Events Calendar

Use the event calendar below to find events that you are interested in. There are also details on other special events that are held at and by the club at different times of year.

CALENDAR

SPECIAL EVENTS

HIDDEN CLOSED TAB
GUN SHOWS

2023 Spring Gun Show March 11 & 12

2023 Fall Gun Show October 7th and 8th

SLCFSA Clubhouse – 742 Hollow Road, New Providence, PA 17560
Admission $5/day
Free parking
Vendor set-up Fri 4 pm – 8 pm & SAT 6:30 am – 8 am
Vendor tables $25/ea.
Overnight security provided
Contact:  Carl Warfel – gunshow@slcfsa.org

PROJECT APPLESEED

Project Appleseed is a two-day coaching on rifle marksmanship while learning about American history and our Founding Fathers.  SLCFSA has hosted 8 Appleseed weekends since 2017, with plenty more planned.

Project Appleseed’s website states, “Integrity, commitment, and personal responsibility are what our Founding Fathers relied on to win our independence and then to make America a great nation.  At Project Appleseed™, we’re dedicated to keeping these timeless values alive.

“Our events teach rifle marksmanship skills once commonly practiced in America.  Instructors put in nearly 200 hours of training so they can teach the skills that will one day allow a Rifleman to be accurate out to 500 yards.  This distance is known as the traditional 

‘Rifleman’s Quarter Mile’ and has been part of America’s marksmanship repertoire since our country’s earliest days.  We’ll also tell you the true story of the earliest days of our nation, including the detailed events of April 19, 1775.  You may be surprised by what you hear.

“We are the descendants of those fearless men and women who earned our freedom on the battlefield.  We honor their pursuit of liberty by passing along the skills and knowledge that aided them in securing it.  Whether you’re a new shooter or a seasoned marksman, Project Appleseed can help transform you into a principled and skilled Rifleman.  No one who comes to a Project Appleseed event ever leaves the same.”

To register for an event, please visit Project Appleseed.  Anyone may attend SLCFSA-hosted events; SLCFSA membership is not required.

HUNTER/TRAPPER SAFETY

When classes are scheduled, they will appear in the calendar with links to register.

Pennsylvania is home to an extremely wide range of wildlife.  It’s essential to protect this heritage and the opportunities it gives by understanding your full legal and ethical responsibility toward wildlife and your fellow hunters and trappers.  Developing your hunting and trapping knowledge can lead you on a lifetime of appreciation for the variety within our local animal kingdom.

SLCFSA’s original hunter/trapper safety program was certified in 1968, a leader in Lancaster County.  Currently led by Rick Esh, a 36-year teaching veteran, and his team, SLCFSA’s class is offered three times a year and focuses on safety, laws, animal care, and wilderness survival.  Learn what kinds of traps, firearms and calibers, and bows and arrows to use and why, according to the species. Learn how to identify game anatomy, be aware of your surroundings, and adhere to bag limits and seasons.

This class will dispel Hollywood myths and help you avoid endangering yourself and others with bad practices and faulty understandings. Following a national curriculum, your certification will be valid in most other states, except those states requiring advanced survival training based on their terrain complexion.

BLEEDING CONTROL CLASSES

VEHICLE ACCIDENTS  *  FARMING & MACHINERY ACCIDENTS  * FALLS  *  CARELESS HANDLING OF FIREARMS * ACTIVE SHOOTER & TERRORIST EVENTS

Death by blood loss can occur within minutes of an accident.  Treatment delays can forever change the lives of many.

After Sandy Hook, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) joined with the National Security Council, the FBI, the U.S. Military, and others, forming The Hartford Consensus to develop fast, effective responses to mass casualty crises.  Their efforts have resulted in nationwide Stop the Bleed seminars.

SLCFSA has hosted several Bleeding Control seminars in 2018, conducted by SVEMS, the LGH Trauma Team (LEMSA affiliate), and the Southern End’s own Wakefield Ambulance.  These trainings last 1.5 – 2 hours, a combination of screen presentation followed by hands-on practice.  Yes, bleeding control is harder than it looks!

  • How do you know if a person is bleeding too much?
  • How much gauze will fit into a wound?
  • What does applying 30 pounds of pressure feel like?
  • Should kids be treated differently from adults?
  • How should you triage multiple victims?

Excellent instruction, along with stories, what-if scenarios, and plenty of laughs make the minutes fly.  In one course, a law enforcement officer presented defensive strategies for active shooter scenarios.  Bleeding control kits are sometimes available for purchase.  Course completion certificates are provided.

Trainings are open to the public, listed at our main page calendar.  Clicking the event takes you to description and registration.  Seminars are free, but please register in advance so instructors can plan for the number of participants.

LOCATION:  While waiting for our clubhouse to be built, the Quarryville Fire Department has kindly donated their 2nd floor training room for these events.

THE JOHN STRAWSER MEMORIAL KIDS’ FISHING DERBY

Named after the man who began this event in 1971, the John Strawser Kids’ Fishing Derby was designed to give local children an event all their own and get them excited about fishing.   Herald of summertime held around Memorial Day, the event was always open to the public.

For many years, the spring-fed pond was stocked with trout, and kids could take their catch (2-3 trout) home for dinner.  But difficulty keeping pond temperature low and the prevalence of predators continually reduced the trout stock, so the Derby switched over to bluegill and largemouth bass.  Bass are hardier, larger, and put up more of a fight, so the “contest” switched to a 3-hour catch-and-release.  Kids certainly put their muscles and will-power to the test – and learned a few fishing tricks along the way!

This long-time event is temporarily discontinued as SLCFSA investigates revamping the pond.  Possibilities are: increasing spring flow to maintain colder temperatures, including more trees for shade protection from sun and predators, and deepening and reconfiguring the pond.

This event is integral to SLCFSA history, with many championing the cause, so hang tight because the Derby will be returning!

MISS SOLANCO SCHOLARSHIP PAGEANT

Seventy-odd years ago in 1956, The Quarryville Teenage club was founded “to create and promote educational and recreational programs for the youth of Southern Lancaster County.”  Each year, over $3000 in scholarships is provided toward further education.

SLCFSA is the longest-running supporter of the Quarryville Teenage Club, having sponsored a participant every year since 1959.

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the Miss Solanco Pageant takes place, the culmination of months of preparation.  These young women work on poise, elocution, and conducting themselves naturally and gracefully in any situation.  They also address social issues near to their hearts, discuss current events in a balanced and informed way, and demonstrate others-focused mindsets.

We are very proud of these young ladies’ commitment to be forces for good
in a world which badly needs them.  Best wishes in all your endeavors, Ladies!

SOLANCO & WEST LAMPETER FAIR BOOTH

Welcome to our fair booth!  One of our veteran woodworkers employed his innovative magic to create a display of many different woods – walnut, maple, pine, black locust, cherry, hemlock, poplar, chestnut, sycamore, and red mulberry – reflecting species which can be found in SLCFSA woods.  Mounts and pelts show the amazing beauty of the living creatures around us, and kids are invited to touch the pelts and guess which animals used them as a winter coat.

A screen presentation shows the shooting and educational opportunities SLCFSA offers to all, ages 5 to 105.  Flyers on club activities are available, as well as a sign-up for the indoor archery program.  From pistol, rifle, and shotgun to archery, from Scouts and History to Hunter-Trapper safety, First Aid, and Bleeding Control, it can all be found at SLCFSA.

Many thanks to the masterminds who spent untold hours on this project and to the members who volunteer and answer visitors’ questions.

To see how the booth was built, please click here.