20/08/2025
The Lititz Springs Park Board of Trustees today announced that, beginning in 2026, no large events will be held on the park property as part of a comprehensive grounds restoration project aimed at preserving the park’s historical charm and enhancing its long-term sustainability.
This major initiative will include vital upgrades to the park's infrastructure, landscaping, and natural elements. The restoration plan is designed to address areas of the park that require attention to maintain the park’s beauty, health, and ecological balance, ensuring that future generations can continue to enjoy this cherished community space.
"As stewards of Lititz Springs Park, we are committed to preserving its integrity and creating a safe, accessible, and environmentally sustainable park for the entire community," said Kellye Martin of the Lititz Springs Park Board of Trustees. "The decision to suspend large events was not made lightly, but it is a necessary step to facilitate these critical restoration efforts and protect the park’s historic features." The Board of Trustees noted that recent years have seen sharp increases in costs related to grounds maintenance, coupled with more and more large events being held on Park grounds. Adding into the equation the increased frequency of flooding that the park has grappled with, and the risk of creating unsafe surfaces due to excessive use, it was determined to be financially unsustainable to continue to subject the grounds to such destruction year after year. “There have been conversations happening at Park Board meetings for years centered around this problem. Basically, it boiled down to “is the Park a park or is it an event venue?” Because right now it’s not thriving trying to be both.” said Rich Motz, Park Board President.
The grounds restoration project will involve several phases, including improvements to the park’s walking paths, water mitigation of swale areas to improve drainage, refurbishments to bridges and stream walls, and the planting of native species to enhance biodiversity. The project will also ensure that the park can continue to host smaller gatherings and local activities, but large-scale events such as whole-park festivals will be suspended to maximize the scope and potential of the restoration work.
“We understand that Lititz Springs Park has long been a focal point for community events and gatherings,” added Martin. “We sincerely appreciate the support and understanding of all event organizers, local businesses, and residents as we work to restore the park to its full potential.”
Conversations have already begun with community stakeholders to find alternate venues to host the affected events and to keep the positive economic impact within the Lititz community.
All event organizers were notified at the conclusion of their 2024 events, giving each organization nearly 2 full years to begin finding alternative venues for their established events. At this time, there is no end date named to determine when large scale events can or would resume in the Park.
The large scale, public events that are affected by this change include the Warwick Marching Band Food Truck Festival, LEFC Church in the Park, Lancaster County Chooses Love Pride Festival, Lititz Art Association Fine Art Show, and the L’Italia Festival. Smaller events that will continue to be held in the park include such gatherings as Kiwanis Kid’s Day, Community Vespers services, Lititz Farmers Market, and Christmas in the Park.
The annual July 4th celebration will be the one exception, as it is the sole fundraiser for the Lititz Springs Park and is a condition of the Operating Agreement between the Lititz Moravian Congregation, who owns the park grounds, and the Park Board of Trustees. Per that agreement, it states that the Board “shall continue the annual Fourth of July celebration in the Park in a manner and form which will be in keeping with the history and traditions of the celebrations and the community of Lititz.”
