EPHRATA, Pa. — Historic Ephrata Cloister is hosting their annual lantern tours this week, returning to an in-person format after going virtual last year due to the pandemic.
The cloister was built as a religious community by German settlers in the 1720s.
The lantern tours take visitors through a different true story each year through interactive storytelling. Local high school students volunteer to play the characters.
This year the story is about cloister community members who refused to pay a “Single Man Tax” required by the British government. Several members protested the tax on religious grounds and wound up spending several days in jail before being released to argue their case in court. A compromise was eventually reached that the community would pay land taxes but not the Single Man Tax.
“We do a new story every year. These are stories that are part of history, but they're on the fringes of our main story,” said museum educator Michael Showalter, who also oversees the lantern tour productions. So I think it helps visitors learn that there's a lot of things to discover here in the community.”
The tours run through Dec. 30. They begin at 6:15 p.m. and run every 15 minutes. The audience for each tour will be limited to 15 people. Masks will be worn by all the volunteers and staff involved in the program, and masks are strongly encouraged among guests to help insure everyone's safety, especially the younger guests.
Advance tickets are required and can be purchased by calling the Historic Ephrata Cloister at (717)733-6600. Admission is $10 for adults, $9 for Seniors (age 65+), $7 for youth age 6 to 17, $5 for children age 3 to 5, and under age 3 is free.