The "A Visit to The Green Dragon" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Spent the past hour or so visiting the Bollman Hat Company in Adamstown, Pennsylvania with my brother Steve.  Had an interesting tour, but what happened afterward was just as interesting.  Told Steve a few months ago about my visit to Bollman and he asked if he could go along.  

Sign on PA Route 272 telling of the Green Dragon.

He said, "After we stop at the hat place how about we have lunch at the Green Dragon."  Hadn't been to the Green Dragon for years so I thought it would be a great idea to spend some extra time with my brother.  Steve is a frequent visitor to the Green Dragon which is about a ten minute drive from Adamstown in Ephrata, PA.  Green Dragon Farmer's Market and Auction is open year round on Fridays, 9 am to 9 pm.  

Aerial view of the grounds of the Green Dragon.

The atmosphere is similar to that of a carnival and state fair all rolled into one.  The Green Dragon is part flea market, part souvenir haven, part food market and part auction house with over 400 vendors located on 30 acres in Pennsylvania Dutch Country.  Green Dragon is one of the largest Amish-run and regulated farmers markets in the United States.  You will be sharing the 20 acre parking lot with Amish buggies and will find many of the stands are Amish-run.  

Amish buggy parking lot.

Our journey to the Green Dragon today is to visit the auction house as well as take advantage of the multitude of eating places.  We first stopped at the auction house where Steve spends many a Friday, buying boxes of items that he re-sells on eBay.  Funny how people from all over the world love to buy items from Amish Country.  Steve walked the perimeter of the indoor auction, looking to see if he might want to come back when the auction begins.  

Items for sale at the auction the
day or our visit.

Found a few boxes that had baseball cards and other collectibles in them, but didn't seem to be too interested.  Left that auction house and entered the small animal auction house to see what animals were to be auctioned today.  A few crates of rabbits, guinea pigs, homing pigeons as well as a few boxes that had fantail pigeons in them.  Then the whiff of the food finally got to us.  Wound our way past the chocolate-covered bacon, apple dumplings, whoopie pies, cream-filled donuts and long johns, sticky buns and home-made pot pie to Steve's favorite stand that sells sandwiches with just about anything in them.  He ordered a turkey sub and I had an double oyster sandwich.  Naturally had to get some fries and a drink to go along with the sandwiches.  

Firemen work to control the fire at the Green Dragon.

Found a place to sit and eat and Steve told me a few more facts about the place.  The Green Dragon opened in 1932 and has 20,000 to 25,000 people visit every Friday of the year, unless Christmas falls on a Friday.  There have been very few times it ever had to close, but on Saturday, September 13, 2014 at 8:20 pm, a devastating fire leveled the main building which left the market unable to operate.  Within a week the Green Dragon reopened, with the main building staying closed until it could be rebuilt.  

Some of the many outdoor stands.

Those vendors who lost their spot in the main building found space elsewhere on site.  As we ate lunch Steve told me he would like to have a stand in the near future.  I asked him what he plans to sell and he said he might like to sell stained glass pieces.  It was at that time he told me I was going to make stained glass pieces for him and he also wanted me to show him how to make stained glass pieces.  Well, if you have been reading my stories, you probably read the one about my getting back into teaching once again.  Can't wait to see how well they sell.  May have to begin to make stained glass pieces once again.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

Produce primarily grown in Lancaster County.

You can purchase just about any item you may need or want.

Pigeons for auction the day Steve and I visited.

Rows of vendors line many acres of the Green Dragon.

Another vendor selling stones and gems.

An outdoor hay auction was taking place.

Made a stop here before trying to find the car.

Old Black and White showing the entrance into the Livestock Auction.