|
Lancaster Bus Tour Descriptions F - Z
 Flinchbaugh's Orchard & Farm Market
Three generations of Flinchbaugh’s are involved in this dynamic operation that in 2006 built the market we will see on our tour. Our hosts Julie and her brothers Michael and Andrew all returned to the farm after college and have taken the business to the next level. The family passionately believes in community and is very active in farmland and farming issues. The family farms on 120 acres and produces orchard and produce crops, as well as field corn, soybeans, wheat and hay.
History and story lines? Oh yeah… The Flinchbaugh family once owned the orchards in Loganville that Stanley Brown's father purchased back in 1948. The connections on this tour day for Group 2 enhance the entire depth of learning. But why are we really bringing you here? The excitement of youth! Julie brings the unbridled enthusiasm of the next generation of our industry to life every day at the market and farm. So be prepared for the excitement as these young folks share their energy and vision for the future of this family farm that is a center piece of their community. It sure is nice now, and likely worth a visit again in ten more years!
Funk's Market & Garden Center
 Fred Funk has been an icon in the Pennsylvania retail farm market industry for over 40 years. The farm itself has operated since 1873. It was a dairy farm for two generations. In the early 60’s Fred changed the direction of the farm and began his life-long successful career in the produce and retail farm sales industry. In the early 80’s, over 240 acres of produce were being harvested.
Today, the retail market features a full service deli, bakery and retail gift area. It has over 4 acres of greenhouses and areas for the sale of nursery stock, including annuals and perennials attached to the retail farm store retail ( 12,500 square feet). Many of Funks’ innovative retail ideas are on display here. Like so many other mature farm market businesses across the continent, each corner, nook and cranny of the building tells a story in the evolution of the farm market business.
As the Funk’s move forward at this stage in their lives with no children entering the business, they have chosen to assist other marketers through their farm retail consulting business, as well as following the evolution of the farm to the next adventure. The discussion is certain to be lively as our host describes the current business and plans for the future.
Hershey's Chocolate World
Group 2 will visit Hershey’s Chocolate World where we’ll take the Chocolate Tour Ride and visit the Marketplace Shops. It gives agritainment operators a chance to view a very sophisticated educational tour of a very successful American business. The tour incorporates product promotion, propaganda, education, tasting and experience marketing all into a ride. How can you adapt morsels of this experience into your school tour or wagon ride to the PYO fields?
From the “Disney style” surroundings to the tasty treats, Hershey World appeals to all the senses.
You’ll take note of customer traffic management, suggestive selling, and superb script writing that even discusses Hershey’s special ingredient as “nutritious whole milk.” And guess where the ride ends? Yup, the Marketplace Shops. For experienced operators like NAFDMA members there are plenty of reinforcing, albeit obvious, messages on the surface at this stop. But if you look really carefully you’ll pick up a few new ideas too.
Hershey’s Chocolate World is a must see for anyone in the business of “fun” when in the Hershey area.
Kitchen Kettle Village
 Kitchen Kettle Village is a Lancaster County tourism treasure. It’s a microcosm of cooperation among business operators. You can visit the butcher shop, the candle shop, the gift shop or the animal area. You can choose to treat this stop as a learning experience and bring home ideas. Or you can make it your own tourism shopping experience and bring home souvenirs. But you can’t do it all, so decide where you’ll visit before you get off the bus, otherwise you’ll just be crazy with stimulation!
The Jam & Relish Kitchen is truly the heart of Kitchen Kettle Village. Quaint buildings that have been crafted over the past 50 years from the family homestead, the original garage, stables and even an old chicken coop provide authenticity while staying true to Kitchen Kettle’s philosophy of simple things and doing them right. Tree-lined lanes with names like Peach, Pepper, Rhubarb and Blueberry lead visitors to over 40 clothing, crafts, artisan and food shops, a fine arts gallery, two restaurants, 17 lodging rooms, plus special attractions for children. Kitchen Kettle Village is famous for its series of free seasonal Food Festivals that include live concerts, street entertainers, food tastings, crafts demonstrations, and fun activities for children of all ages.
Just follow your nose in and you’ll find Lancaster’s most celebrated canning kitchen. It’s an amazing family story that started in 1954 when Pat and Bob Burnley started canning in their new 2-car garage. People used to come as far away as Philadelphia to stock their pantries.
Today, the Kitchen Kettle Jam and Relish Kitchen also incorporates a bake shop, and annually attracts over a million visitors from points worldwide.
With two generations of Burnley’s by her side in the family business, Pat vows she will stop coming to work “when it is not fun any more.” She can be found in the Village’s Kling House Restaurant bussing tables, at new product meetings, and gracing newspaper ads and billboards.
If you process products on your farm or are just interested in how the products you have private labelled are produced, then you will be in awe of this stop. The store is absolutely full of marketing and sampling ideas. The Kitchen Kettle Village overall has take home nuggets for agritourism operators across the continent.
Lancaster County Showcase
Now here is something different!
NAFDMA’s objective on tour is to show the best our members have to offer when we visit their region. We also search for stops that will introduce our membership to innovative approaches taken by others in their quest for business excellence. Lancaster County Showcase brings together the cooperative spirit this region is known for, together with high quality products and a relationship building business approach that can be modeled by others.
The Lancaster County Showcase was established in January, 2005 by the Amish Oak Direct partnership of John Day & Ben Stoltzfus, Jr. Together they have more than 38 years of experience in the furniture industry, both from the manufacturing end and the marketing and distribution side. The Showcase is like a trade show, except that it is open all year-around. Retail store owners can visit anytime Monday through Friday, from 8:00am to 4:00pm, to find out what new products are out on the market. Beginning with just a handful of booths, it has now grown to the point where there are over 60 manufacturers displaying their wares. The variety has also grown. Product lines include furniture from the very fine to items made with stumps & roots; there is something for every store that sells furniture or country accessory items.
Each NAFDMA guest will walk away with something different from this stop. Some will just be in awe of the Amish influence and craftsmanship. Some will simply want to load up a tractor-trailer truck to furnish their complete home. Some will actually become customers of Lancaster Country Showcase as a supplier for resale items for years to come. Some will be inspired to adopt a form of the business model to support craftsmen in their area by showcasing local products in their part of the continent back home. Whatever the take home for you, you’ll be glad we added this unique stop to the tour.
Maize Quest Fun Park & Maple Lawn Farms
 If you have ever attended a NAFDMA conference then chances are you know the Maze Master, crazy Hugh McPherson. He founded Maize Quest Fun Park in 1997 with one corn maze and opened in the fall with, The Tree of Life Maze. Since then he has continued to build quality attractions at the farm to the point where he is now open year round with indoor and outdoor mazes. Hugh tells us Maze Quest Fun Park is the home to the largest collection of people-sized mazes in the world. Maybe it’s true!
Currently summer and fall season features the corn maze plus over 20 attractions in the park including the Bamboo Maze, Maze Mountain 80 foot Tube Slide, Pedal Karts, Miner Max Gemstone Mining, Perilous Planks, Boulder Dash and the Mist Maze.
In the winter, indoor attractions include the 3-D play maze, party rooms, and the Lost in Toyland Adventure Maze keep the children and families coming to the farm for magical moments. Hugh and his team are always working on something new, so who knows what we’ll see when we get there.
 If mazes and agritainment are not your thing, don’t worry! Those who have more interest in production farming and retail marketing can view The Market at Maple Lawn Farm and visit with Hugh’s father Paul. Paul will be happy to talk orchard production or even grains. Maple Lawn Farms produces cherries, blueberries, apricots, peaches, plums and apples as well as corn, wheat and soybeans. The market, though not open in the off season, is a conversion from the old barn. It includes an ice cream counter, beautiful murals, a brand new floor that’s worth looking at, and a number of other physical features that are designed to tie Maple Lawn Farm’s retail together with the Maze Quest Fun Park during the busiest seasons.
Paul, Hugh, and all the gang at Maize Quest and Maple Lawn Farms are looking forward to our visit. Hold on to your hat, this stop is likely to be one you will remember for a long time!
 Shady Maple Farm Market & Smorgasbord
It’s a gift shop. It’s a smorgasbord. It’s a grocery store. It’s a farm market.
You’ll hear all of the above, so you’ll just need to see it for yourself. Our purpose for making this stop is primarily to give you lunch and learning at the smorgasbord. But sure, you can visit the gift shop or the farm market turned grocery store, or even the nearby RV Lot. You might even be interested in walking through Good’s Store for a unique look at the rural discount store the locals use. This is yet another location where the bus will stop and you will have more choices than you can shake a buggy whip at.
Your tour guide will give you instructions on the timing for your buffet lunch sitting. You’ll be amazed at the size of this catering business. It’s built for tourism. A bus load here is like a needle in a hay stack. NAFDMA members who have any interest in catering should be prepared with a note pad when they come here.
Directly downstairs from the smorgasbord is the gift shop. It’s worth a quick look for everyone. But, beware. It’s liable to set our more avid shoppers waaayy off schedule. Those who want to get a little exercise, (a wise call based on the volume of food you’ll eat for lunch) might want to walk to the Shady Maple Grocery Store or to Good’s Store for a few minutes just to see more local color. The history of Shady Maple is pretty magnificent, and well worth a visit to their web site. Give it a look and decide for yourself how you can best use this NAFDMA learning experience to your best advantage.
Weaver's Orchard, Inc.
 Open year round the market at Weaver’s Orchard includes a deli, ice-cream deck, fresh fudge, gift boxes for both local and out of state delivery and their own special blend of UV pasteurized apple cider. Weaver’s Orchard’s goal is to provide families with a fun atmosphere where they can experience a wide range of pick your own crops as well as be entertained throughout the fall with their weekend festivals.
Weaver’s Orchard grows many kinds of fruit on our 100 acre farm beginning with strawberries in the spring and ending with apples in late fall, with a variety of other fruits and vegetables in between. Pumpkins and hayrides provide a great family outing in September and October.
The market carries a full line of locally grown produce when in season along with fruits and vegetables from around the world. Their bakery specializes in fruit pies including standards such as apple and various berry pies but also such regional delicacies as shoefly, and a line of no sugar pies that include apple, blueberry, pumpkin, peach, and cherry.
We’ll be hosted by Ed Weaver, his son Justin, and the Manager of the Market, Dwayne Musser, who is also President of Pennsylvania Retail Farm Market Association. They’re willing to talk to us about anything you see on the farm from the orchards to the high tunnels. Our focus in February will be on the market, where customer service comes first. That can be a challenge in peak season when things are so busy the customers are lined up out the door and the line meanders through the market until they end up at the register. Her is a market where maximizing space is key. Still they take pride in the way the market stays true to its roots. The farmers and staff can always interact with customers face-to-face across the fruit counter over the fruit displays and standing in front of the deli. That’s the way they want it.
Variety Stops
We have detailed the major stops for you. There are additional stops that will be added to your tour. We’ll run two different tour groups as outlined on the bus tour table. Each of the two groups will have as many as 4 different busses. Each bus may have access to different add-on stops based on routing and timing. All stops have been previewed to enhance the variety of businesses you see and learn from in this unique region. These stops will be smaller operations. Some have capacity to accommodate one bus in a their day. We’ll learn meaningful lessons from these too.
Your Bus – Your unique tour
As always on a NAFDMA tour, every bus becomes an experience unto itself. You will benefit from the guidance of your trained NAFDMA bus guide team and from all the passengers who join you for the three-day tour. You’ll see more photos and hear more ideas from co-passengers than you’ll take at the stops.
Due to the dynamics emerging from the different guides, fellow passengers, variety stops and order of major stops, each bus provides a unique learning and entertainment experience. In fact, NAFDMA runs as many different tours as there are busses on the road. It’s the priceless part of the NAFDMA Tour!
Maximize your farm’s return on investment. Bring your farm managers on tour too. Put them on different busses and gain from the multitude of information that flows through NAFDMA’s 7 or 8 different tours. Your Networking Association for Farm Direct Marketing and Agritourism provides professional development for the newest hire, the next generation, and the most experienced farm direct market operator like you can’t buy anywhere else. It’s that simple.
 
|
