Be A Part of County Founding Day!
Calling all local historians—and bakers! LancasterHistory’s annual County Founding Day celebration is coming on Thursday, May 8, and we want you to be part of it! For County Founding Day 2025, we’re introducing two opportunities for Lancastrians to help us celebrate our community’s 296th birthday.
A lineup of Regional History Flash Talks will give local historians (amateurs or professionals!) an opportunity to present their research to our engaged audience of members, supporters, and history enthusiasts. Each applicant that is selected for inclusion will have 15 minutes to speak about a local history topic on which they’ve conducted research. Speakers will also have space to display documents or artifacts in their possession as well as those requested from the LancasterHistory collection. Considerations include use of primary sources, especially those in the LancasterHistory collections; research on topics that have been underrepresented in LancasterHistory programming; and prior speaking experience.
LancasterHistory is also seeking bakers to participate in our inaugural County Founding Day Cake Contest! As part of the County Founding Day festivities, we’re hosting our very own Cake Wars-style competition, and we’re looking for bakers to take part. Cakes should represent the history of Lancaster County, whatever that means to you! This event celebrates all of Lancaster’s history from the 1600s to the present day and we hope the cakes will too. Bakers might incorporate historic flavors, use family recipes, or decorate their cake with motifs from the LancasterHistory collections. This is your chance to be creative and express your love for Lancaster in dessert form! Cakes will be judged by a diverse panel of judges at the event on May 8th. Judging criteria include taste, creativity, and representation of Lancaster County. LancasterHistory will contribute $50 toward the cost of ingredients for selected applicants. Cakes should serve about 24 people (9” round cake or 9”x13” sheet cake).
Applicants selected to give a flash talk or bake a cake will receive a one-year individual membership to LancasterHistory. The top baker will also win a prize package of LancasterHistory merchandise.
How to Apply
Please complete the form below to be considered for a Regional History Flash Talk or the Cake Contest (or both!). The application deadline has been extended to close at 11:59pm on Sunday, April 20. Applicants will be notified of our decision by April 25. Thank you!
NOTE: If the form does not appear below, please clear your browser history/cookie cache and then refresh the page. The form should then appear below. If you are unsure how to do that or need additional assistance, please contact mabel.rosenheck@lancasterhistory.org.
Thank you for your interest! Applications are now closed. Applicants will hear from LancasterHistory by April 25th. Thank you!