Ring in 2022 both locally and across the pond when the Winters Heritage House Museum and Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church hold a New Year's Eve celebration. The event will run from 3 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 31, at both the museum, 47 E. High St., Elizabethtown, and the church, 125 E. High St, Elizabethtown.

Part of the festivities will include marking midnight in Letterkenny, Ireland, the sister city of Elizabethtown. "At 7 p.m., the church will raise a star to welcome 2022," said Nancy Landis, director of the Winters Heritage House Museum, noting that 7 p.m. in Elizabethtown is midnight in Ireland. "Our town founders, Barnabas and Elizabeth Hughes, came from Letterkenny."

Activities at the church will include a chicken barbecue dinner, the proceeds of which help to cover the cost of the event. The barbecue is the only component of the event with a fee. "At the church, there will also be free hot dogs, popcorn, hot cocoa, s'mores and bingo," Landis noted.

The museum will offer children's crafts, a balloon artist and traditional demonstrations in hand-spinning and hearth cooking. "All of this is free," Landis said.

The partnership between the museum and the church is a natural one that began soon after the church held its first New Year's Eve event in 2015. "The museum jumped in to help two years later," Landis recalled. "The church and the museum work together well. Both have a wonderfully rich history, which lends to a strong bond."

The church facilities manager, Phil Clark, has written several books on the history of the church as well as Elizabethtown military heroes and researched some of that through the museum's Seibert Genealogy Research Library, she noted. "The church also helps us with our annual Third Grade Walking Tours and some other programs," Landis said.

She said the New Year's Eve celebration promises to be a great way to ring in the new year. "It's a very fun evening, with lots to see and do, and at the perfect price - free," she stated. "If you have young children, it lets them celebrate New Year's Eve early. Then, there's still plenty of time to go out for the traditional New Year's celebration afterwards."

Tickets for the chicken barbecue may be purchased at the Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church office, on Mondays through Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. or after services on Sundays. For more information on the event, visit http://www.elizabethtownhistory.org.