City: Gettysburg, PA

Category: Annual Events & Festivals

Telephone: (866) 889-1243

Description: Heritage Days honors the Civil War in general and the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863) in particular. Events start the weekend before the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg and end on July 4. There are activities daily, and the program features reenactments of some of the battles that occurred during the Gettysburg battle of July 1, 2, and 3. (For more on the reenactments, see the Gettysburg National Military Park chapter.) In addition to the reenactments, you can attend a Civil War Collectors Show and a Civil War book show (see separate listings in this chapter) and also enjoy living-history soldier encampments, period music, a Civil War lecture series, and National Park Service anniversary walks. Additional events include the Fireman’s Carnival (see listing within this chapter), author appearances, band concerts, and kids’ programs. And each year brings new events. For instance, in a past year you could have watched a reenactment of Confederate troops taking control of the Shriver House on Baltimore Street during the day and participated in a haunted trolley tour to look for ghosts in the evening.