What, you ask, is an Amish VIP?
An Amish person with motorized wheels or electricity? One who get to schmooze with the bigwigs?
No -- no Amish jokes here.
Amish VIP is the name of a new tour that gives visitors a chance to directly interact with Lancaster County's Amish, rather than simply buying their baked goods or trying to sneak a photograph.
The three-hour tour takes a van of no more than 14 people to visit in person (hence the VIP) with the Amish on a farm, at work and at home. They'll see how they cool cow's milk without electricity, how a gourd-maker or weaver crafts their wares and finish up by chatting with an Amish family in their home.
In a press release, tour operator Brad Igou writes: "Millions of people come here every year to 'see' the Amish, but few ever have the opportunity to meet and talk to the people themselves... This is not about re-creating another culture a la Disney, or having actors dress up and impersonate characters. This is meeting real people, one-on-one, where they live and work."
The tours run weekdays July through October. They leave each day at 5 p.m. from the Amish Experience Theater at Plain & Fancy Farm, Route 340 between Bird-in-Hand and Intercourse. For details, call 768-3600, ext. 210 or visit www.AmishExperience.com.
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