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2010 LeTort Festival


With its sparkling waters, lush green banks and nationally touted fish, the LeTort Spring Run is a well-loved natural resource—a place where generations of Dickinsonians and local residents kick back, take in the view and perhaps hook a few of its famously plentiful trout. In fact, this nationally touted fishing stream is one of the reasons that Carlisle was selected to be the seat of the county in 1751.

But many don’t realize that the LeTort is highly vulnerable to stormwater accumulation and pollution. So, Dickinson’s Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM) co-organized the third-annual LeTort Festival, a fun-filled event that helped hundreds of residents learn how to help protect the local natural environment.

Fact-filled, family-friendly fun

Presented in partnership with the Borough of Carlisle, Cumberland Valley Trout Unlimited and the LeTort Regional Authority, the May 8 festival offered kid- and family-friendly activities, live performances by Dickinson and community groups, food, crafts, environmentally themed artwork, stream-monitoring and fly-casting demonstrations and educational presentations. [Story continues below.]


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  • The REACH (Respect Education Through the Arts Challenge) dance group performs to hip-hop hits at the pavilion in Carlisle's LeTort Park.
    REACH
  • More than 100 volunteers helped plant 380 native trees in a pre-festival ceremony hosted by Rachel Billingham of the DCNR TreeVitalize program and WITF radio’s Paul Zavinsky. 
    Budding Woodland
  • More than 40 organizations provided information about the need to preserve natural resources. Festival-goers learned about biodiesel, solar power, composting, preservation projects and much more.
    Ecological Education
  • The Kids' Zone (shown above) offered environmentally friendly activities that entertained as they elightened. The festival also featured environmentally themed artwork, local food, entertainment, demonstrations and information about a spectrum of environmental issues, initiatives and organizations.
    Kids' Zone
  • An eye-catching display presents information about Dickinson's many sustainability programs, initiatives and practices.
    Sustainable Culture
  • New friends take a spin in the Incredible Solar Wheeler, Dickinson's solar-electric-powered vehicle.
    Solar Spin
  • Students at the ALLARM informational tent enjoy live performances on a picture-perfect spring day.
    Sunny Entertainment
  • Students and community members provided live performances throughout the four-hour festival.
    Live Performances
The REACH (Respect Education Through the Arts Challenge) dance group performs to hip-hop hits at the pavilion in Carlisle's LeTort Park. Prev ImageNext Image

The festivities kicked off with remarks by Sean Shultz, Carlisle Borough Council president, who emphasized the importance of the LeTort and the need to create a sustainable future. Those sentiments were echoed by the more than 40 environmental organizations that participated in the event, including Dickinson's Students Interested in Sustainable Agriculture, which served up food and information from the Dickinson College Farm, and EarthNow!, which  presented environmental-education demonstrations throughout the festival.

The day also included a pre-festival tree-planting ceremony on the banks of the LeTort. Approximately 1oo volunteers pitched in to help Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) staff plant 380 trees along the banks of the stream. As they grow, the trees will provide shade in the park, filter streamwater and help curb future erosion. They also will provide welcome shade and protection for the trout who have made the LeTort their home.

by MaryAlice Bitts
Photos by A. Pierce Bounds '71