchards and the occasional trip to Amish Country. In her mind, a trip to another farm meant muddy lanes, animal crap all over the place, and kids whining about how bored they were. But she was in for a surprise, too, because we had an awesome family day.

Since it was me planning this trip, it was last minute – I came up with the idea about 10:30 in the morning, and got everyone in the car by noon. My annoyed wife was bugging me about “feeding the kids” (i.e. getting food into her hangry mouth) by 12:01. It was only an hour and a half drive, so I was able to handle the hangry silent treatment and the daggers staring at me the whole way there.

When we arrived, the first thing we had to do was eat. Luckily, there was a food stand right by the entrance. We all enjoyed some chicken, burgers and Capri Suns from the stand before beginning our journey. Little did we know that on the other side of the park was a BBQ stand that also sold warm apple cider. We enjoyed our food, but with BBQ in the mix, I will make sure we have better meal planning for our next visit!

The kids wasted no time starting their fun. They immediately jumped into the cow themed moon bounce, leaving mom and dad to enjoy our lunch. Soon, they were moving onto the rest of the park to see what else they could do – the older kids found the Pedal Karts, before moving onto the Bungee Trampolines. The trampoline did cost a bit more ($5 for each kid). Our daughter was even able to do some flips in the air!

Meanwhile, our little guy had fun in the Corn Bin – a giant sandbox full of corn kernels instead of sand. He eventually moved on to the Treehouse Slides and the Tire Mountain.

They were all having a blast – but we had to interrupt the fun for the pig races. Yes, you read that right. We watched four or five races of pigs with names like Car-swine Wentz, Ham Solo, ChewBacon, and Albert EinSwine. The races were much more crowded than I expected. I think 90% of the people in the park were watching the races. So get there early, and grab a seat close to the pen. You may also get chosen as one of the official cheerleaders. Those that do, get to go home with a free pig snout! My kids bugged us for some, so I shelled out a couple bucks to buy them each one.

It also made for a fun game on the ride home – I tried to see how many pig names I could come up with on my own. Despite 90 minutes of this, my wife and I are still married. The kids enjoyed the pig races much more than we expected. They were laughing all through the races and got into cheering for the pigs as they passed by. Sooiee!,

After the pig races, we still had another hour or so before the place closed, and the kids found even more stuff to entertain themselves – The Castle Slides, Giant Sling Shots, and a Giant Jumping Pillow, which looks like a moon bounce without the walls. We eventually moved along to the thing our little guy was most excited about – the animal train! It was basically just a bunch of oil barrels cut up to look like a farm animal and attached to a tractor, which drove around the park. But he loved it!

The park also has a bunch of cool stuff to look at all over the place. There are metal statues everywhere you turn, Disney music is played on the PA system, and there are stands all over the place for you to take pictures of your kids, or your whole family.

Last but not least, we went on the hayride – or straw ride, as they kept reminding us. It brought us all around the park, and even played music. No Metallica or Guns N Roses – just BINGO and Old McDonald. So don’t get your hopes up.

The ride was pleasant enough, but it does go through their Field of Screams haunted hayride. They tried to cover most of the gore, but some of the kids noticed the skeletons, dismembered bodies, and other things that they weren’t supposed to see!

By 5 o’clock, the park was closing and our guys were done. We managed to get about four hours out of the park, and didn’t even get to try all of the rides. We were hoping that the day of fun would mean a good night sleep for everyone (it didn’t. They were still a pain in the ass at bedtime).

Before we left Lancaster, we did stop off at an Arooga’s Sports Bar for dinner. The kids got their chicken fingers, mom got her soup, and dad got his beer and managed to catch up on his fantasy team. All was good.

Overall, we had a great day. Even mom was happy – the kids didn’t spend the day hanging on her, and she even got to sit down and enjoy a warm apple cider.

Some things to keep in mind, if you decide to take a trip over to Corn Cob Acres:

They only take cash. Admission for a family of four is $56, and kids under two are free.
Only a handful of the activities there cost extra – the bungee trampoline, gemstone mining, corn cob blasters, and pumpkin painting, for example.
They do have food, which is also cash only. And the BBQ stand is in the back. Don’t miss it like we did!
Pig races are run twice a day, and tend to get crowded. Get there early, and get yourself a seat up front.
All bathrooms on site are porta-potties. So beware if you only like flushables!
The park is only open weekends from September to October. November 4 was the last day for this year. And during Halloween time, the Field of Screams is on site as well. So it can get pretty crowded.

Lancaster – Just Get in the Car

Miracle of Christmas at Sight and Sound Theater

-Kristin

Farm Fun in Lancaster…without the Amish!

- Shawn