Inside Hershey

The Circus Comes to Hershey —Today!

The Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus will perform at the GIANT Center from May 26-31 this year—as usual, over the Memorial Day weekend. Tickets to the "Funundrum" performances are still available from the GIANT Center box office, by phone at 717-534-3911.

The troupe's train is scheduled to arrive in Hershey on Monday, May 24 between the hours of 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Having waited for the Circus Train to arrive in Hershey in previous years, I can tell you that the times are always approximate, and the train is often held up en route by freight traffic on the line. The train unloads just behind the Hershey post office, and there is convenient parking in the garage between the post office and the Hershey Press Building.

Pronio's Market | Real Hershey

It's fun to spend a weekend at Hersheypark, stay at the luxurious Hotel Hershey and visit all the tourist attractions in the area. But if that's all you do, you'll miss the real Hershey.

If you're looking for the flavor of the real town, you need go no further than Pronio's Market, in the heart of Hershey at the corner of Caracas Avenue and Valley Road. There, you'll find a typical small-town grocery with a whole lot more: hard-to-find Italian specialties, local artisanal foods, friendly service and plenty of history.

In 1916, Michael and Rose Pronio opened Pronio’s Market as a “parlour market"—a small, in-home store that existed before autos and mass transportation were the norm.  From that first location in Spring Creek to its current location on Caracas Avenue (since 1962), Pronio's Market has taken great pride in offering the finest meats and freshest food items. Owner Vince Pronio and son Mike Pronio (who manages the store) are often on hand to personally greet their patrons (or grind some fresh meatloaf mix, if you need it!)

Our family has shopped at Pronio's since the store's beginnings; they were part of the influx of Italian immigrants who came in the early 1900s to help Milton Hershey built his town. Today, we take our kids where their great-grandparents shopped, happy to support a great family business that's also a wonderful part of the real Hershey.

Hershey Concerts for 2010

Although the Hershey summer concert series hasn't been officially announced yet, we've found out about some great acts coming to town this year. Keep checking here for more concert news—it seems like a new concert is announced every day in spring!

• Trans Siberian Orchestra - April 3 - Hershey Theatre
• Ben Folds - April 10 - Hershey Theatre
• Goo Goo Dolls - April 13 - Hershey Theatre
• Bon Jovi - May 19 - Hersheypark Stadium
• Phish - June 13 - Hersheypark Stadium
• The Eagles with Keith Urban - June 15 - Hersheypark Stadium
• Brooks and Dunn - June 17 - GIANT Center
• Bamboozle Roadshow - June 25 - Hersheypark Stadium
• Dave Matthews Band - July 9 - Hersheypark Stadium
• American Idol Live  -  July 15  -  GIANT Center
• Meat Loaf - July 18 - GIANT Center
• John Mayer with Train - July 25 - Hersheypark Stadium *rescheduled to August 5, 7 p.m.*
• KISS  -  July 31  -  Hersheypark Stadium
  
• O.A.R. - August 4 - Star Pavilion *postponed due to severe storm; may be rescheduled*
• Daughtry with Kris Allen - August 6 - Star Pavilion
• Honda Civic Tour, featuring Tegan and Sara and Paramore - August 7 - Star Pavilion
• Rascal Flatts - August 12 - GIANT Center
• Jonas Brothers with Demi Lovato  -  August 14 -  Hersheypark Stadium
• Rihanna with Ke$ha - August 21 - Hersheypark Stadium
• Kings of Leon - September 8 - Star Pavilion
• Jackson Browne with David Lindley  -  September 9  - Hershey Theatre
• Nickelback with Three Days Grace and Buckcherry  -  September 25  - Hersheypark Stadium

What's New in Hershey?

Now that all that troublesome snow has melted, Hershey is preparing for another season of hosting out-of-town guests. Although there's no Big New Ride planned for Hersheypark this year, there are plenty of changes taking place around town that will make your stay in Chocolatetown even better!

Let's start with restaurants. The Fountain Café at the Hotel Hershey is now officially undergoing its transformation to an upscale Italian grill, which is slated to open this spring. And no more Tudor Grill at Hersheypark: it's rumored to be reopening as a family restaurant with a carousel theme.

In the village of Hershey, our favorite pizza place (Bricker's) has a new sister restaurant and bar next door called The Brickhouse (try the Angus burger there!) If you've ventured outside the Hershey orbit slightly to try the fine dining at al Mediterraneo in Hummelstown, you won't find it there—at least not in its former fine dining format. Al Mediterraneo has just reopened as The Gas Station gastro pub. Finally, if it's been more than a year since your last visit, you'll want to try the Hotel Hershey's new Harvest Restaurant and the new Devon Seafood Grill downtown (in the Hershey Press Building).

There are some non-culinary changes afoot in Hershey as well this year, and these are of the temporary-inconvenience-permanent-improvement variety. That's right, the dreaded road construction. There's a new bridge under construction over Swatara Creek, within sight of the GIANT Center. The bridge will replace the historic (and narrow) bridge just to the west on Hersheypark Drive.

While the bridge construction won't slow down many visitors, the realignment of Rt. 743 will irritate plenty of people for the next two years. Here's the scoop on the project, which will begin this summer and continue through 2012:

• Cocoa Ave. will be realigned beginning at the Cocoa Ave. / Caracas Ave. intersection and ending at Chocolate Ave. This will reduce the number of intersections from two to one in this area.
• Park Ave. will be realigned beginning at the Park. Ave. / Chocolate Ave. intersection and ending at the ZooAmerica parking lot entrance.
• A new bridge will be constructed east of the existing bridge to span over the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks. The existing bridge will be removed once this construction is finished.
• Park Boulevard (T-591) will be extended east to meet with the relocated Park Ave. roadway.
• New traffic signals will be installed at the Chocolate Ave. / Park Ave. intersection. Once the project is complete, only one signal will be used to control traffic in this area.

Definitely a needed improvement, and one that will ease traffic...eventually. But construction will have an impact on anyone driving through downtown Hershey in the meantime, and it's worth planning a detour if you're visiting Hershey this year!

Finally, Hershey's Chocolate World is adding a two-story, 1800-square-foot "factory experience" area that is expected to open by summer. Visitors will get to create their own chocolate bar, similar to the smaller Chocolate Lab program now available at The Hershey Story museum.

Welcome to March!

Now that Chocolate-Covered February has officially ended in Hershey, you may be wondering what the next Big Promotion will be. And Hershey Entertainment & Resorts has a good one lined up, beginning today: March Sweetness.

If you plan on visiting Hersheypark this season, it's well worth checking the Hersheypark web site this month—the sooner, the better. You'll have the chance to score some deeply discounted Hersheypark tickets, as well as the opportunity to book hotel packages at the best rates of the season. For Hersheypark tickets, the earlier the purchase is made, the greater the savings. A maximum of ten tickets is allowed per transaction. Pricing is as follows:

• March 1 to 7, tickets are $20 off regular admission
• March 8 to 14, tickets are $18 off regular admission
• March 15 to 21, tickets are $16 off regular admission
• March 22 to 31, tickets are $14 off regular admission

One caveat: all discounted tickets must be used by July 1, 2010.

Basketball (or Hershey's bar character) fans also have a chance to predict the winner of Hershey's "March Sweetness" tournament and win a grand prize.

Hersheypark's summer season begins on May 1 this year; the "Springtime in the Park" preview weekend has been expanded to two weekends: April 2,3 and 4, plus April 10 and 11.

Need a Break from Holiday Happenings?

 
 

Ditch your holiday stress and take some time out to catch the feel-good hit musical, "Legally Blonde."

The musical arrives in Hershey today, with eight performances beginning this evening and running through Sunday. Tickets, which range from $25 to $80, are still available. Tickets can be purchased at the Hershey Theatre box office or by phone at 717-534-3405.

Christmas in Hershey

Although it may seem a little early to see Christmas lights and decorations, Hershey is beginning to show its holiday colors this week.

Festive displays are in place at Hersheypark and ZooAmerica, the Kissing Tower tree is up and Sweet Lights is lighting up the night (and the day, occasionally) as every bulb in this multi-million-light display is checked. Yes, it's almost time for Christmas in Hershey—in fact, the season officially begins here this Friday!

Hersheypark's Christmas Candylane opens on Friday, November 13 at 5:00 p.m. Many rides will be operating (no coasters and no water rides, obviously) and Santa will be there with his reindeer. New this year—N.O.E.L., a light show in Comet Hollow featuring more than 125,000 dancing lights synchronized to Christmas music. Christmas Candylane hours are typically limited to weekends until mid-December; be sure to check the schedule before you make plans.

Sweet Lights also makes its debut this Friday. It's become a holiday tradition for our family, worth at least one $20-per-car visit. And don't be fooled—the lights you can see from the road are only a small part of the Sweet Lights experience, which winds up and down the forested hill behind the Hotel Hershey as well.

The National Christmas Tree Walk at Hershey Gardens opens this Friday as well. Now in its third year, this display of Christmas trees decorated with ornaments of the 50 states is growing in popularity. It's open from 10-4 each day from November 13 through December 27.

Holiday decorations at Hershey's Chocolate World this year include a new attraction: a 13-foot-tall Candy Chalet, slated to open on November 20.

For more indoor holiday entertainment, check out "Christmas in Chocolate Town," a dinner show at the Hershey Lodge with performances running from November 20 through December 28. The GIANT Center has a full schedule of Hershey Bears games and public skating, as well as the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The Hershey Theatre has several holiday events and concerts (Wynonna Judd, Chris Botti) on tap as well.

There are more holiday offerings around town, many of which are included on the Christmas in Hershey weekly schedule of events.

Big Band Extravaganza | Hershey Theatre

The Hershey Symphony Orchestra's Big Band will launch the symphony's new season with a performance at the Hershey Theatre on Friday evening, September 18.

It's a great evening out for the whole family! Prices are $18 for Adults, $15 for Seniors (55+) and $8 for Students. Children 12 and younger will be admitted for free.

For more information about the Hershey Symphony, please contact the Symphony box office at 717-533-8449 or visit the Symphony's website.

Hershey Gardens for Free!

I just photographed a wedding at the Hershey Gardens yesterday, and I have to say the Gardens are as lush and gorgeous as I've ever seen them. The roses are in bloom, the annuals are blooming and the perennial grasses are spectacular!

So it's a perfect time to visit—and this Sunday, you can take your family to the Gardens free of charge, as the 14th annual Hershey Community Gardenfest at Hershey Gardens takes place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In addition to the amazing scenery, you'll enjoy performances by Hershey Area Playhouse, Hershey Gardens Puppet Patch Players and Central Pennsylvania Suzuki Association.

Several non-profit organizations will have exhibits, including the Hershey Horticulture Society, Susquehanna Valley Chapter of The Rhododendron Society, Hershey-Derry Township Historical Society, Hershey Christian School, The Garden Club of Harrisburg, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central PA and Dauphin County Master Gardeners.

And that's not all! From 1 to 3 p.m. local artisan Bruce Johnson will sign limited edition Hershey Gardens Children’s Garden posters as well as copies of the book “It's A Fine Line.”

The forecast for Sunday looks good, but the event will take place rain or shine!

Buy One, Get One Free Deal | Hershey Story and Hershey Gardens

Starting today, visitors to Hershey can take advantage of a great deal when they visit The Hershey Gardens and The Hershey Story.

To celebrate Milton Hershey's September birthday, both attractions are offering a "buy one, get one free" coupon for admissions between September 1 and October 15. Buy one admission to the Gardens and get an admission to The Hershey Story free—or vice versa. Click here to download a PDF version of the coupon, and enjoy a fun off-season day in Hershey!