The county's apple-throwing cryptid ended up with two rival festivals, and HonkMobile and PayByPhone now work at city meters.

The Digest

Lancaster County's apple-throwing cryptid now has two festivals

The Albatwitch is a hairy humanoid who, as the legend goes, lives near Chickies Rock, steals apples and lobs the cores at anyone who wanders too close. Since 2014 Columbia has thrown him a festival, modeled on the Mothman Festival in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. This year there are two. The Columbia Albatwitch Harvest Festival runs 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26 at Columbia River Park, and Albatwitch Day runs 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10 across the river at Riverfront Park in Wrightsville. Both are free.

Chris Vera and ghost hunter Rick Fisher started it together and ran it together until 2025, when Vera moved the event to Wrightsville and Fisher, who wanted it to stay in Columbia, stepped back. Fisher says enough Columbia residents asked him to bring it home that he restarted one there. "I'm not trying to compete with him," Fisher said. "(Both festivals) offer something different." Vera's benefits the Columbia Historic Preservation Society, Fisher's benefits Columbia Borough parks and rec.

Read more at LancasterOnline →

Two more parking apps now work at city meters

The Lancaster Parking Authority has added HonkMobile and PayByPhone to the on-street kiosks downtown, so ParkMobile is no longer the only app that works. The authority runs about 1,100 metered spaces, most of them in the city, and the meters themselves cost 25 cents per six minutes. The apps are not free to use. As of Monday, HonkMobile and ParkMobile were each charging a 35 cent convenience fee and PayByPhone 45 cents.

ParkMobile had the city to itself for more than a decade.

Read more at LancasterOnline →

What's happening

Wednesday

Ephrata Fair: Senior Citizens' Day and Parade Night | Senior Citizens' Day activities run 10 to 2, rides open at 4 and the parade steps off at 7 | 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM | Main and State streets, Ephrata, with agricultural exhibits at Grater Memorial Park | No admission price listed

West Lampeter Community Fair | Fair opens at 1, tractor parade at 6:30, cake and pie auction at 7, Fair Queen contest at 7:30 | 1:00 PM - 10:00 PM | West Lampeter Fairgrounds, 851 Village Rd | Free

Adult Board Game Night | Open board game night for adults | 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM | Columbia Public Library, 24 South 6th Street, Columbia | No fee listed, registration required

Decoding the Deck: Intro to Tarot History and Symbolism | A history-first look at where tarot imagery actually comes from | 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM | Manheim Township Public Library, Morgan Center B, 595 Granite Run Drive, Lancaster | No fee listed, registration required

An Evening with Alma Katsu | A horror pop-up shop at 6, then a screening of The Substance | 6:30 PM | Zoetropolis, 112 N. Water St., Lancaster | Price not listed

Trivia Night at Southern Market | Weekly trivia with $1 off drafts and gift cards for the top three teams | 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM | Southern Market, 100 South Queen Street | Free admission

Thursday

West Lampeter Community Fair | Baby Parade and the L-S marching band concert at 6, Barnyard Chase at 7, tractor games at 8:30 | 9:00 AM - 10:00 PM (baby parade 6:00 PM) | West Lampeter Fairgrounds, 851 Village Rd | Free

Ephrata Fair: Kids' Day | Kids Day activities 1 to 4, the livestock sale at 6 and antique tractor games at 6:30 | 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM | Main and State streets, Ephrata, with agricultural exhibits at Grater Memorial Park | No admission price listed

Behind the Signatures | Founding father biographies, handwriting analysis and practicing signatures with fountain pens | 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM | Adamstown Area Library, 110 W. Main St | No fee listed, registration required

Midday Mahjong | Open mahjong play, beginners welcome | 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM | Manheim Township Public Library, 595 Granite Run Drive | No fee listed, registration required

Little Terrarium of Terrors: A Happy Hour Workshop | Build a spooky terrarium with carnivorous plants and a handmade figurine to keep | 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM | Gallery Grow, 320 N. Queen St., Lancaster | Price not listed, register through Eventbrite

Tech Lancaster Meetup | Two talks, one on medical tech history and one on smart home setups that skip the cloud | 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM | West Art, 816 Buchanan Ave | No cost listed

Songs of Summer: Music Trivia | Music trivia in the market's main hall | 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM | Southern Market, 100 S. Queen Street, Lancaster | No entry fee listed

Ragtime: Pay-What-You-Want Performance | Set your own ticket price, sold in person on the day starting at 4 PM | 7:30 PM | Fulton Theatre, 12 North Prince Street | Pay what you want, in person from 4 PM, limit 4

Now Playing

Joshua | The Sight & Sound production running through Dec. 31 on their main stage | Wed and Thu 11 AM & 3 PM · Fri 3 PM & 7 PM · Sat 11 AM, 3 PM & 7 PM · dark Sun and Mon | Sight & Sound Theatres, 300 Hartman Bridge Road, Ronks | $82 to $104 adults, $44 ages 2 to 12

Pretty Woman: The Musical | The Dutch Apple's run of the Broadway musical, on through Sept. 30 | Wed 11:30 AM lunch and 1 PM show · Wed 6 PM dinner and 7:30 PM show · Thu 5:30 PM dinner and 7:30 PM show | Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre, 510 Centerville Rd., Lancaster | Show only $55, dinner and show $78 to $83, plus a $3 per ticket fee

Dear Soldier Boy | A 1990 Amish-country musical comedy running through Oct. 21 | Wed 1 PM · Thu 7 PM | Bird-in-Hand Stage, 2760 Old Philadelphia Pike #A, Bird-in-Hand | $47 adults, $18 children, show only

Live music

Wednesday

West Art Open Mic with Andrew Pauls | Open mic / acoustic | 7:00 PM | Art Bar at West Art, 816 Buchanan Ave, Lancaster | No cover listed, sign-ups 6:30

Mdou Moctar | Saharan desert rock | 7:30 PM | West Art Sanctuary, 816 Buchanan Ave, Lancaster | $20 advance / $25 door

Eyehategod with Whores. and No/Más | Sludge metal | 8:00 PM | Phantom Power, 121 W. Frederick St., Millersville | $25 advance / $30 day of show, 18 and over

Thursday

Mike Tamburo and Monica Mullen (Sonic Adventure) | Ambient / gongs and hammered dulcimer | 6:30 PM | West Art City Hall, 816 Buchanan Ave, Lancaster | $40

St. Eloise with The Wreck Light | Jazz/pop | 7:00 PM | Zoetropolis, 112 N. Water St., Lancaster | Price not listed

Lancaster Symphony Orchestra: The Music of Queen | Orchestral rock tribute | 7:00 PM | Lancaster County Convention Center, 25 S. Queen St., Lancaster | Price not listed

Martina McBride | Country | 7:30 PM | American Music Theatre, 2425 Lincoln Hwy E., Lancaster | $99 / $109 / $119 / $139