LebTown exclusive: Lebanon Lilly sequel celebrates Lebanon County ag, tourism

The adventures of lovable Lebanon Lilly continue. 

The udderly adorable mascot of Visit Lebanon Valley returns in a second book titled More Adventures with Lebanon Lilly and Friends, set to be released in cooperation with and celebration of the 2025 Lebanon Area Fair.

The 69th edition of the fair runs at the fairgrounds in North Cornwall Township from July 19 to 26.

Kuzo said she will read the book to children on Monday, July 21, at 10:15 a.m. in Wenger Pavilion during Children’s Day festivities, which includes free goodie bags to the first 500 children to visit the fair that day.

Jennifer Kuzo, president of Visit Lebanon Valley and author of both books, said during an exclusive LebTown interview that the bodacious bovine “moo-ves” about Lebanon County on eight different adventures with various family and friends in her latest outing.

“In the first book, Lily has a thirst for adventure, escapes from her pasture, and runs through the Lebanon Valley, finding the Cornwall (Iron) Furnace, finding Union Canal Tunnel, Coleman Memorial Park, the Lebanon Farmers Market, and so forth,” said Kuzo. “For this book, it’s five years later and we have Lilly have her barnyard animal friends and family come to visit her throughout the year, and where does she take them? To events and activities throughout the Lebanon Valley.”

Read More: Visit Lebanon Valley to release children’s book

Kuzo added one of her new adventures is about the Lebanon Area Fair. 

At the fair, Kuzo said Lilly and her friends have a treat that includes munching on funnel cakes, one of many countless delicious reasons to visit the Lebanon Area Fair. Some of Lilly’s friends include Jordan the goat, who always has a straw hanging from its mouth, Theo the horse, Adrian the lamb, Manny the duck, and Pete the piglet. 

That’s not Lebanon Lilly’s only agricultural tie in her second feature book, which totals 24 pages and comes with a soft-back cover.

“We celebrate Lily’s birthday every year in May at Patches Family Creamery with a party and one of the little boys that I read the book to came up to me afterwards and said, ‘You know you should have Patches in this book.’ And I said, ‘You know what? You’re right. I should.’ So we wanted to feature (Patches) in the book.”

Kuzo wrote in a follow-up email that a special reading of the new book will be held on Friday, Aug. 1, at 11 a.m. at Patches Family Creamery, 201 Fonderwhite Road, Lebanon. Kuzo added that coupons for free ice cream will be distributed by Visit Lebanon Valley, while supplies last, to those listening to the story.   

“The Lebanon Valley is one of the top dairy producers in PA and we have 46 percent acreage of farmland versus other acreage in our county. So this is a big part of who we are and it represents something for our community to have an identity,” Kuzo said. “You know that Disneyland has Mickey Mouse, why can’t we have Lebanon Lilly?”

Many other prominent destinations in the Lebanon Valley are included in this second book, she said.

“Another is at Swatara State Park for Earth Day, and she goes on the Bear Hole Trail to Bordner’s Cabin and Aycrigg’s Waterfall and learns to take only pictures and leave only footprints,” Kuzo added.

She said there’s also a nod to the annual Tour de Lebanon Valley and Mount Gretna, a premier destination for travelers around the country, especially during the bucolic mountain village’s annual Mount Gretna Outdoor Art Show.

That event grew last year with its inaugural international film festival, which is set to return in 2025 for its second year. The art show runs Aug. 16-17.

“We give a nod to the Tour de Lebanon Valley and biking. We give a nod to Mount Gretna and how you can have a wonderful day in Mount Gretna and several other places,” said Kuzo. “This book is not only a marketing piece geared towards first graders but also contributes to hometown pride.”

Still another destination is Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, she added. While there’s always plenty to do at this wildlife sanctuary, there’s a special time of the year to go there.

“She goes to Middle Creek to see all the geese in the winter time. Thousands of geese and thousands of visitors come to see the geese every year,” Kuzo said. 

Kuzo noted that Lillly’s adventures take place over the course of a year to reflect human life.

“Family and friends come to visit you typically throughout the year, whether it’s a family reunion or a wedding or just a little vacation and you know you’re going to take them, we’re suggesting to take them around Lebanon County and enjoy some of these great assets that we have in addition to going to Hershey and Harrisburg and Lancaster and Gettysburg,” Kuzo said. “They’ll go to all those places but don’t forget Lebanon County.”

The second book does differ from the first in one significant way. The illustration moves from being watercolor-based to cartoon art, which is the artistic styling preferred by Jonestown-based artist David Scheirer. He said he worked professionally 35 years ago as an independent illustrator for Crayola crayons and a Philadelphia T-shirt company before becoming a youth pastor.

“There was none or next to no pressure to repeat what was done in book one,” said Scheirer. “The way I differentiated it was book one was done by an artist who’s a watercolor artist and more of a fine art watercolor artist. That’s not me. I’m an illustrator and I’m a cartoonist, so I really don’t know that modality.”

Kuzo said she appreciates Scheirer’s artistic talents.

“He has a way of not so much watercolor, but more cartoonish fun. He has so much fun with these animals. Their personalities come out in these animals with his illustrations,” she said. “I don’t wanna talk for him, but you can tell he had fun doing it.”

About six years after the first book was published, it’s still popular with parents and young children in the Lebanon Valley, and Kuzo is certainly hoping the same is true this time too.

“I love that we have, even today, five years later, parents coming in and buying books and saying, ‘Oh, I just heard about this.’ Because there’s a whole new generation (to experience it),” she said. “It’s a fun community project and community pride that we offer. And surely we use it as a great marketing tool to promote the county. Because that’s our job. We are a marketing firm to promote the county. So that is the purpose it serves.”

Kuzo said the new book will be available at all six Lebanon County public libraries in Annville, Fredericksburg, Lebanon, Myerstown, Palmyra, and Richland, and cost $10 each, just like the first one. She added that proceeds from sales at those locations benefit the libraries, so for example a purchase in Myerstown benefits that particular library.

“Because we’re featuring more barnyard friends in this book, we’re going to include a sticker sheet of the animals with the book,” said Kuzo. “The libraries all keep the $10 when you purchase it at the library. And of course we’ll have them here at our office.”

Kuzo noted with a gleam in her eye that Lebanon Lilly is more than likely to have more fun adventures in the future across the Lebanon Valley.

“Well, you know, there are so many more places that Lilly could go. We haven’t shined the light on any of these other places. You know, if we don’t have fun in our office, enjoying the Lebanon Valley, we can’t do our job. So these are places that we wanted to share with the public as ideas of things to go to,” she Kuzo.

Hopefully, the book will spur readers to take action and experience local community assets themselves.

“Go out and enjoy the things that are right here in your own backyard. That’s the message that we needed to get out,” said Kuzo. “We needed to get out that you need to take your friends and family to Mount Gretna for the day, to the fair, to all these lovely places, exploring the outdoors. We have so many assets here in the Lebanon Valley. Our history is very rich and a historical site is part of one of the locations.”

Kuzo noted farm freshness is also a local commodity to be enjoyed by everyone throughout all seasons of the year.

“Enjoy the bountiful farm fresh produce that we have every year throughout the seasons. It’s also a big part of who we are and what makes us special in the Lebanon Valley,” she said.