11/30 Open Mic
The Franklin County Visitors Bureau (FCVB) is hosting 11/30 Open Mic on September 4 at 6:30 PM during First Friday in downtown Chambersburg. It will be held outdoors on the south side of the 11/30 Visitors Center, 15 South Main Street. Join us as a performer or to enjoy the evening’s talent. 11/30 Open Mic celebrates talent and is open to all ages. It is friendly, supportive, and encouraging atmosphere for all to perform and enjoy. FCVB welcome talent from within Franklin County, PA, or beyond.
A live-sound system, microphone and cables will be provided for use during the open mic. Performers using instruments, mobile devices, or other pieces of equipment must bring their own for their performance. A few guidelines for this open mic:
- Maximum of 3 songs per musical performance
- Other performers will have maximum of 15 minutes per performance
- Material must be family friendly and in good taste
- Performances will be live streamed via Facebook.com/FCVBen
To perform, sign up here on Eventbrite. For questions, please contact Evan Crider at 717.552.2977 or email ecrider@explorefranklincountypa.com.
Listeners are welcome to bring lawn chairs. FCVB will provide seating for 20 outside the visitors bureau. Please remember PA mask requirements and social distancing. In case of rain, the event will move indoors to the 11/30 Visitors Center.
Open Mic is just one way to enjoy Franklin County. The Franklin County Visitors Bureau invites all to explore history, arts and architecture, recreation, natural beauty, fresh foods and the warm hospitality of communities like Chambersburg, Greencastle, Mercersburg, Shippensburg, and Waynesboro. Learn more at www. ExploreFranklinCountyPA.com
Memorial Fountain
Memorial Fountain in the center of Chambersburg is beautiful. It sits on the convergence of two major highways, Route 11 and Route 30—the Molly Pitcher Highway and the Lincoln Highway.
The Memorial Fountain has been standing, on the “diamond” since 1878, to honor the men who fought in the Civil War and as an enduring symbol of rebirth. The cast iron fountain is 26 feet tall and 30 feet wide, with five basins. Eight cast iron posts in the shape of cannon barrels were made at T.B. Wood and Company foundry, weighing 600 pounds each. On March 13, 1968, the fountain received extensive damage when the upper four basins collapsed due to heavy snow and strong winds.
In 1977, a restoration was made for the preservation of the fountain that cost nearly $50,000. The fountain was placed on the list of Pennsylvania Historic Places and in May 1978, was also added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Chambersburg was the only town north of the Mason-Dixon Line to be burned during the Civil War. The soldier that stands at the fountain represents the faithful Union soldier guarding the southern gate of the fountain.
What is 11/30?
Yes, it will be the name of the Franklin County Visitors Bureau’s new home–the 11/30 Visitors Center. But long before the visitors bureau took up residence at the crossroads of downtown Chambersburg, 11/30 was where Molly Pitcher Highway meets the Lincoln Highway. It is the Crossroads of the Country, one of the major American intersection with a storied history told throughout the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. It is Route 11–the Molly Pitcher Highway– and Route 30–the Lincoln Highway. It is the center of Franklin County and the Memorial Square of Chambersburg.
In the 18th century, 11/30 was the crossroads of the nation as Sots-Irish and German immigrants pushed the boundary of the frontier westward. As the century moved forward, 11/30 was a colonial gateway transporting early Americans toward their dreams of a better life. 11/30 was bustling with taverns and inns; liveries, wheelwrights, and blacksmiths, and stores with all forms of supplies for the journey to a new life.
In the 19th century, steam power brought the trains and 11/30 served as a busy hub for the newest mode of transportation. When Civil War touched the nation, the square of Chambersburg was the meeting place of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and his Commander of the Third Corps, General A.P. Hill. On this site, the Confederate leaders conferred on movement of the Union troops, changed plans to move towards Harrisburg, and decided to move east toward Gettysburg. The pivotal history that followed is well-known. Then, on July 30, 1864, a year later Confederates returned to Chambersburg, ransomed the town, and with the ransom not met, burned the core of town. American spirit prevailed, and the town rebuilt.
At the beginning of the 20th century as Americans discovered the automobile and the individual freedom it brought, their paths again traveled through this crossroads of the country–11/30, the meeting point of the oldest east-west road and one of the oldest north-south routes.
11/30 is Main Street America, reminiscent of a scene in a Rockwell painting. It is parades, festivals, and First Fridays. 11/30 is the launching point to explore Franklin County’s Franklin trails of history, arts and architecture, recreation, natural beauty, fresh foods and the warm hospitality of communities like Chambersburg, Greencastle, Mercersburg, Shippensburg, and Waynesboro.