🌼 From Spring to Summer in Hanover

And truly, thank you. Thank you for subscribing, for showing up, and for wanting to see more of the good in this town we call home.

Spring held onto its chill a little longer than usual, but next week brings warmer days. Late-spring sunshine has its own kind of magic. It’s warm enough to lift your spirits, but without the heavy humidity of summer. There’s a fresh energy in the air, nudging us to step outside, connect, and shake off the quiet.

You might feel it in the morning, walking to your car with birdsong in your ears and the scent of cut grass in the air. Or maybe it hits you in the afternoon, when sunlight stretches across your desk. That feeling is real. And it’s calling you back into the world.

Still, many of us aren’t quite sure where to begin. We crave connection. We want to feel part of something. Sometimes we just need a little nudge.

This first issue is here to offer that nudge. Inside, you’ll find local events, stories of neighborly kindness, and simple ways to enjoy the season right here in Hanover.

If something you read sparks a memory or a smile, I’d love to hear from you. Send in a story, a photo, or a tip about what makes this town feel like home to you.

Here’s to the seasons that ground us and the neighbors who make them matter.
Warmly,
Megan

🍗 Hanover Area Volunteer Fire & Rescue Chicken BBQ
May 31 | 11 AM – 5 PM
204 Clover Lane, Hanover

Support your local fire company and pick up a hot, hearty meal to go. Each $13 dinner includes half a BBQ chicken, baked potato, applesauce, dinner roll, and plasticware. Fire police will direct traffic through the drive-thru.

🎟️ $13 per meal
📞 Call or text 717-818-9836 to reserve

🌸 Period Party! An Education Celebration
May 31 | 11 AM – 1 PM
📍 2 Library Place., Hanover

Celebrate menstruation with games, crafts, interactive displays, and a whole lot of period positivity at the Guthrie Memorial Library. Ages 8 and up are welcome. Wear your favorite red or pink outfit!

Attendees 8–17 who pre-register will receive a free customizable period pack (while supplies last).

📞 Call 717-632-5183 ext. 6220 or click here to register

🛍️ Utz Yard Sale & Case Sale
May 31 | 7 AM – 12 PM | 📍 861 Carlisle St., Hanover

Just in time for summer snacking, Utz is clearing out the warehouse with deep discounts on your favorite snacks. This outdoor-only sale will be held in the parking lot next to the retail store.

💵 Free admission

🎨 Chalk Art Contest
June 7 | 11 AM – 1 PM
📍 2 Library Place, Hanover

Let Guthrie Memorial Library’s sidewalk be your canvas! As part of the “Color Our World” summer reading program, the library is hosting a chalk art contest open to ages 6 through adult. Winners in each age group will receive a $50 prize.

💵 Free to enter — register at the main desk
🌧️ Rain date: June 14

🛶 Experience Codorus Outdoors (ECO)
June 7–8 | 11 AM – 5 PM
📍 Codorus State Park – Main Boat Launch

Explore the best of Codorus State Park with two full days of outdoor fun. Try kayaking, fishing, disc golf, fossil digging, and nature displays — plus live music, food trucks, and local artisans.

Bring the whole family. There’s a Kid’s Zone, water play, obstacle course, rock climbing, and beginner-friendly classes for outdoor skills. Bugs, reptiles, dirt, and sunshine. Wear your adventure shoes.

💵 Buy tickets online or at the gate

🍻 Barbecue & Brews Stroll
Saturday, June 14 | 11 AM – 5 PM
📍 Downtown Hanover

Craft beer, barbecue bites, a downtown stroll, and a classic car show — all part of Hanover’s 2nd Saturday celebration. VIP and designated driver tickets available now. Full details coming next week!

💵 Buy Tickets - Main Street Hanover

Whether it’s a book club, networking event, art show, or anything in between, Heart of Hanover is here to spread the word.

Send the details to [email protected] and it might be featured in a future issue!

Friday May 30 – Sunday June 1

Just a short drive from Hanover, downtown Gettysburg is rolling out the rainbow carpet for its 9th Annual Pride Fest, and you’re invited to be part of the joy.

Pride Weekend in Gettysburg is more than a parade — it’s a full lineup of events that celebrate love, identity, visibility, and connection. Whether you’re part of the LGBTQIA+ community or a proud ally, there’s something for everyone.

💃 Pride Dance Party
Friday, May 30 | 8PM - 10 PM
📍 17 Lincoln Square, Gettysburg
Celebrate Pride with music, movement, and community at Waldo’s & Company.

👗 Out of the Closet – Free Clothing Closet
Friday, May 30 | 4PM - 9 PM
📍 136 South Stratton Street, Gettysburg
LGBTQIA+ folks are welcome to browse and take what they need at Unitarian Universalists of Gettysburg.

🎤 Pride Karaoke Night (21+ Only)
Friday, May 30 | Bar opens at 7 PM
📍 49 York Street, Gettysburg 
Hosted by Gettysburg Community Theatre. 
💵 Buy tickets online 

🎶 Free Pride Concert - Central Pennsylvania Womyn’s Chorus
Saturday, May 31 | 11 AM
📍 49 York St, Gettysburg
Hosted by Gettysburg Community Theatre

🍧 Popsicle Party & Pride March Kickoff
Saturday, May 31 | 12 PM
📍 136 South Stratton Street, Gettysburg
Hosted by the Unitarian Universalists of Gettysburg

🏳️‍🌈 Pride March on Lincoln Square
Saturday, May 31 | 12 PM
With support from the Gettysburg Borough Police and the Mayor

🌈 Pride Chats
Saturday, May 31 | Majestic Theatre Patron’s Lounge
📍 25 Carlisle St, Gettysburg
2 PM: Religion, Spirituality, and the LGBTQIA+ Community
3 PM: Transgender Experiences, Support, and Community
4 PM: How to Be a Better Ally

Whether you're going for the music, the march, or the message, Pride Weekend in Gettysburg is about showing up for each other. Come as you are, wear what makes you feel alive, and know that this region is more inclusive, joyful, and resilient because of you.

Each month, this section will spotlight someone in our community who makes Hanover a little kinder, brighter, or more connected. It could be the crossing guard who waves at every kid, the barista who remembers your order, or the neighbor who snow-blows more than just their own sidewalk.

Have someone in mind? I’d love to hear about them. Send your nominations to [email protected]. Include a sentence or two about why they deserve a little recognition. No deed is too small. This section is all about celebrating the everyday good that makes our town feel like home.

You don’t have to travel far or spend a fortune to make sweet memories with your crew. Hanover is full of family-friendly fun — from nature trails to splash zones to free library adventures — all right here in our own backyard.

Looking for a way to keep your kids busy, happy, and off the couch this summer? The 2025 Hanover Summer Playground Program is back, and it’s everything a childhood summer should be—free, flexible, and full of fun.

The program runs from June 2 to July 25, from 9 a.m. to noon each day at the following four Hanover parks:

📍 Elm Street Park
📍 DeGuy Avenue Park
📍 Moul Field
📍 Union Park (formerly known as West Hanover Street Park)

It’s open to kids in grades K–8, and younger children can join too if a parent stays on site. There’s no pre-registration required unless you’re dropping your child off, in which case you’ll need to complete a quick emergency contact form. YMCA staff (with the necessary childcare clearances and background checks) will facilitate the event.

Kids will have access to free games, sports equipment, art supplies, and plenty of room to run.

Special guests this year include:

🦎 Reptile Invasion with their not-so-creepy critters
🔬 Willy WooWoo & Friends with Silly Science and Bubble Trouble shows

Bonus: Free lunches will be served on four different days at each site.
And at the end of the program, every kid gets a backpack filled with summer goodies.

No session on July 4. Cancellations for weather will be posted on the Borough’s Facebook page.

For more info, contact Melissa Hartlaub at the Hanover YMCA:

📧 [email protected]
📞 (717) 632-8211 ext. 234

A flat, stroller-friendly path where bikes glide, kids wander, and birds do their thing. It’s part nature walk, part sanity saver — and it’s just steps away from the Moul Field parking lot.

The trail winds through Hanover and nearby townships, with new sections in Heidelberg featuring wildlife viewing spots and interpretive signs that actually make you stop and look. Whether you’re in it for the exercise or the bugs, there’s something peaceful about it.

What to know:

No lake swimming? No problem. Codorus has a hilltop pool with spray features and sweeping views of Lake Marburg — without the goose poop.

This place gets busy on weekends and holidays, so plan accordingly. Midweek afternoons are quieter, the snack bar hits the spot, and the pool is accessible for all ages and abilities.

What to know:

📍 Codorus State Park Swimming Pool

The library is buzzing with fun and free activities for the whole family this June! We’re talking storytimes, hands-on art, science by the lake, and a chance to read to a real dog. Bonus: it's air-conditioned. Here's a sneak peek at some of the programs:

June Highlights:

Special Events:

📍 2 Library Place | Guthrie Memorial Library

Looking to give back this summer? Whether you have a few hours or a few days, there are plenty of ways to make a meaningful impact right here in our community.

Love local events? Lend a hand at Main Street Hanover’s Barbecue & Brews Stroll. Volunteers help with setup, check-in, greeting guests, and cleanup. Easy 2-hour shifts, fun vibe, great way to meet people.

📍 Center Square, Hanover, PA 17331
🔗 Volunteer with Main Street Hanover 

ECO is back at Codorus State Park! This two-day event (June 7–8) is packed with family fun, outdoor activities, and community pride — and it runs on volunteers. Help is needed for:

Shifts are flexible, and any time you can give makes a difference. Great for individuals, families, or groups.

📍 1066 Blooming Grove Rd, Hanover, PA
🔗 Volunteer at Experience Codorus Outdoors

👀 Learn more about other volunteer opportunities at Codorus State Park

Want to give back in a hands-on way? New Hope Ministries needs volunteers to sort food, help with summer youth programs, assist at community events, or teach life skills classes. Flexible options, real impact.

📍 135 Baltimore St, Hanover, PA
🔗 Volunteer at New Hope Ministries

If you know of other local volunteer opportunities, reply to this email — I'd love to feature more ways our community comes together.

You know what weed deserves more recognition? That odd-looking plant you probably yanked out of the ground last week. Milkweed.

Yep, that one — tall and sturdy, with clusters of soft pink or purple flowers. Crack open a stem or leaf, and you’ll find it full of milky sap. You might have dismissed it as a nuisance. But not all weeds are unwanted. Some are life support.

Milkweed isn’t just helpful. It’s essential. Monarch butterflies migrate thousands of miles from Mexico to find it. It’s the only plant where they’ll lay their eggs. And in recent years, there hasn’t been enough of it.

A lack of milkweed is just one of many threats monarchs face. Their migration and life cycle are being disrupted by habitat loss, pesticides, climate change, and parasites like OE.

In December 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommended listing monarch butterflies under the Endangered Species Act, citing drastic population declines. They called for public action and habitat restoration to help reverse the trend.

One of the best ways to support monarchs? Start local. Create more habitat in your yard, school, church, workplace, or any patch of land where nature has room to breathe — even a forgotten roadside or a fallow field can make a difference.

1. Choose native milkweed.
In Pennsylvania, your best bet is common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). Avoid tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica), which grows year-round in warmer climates. Since it doesn’t die back in winter, it can become invasive and take over your garden. It also tends to harbor OE — a microscopic parasite that weakens or kills monarchs.

2. Plant with safety in mind.
Milkweed is toxic to cats and dogs if ingested, and it spreads fast. While most pets won’t touch it, it’s smart to keep it contained in a garden bed or raised planter, especially in pet-friendly yards.

3. Skip the chemicals.
No pesticides. No herbicides. Ever. Monarch caterpillars feed exclusively on milkweed leaves, and even small amounts of chemical residue can disrupt their entire life cycle.

4. Add some flowers.
Milkweed feeds the caterpillars, but adult butterflies need nectar too. Surround your patch with pollinator favorites like:

5. Let it look wild.
Milkweed doesn’t care about curb appeal, and neither should you. Let it grow tall. Let it lean. Let it feed something greater than your HOA's expectations.

This space is reserved for the tender things — love notes, drawings, bits of kindness, and quiet reminders that we belong to each other.

For this first issue, I want to share a handwritten message from someone who shaped not only my life but the lives of so many students in our community: Sam Little. We knew her as Mrs. Little, our high school art teacher.

Mrs. Little wasn’t just beloved by the quiet kids or the misfits. She was everyone’s favorite. The varsity athletes loved her. The theatre kids adored her. The creative souls? She saw them long before they saw themselves.

Her laughter was contagious. Her hands were always cold. Her nose was always running. Her dark hair stayed twisted in a tight little bun, and she always wore black. Her eyes would light up whenever she talked about her students, her latest art project, or a big idea that had taken hold of her heart.

She made people feel safe. She made them feel seen. She had a way of disarming you, like she already knew who you were underneath it all and couldn’t wait for you to realize it too.

She was my biggest cheerleader, always encouraging me to take the leap before I felt ready. For my birthday in 2019, she gave me a book called If You Feel Too Much by Jamie Tworkowski, the founder of To Write Love on Her Arms. Inside the front cover, she scribbled a message in her familiar handwriting: "Fear looks. Faith leaps. LEAP, my love."

I still carry those words.

Sam wore her heart on her sleeve, and that was part of what made her magic. She cared deeply — about her students, about her work, about the people who mattered to her. The world lost her in June of 2020, but she lives on in all of us who were lucky enough to sit in her classroom.

This newsletter exists because of her. Even now, years later, her words are still pushing me to be brave.

Starting Heart of Hanover has been my biggest leap of faith yet. Thank you for taking it with me.

Who’s your Mrs. Little?
If someone in your life ever saw your potential before you did, I’d love to hear about who helped you take your leap. Send emails to [email protected].

Thanks for spending a few minutes with Heart of Hanover. Whether you read every word or just skimmed this weekend’s events (no judgment), I’m glad you're here.

This newsletter is a small experiment in connection — a love letter to this town and the people who make it feel like home. My hope is that it sparks something in you. Maybe a memory. Maybe a smile. Maybe a reason to say hello to a neighbor you haven’t met yet.

If you enjoyed this issue, consider forwarding it to a friend or mentioning it to someone at the coffee shop. Word of mouth is the most neighborly marketing there is.

Here’s to brighter days, fuller hearts, and neighborhoods that feel like family.

See you soon,
Megan

P.S. Next week’s issue includes a scoop on Hanover’s best ice cream spots, an interview with one of downtown’s most community-minded businesses, a fresh take on Father’s Day, and a few surprises you won’t want to miss.