Do you want to spend time in a historic building with sleep-deprived museum professionals?
If the answer is yes, you might be craving Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center’s 24 Hours on the Ridge.
The center in Gettysburg’s historic Schmucker Hall will be open from 5 p.m., Nov. 2 to 5 p.m., Nov. 3 for its second annual “24 Hours on the Ridge” event. The all-nighter ties into the Adams County Community Foundation Giving Spree on Nov. 3, but organizers also want the event to be a friend-raiser as much as a fundraiser.
“We do want to be part of the community, we want to be accessible and fun,” Director of Outreach Rob Williams said.
Attendees will have mostly free access to the museum, including the historic cupola that Brigadier General John Buford and his Signal Officer, Lt. Aaron Jerome used as a lookout post during the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. Other free events include speakers, trivia, film screenings, interpretive walks, and interactive programs. There will be a fee for sunset, midnight and sunrise cupola tours and an evening spirits tasting featuring drinks from Mason Dixon Distillery.
“We are just going to power on through,” Executive Director Pete Miele said.
Williams said the first “24 Hours on the Ridge” in 2021 exposed new visitors to the museum, raised much-needed funds and personally connected museum leaders with their visitors.
“We were having conversations we otherwise would not been able to have. That really fostered the sense of community,” Williams said.
Miele concurred.
“We are a serious museum, we are a scholarly museum,” Miele said. “We cover some very serious topics but we need to recognize there are points we need to have fun.”
The Adams County Giving Spree occurring in November benefits the museum greatly, Miele said, because revenue from ticket sales is slim in the winter.
“We continue to incur significant costs to protect this building and protect our artifacts on display. Even though our attendance dwindles, our bills do not stop coming,” Miele said. “This is a great way to support us during a time it gets kind of lean.”
For more information on Seminary Ridge Museum and “24 Hours on the Ridge,” visit www.seminaryridgemuseum.org.
Featured image caption: Rob Williams and Pete Miele of the Seminary Ridge Museum stand in the museum’s historic cupola. The community will have the opportunity to visit the cupola for free during “24 Hours on the Ridge” Nov. 2-3. (Photo by Alex J. Hayes)
Alex J. Hayes has spent almost two decades in the Adams County news business. He is passionate about sharing stories focused on the people in our communities and following local governments in an age when few journalists report on their meetings. Alex is also a freelance writer for several other publications in South Central Pennsylvania. Alex encourages readers to contact him at ahayes83@gmail.com.