In Pennsylvania, Happy Valley’s noteworthy connections to Black history beckon study and further exploration, and serve as inspiration for future generations.

Expanding Arts, Gardens and Exhibits for 2021


This time last year, Boal Mansion and Columbus Chapel was a flurry of holiday activities. There were candlelight tours, Gregorian chants, a Christkindl market and a British tea. But things are very different this year. “The short answer is that we’re closed,” says Bob Cameron, director of the museum. But, he says, they’ve made lemonade from this year’s lemons. “In many ways, it’s been a highly successful year.”

The planned events for the 200th anniversary of Philipsburg’s Old Mud Church will not be taking place over the summer of 2020 due to restrictions of the COVID-19 epidemic. But this doesn’t mean the old church has been forgotten. A number of on-line celebrations will be hosted on the new website of the Philipsburg Historical Foundation, soon to be announced.

Saturday and Sunday, June 27 and 28, 2020, 9 AM – 5 PM each day. The 2020 celebration offers a weekend of special historic tours, programs, children’s activities and savings, plus a few new surprises everyone will enjoy! Portraying the roles of those significant in the discovery and history of the caverns, interpreters will offer a special historic tour of both Lincoln Caverns and Whisper Rocks. Tickets for adults and children will be offered for $9 in celebration of 90 years. Panning for gems is available for an additional charge. The one-hour historical tours leave from the visitors’ center approximately every half hour, rain or shine. No reservations are necessary to experience the splendor and beauty of Lincoln Caverns and Whisper Rocks, however tour size is limited, and are filled in the order tickets are sold. Masks are required in the Visitors Center and on the tour. As an added treat, ECHO THE BAT, Lincoln Caverns’ mascot, joins the family at Discovery Days, 12 – 3 PM both Saturday and Sunday, with photo ops and gifts for all our young visitors.