It’s official! Lewisburg is becoming a designated River Town as part of the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership’s River Town Program.  What does that mean?  It means we are participating in a network larger than just our county or region.  It's the watershed.  It stretches across three states, but joined by a common experience, life in the abiding presence of the Susquehanna River.  It's a group founded on the principle that economic development favors river towns.  We will be part of the larger promotion of the concept of river towns, their features, identities and benefits.  And we will gain access to resources that will allow us to move to our next steps of defining our River Town vision and goals as a community and developing an action plan (see below for how to participate in visioning in November).

So, come celebrate the designation with us at the final Picnic in the Park of the year on Thursday, September 25, from 5 to 7pm, at Soldiers Memorial Park on N Water St in Lewisburg.  Hopefully, people now know the drill.  But if you haven't been before, it's not complicated:  Bring your own blanket or chair and either pack your own picnic or purchase dinner on site from the food trucks that will be on hand.  This month we will have That Kitchen Witch serving Mexican fare and shepherd's pie and the Flying Bison offering cheesesteak and chicken cheesesteak, pierogies with onions, soft pretzels, and cheese pizza.  In addition, we'll have some baked treats at the River Town table.

And looking ahead, consider participating with our Bull Run Clean Up.  Trash, like water, flows downhill, so cleaning up Bull Run helps keep the river clean, too.  We invite the public to join us in this effort scheduled on Sunday, October 26, from 2:30 to 4:30pm, meeting at Kidsburg in Hufnagle Park.  Stay tuned for more information in this new collaboration with the Union County Industrial Railroad and the Lewisburg & Buffalo Creek Railroad, which will allow the clean up to include picking up litter along the tracks.

Then in November we will have our River Town Public Meeting on Thursday, November 6, at 7pm at the Senior Center on N 2nd St.  That will be a good time to learn in more detail about the potential range and options we can pursue as a river town and to contribute your perspective on what our priorities should be moving forward.

So that's a little something for everyone:  the Picnic is a welcoming event, good for all ages; the clean up is perfect for the more active among us; and the public meeting will call on our deliberative and contemplative sides.  Take your pick.  Or come to all of them.  Let your inner River Town resident identity come to the fore.  In some terminology, that might be as a River Rat.  What is the appropriate terminology for Lewisburg, our Riverburg?  Let's find out together.