HISTORY
Robert Vaux Roop Lancaster Summer Arts Festival began as a single art exhibit in 1963. Over the years, it has grown to become a free major arts festival that has hosted world renowned artists such as pianist Van Cliburn, jazz musician Brandford Marsalis, the Paul Taylor Dance Company and a host of the best regional and local performers and artists. Robert Vaux Roop, a local businessman and artist, is credited with founding the LSAF. Roop began the festival when he learned a local art exhibit in Lancaster had to be canceled. Roop had always dreamed of a free local art festival and quickly offered a nearby elementary school in Quarryville as an alternate exhibition venue. The first show had 87 paintings and featured nightly performances by local musicians. The following year, more than 180 exhibits were shown. By the third year, the arts festival moved to Lancaster and Caroline Steinman Nunan, director of Lancaster Newspapers, and other local culture enthusiasts began lending organizational support. The program has continued to grow each year and nearly every arts group in Lancaster has been included at some point. When Steinman Park was opened in the early 1980s, the weekday noontime programs became a LSAF mainstay with popular musical performances and children’s shows. The Long’s Park Patriotic Concert, featuring the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, Antique Civil War cannons and a spectacular fireworks display, bring tens of thousands of music lovers to the park. It all began with the dream of one individual who stumbled upon an opportunity but had the grace to realize his vision - to provide a free continual summer arts feast.
