YORK, Pa. — Musicians, it's time to tune your guitars.
The Cigar Box Guitar Festival will return this weekend to once again fill downtown York with the sound of music. Organizers say upwards of 1,000 people have attended previous years.
This is the 14th year of the festival after the previous owners of The York Emporium, Jim and Pam Lewin, started it in 2010. This year's festival will be the first with Scott McLaughlin, the new owner of the bookstore, running the show.
"I'm excited for it, yeah," McLaughlin said. "It's going to be really cool. I've enjoyed it in years past, and this year especially I think is going to be great. And Jim was a big part of it this year; he set up the bands and did a lot of the work."
Fourteen bands representing three different states will perform across two stages all day. A performance schedule can be found here.
Organizers say the performances will be a mix of genres including folk, blue grass, country, blues and more. The only unifying requirement is that each band that plays the festival must have a cigar box guitar or similar improvised instrument.
"That's the cool thing about the Cigar Box Festival, is these guys actually made a lot of their instruments," McLaughlin said. "But they have to play this on stage. With improvised instruments it's a little different."
There will be a variety of vendors outside for guests to peruse as well as cold drinks, food, shirts for sale and lots of books and other curiosities inside to browse.
The festival will be held at The York Emporium, a used book store located at 343 W. Market St. in downtown York.
The event runs from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 26 and is free to attend. Free parking is also available at the Susquehanna Commerce Center lot and garage, which is located about a block and a half from the main venue at 221 W. Philadelphia St.