Mayor Rick Gray
To outsiders, Lancaster — both the county and the city — means Amish Country.
It's an image Mayor Rick Gray is hoping to change.
"When I am traveling and I tell people I'm from Lancaster, the first thing they ask is, 'Are you Amish?' " he said.
On Wednesday, Gray, in collaboration with Moxie House, publishers of Fig magazine, launched a new "brand" for Lancaster city at an hors d'oeuvre reception at Millersville University's new facility on North Prince Street.
"We call it 'A City Authentic,' " Gray told the about 70 people gathered in the lobby of the former Pennsylvania Academy of Music building. "Authentic means that it's an organic city. It's grown, and that it has a mix of architecture — Colonial, Victorian, modern. It's a city with 300 years of immigration that continues today. It's constantly changing in dynamics; the arts, culture, enterprise, commercial."
Wanting to separate the city from the county in terms of its image among travelers has been a goal of Gray's for four years.
"Lancaster County has such an overwhelming brand that when you say you're from here, people assume Amish farms," Gray said. "Even people from as nearby as Philadelphia have this stereotypical view of Lancaster city as being like Intercourse and wondering if we tie our horses along the street. They don't know there's a city here."
Gray said the object of the new brand is "to distinguish the city from the county so it can begin to define itself."
Gray and his staff worked with Deb Brandt, owner of Moxie House, to "develop the tag." The magazine's fall issue features the city's new theme, highlighting its businesses, entertainment venues, artists, galleries and much more.
"Lancaster's on a roll, and it's a positive roll," Gray said. "Our best days are ahead of us."
Interested people can read more about the city's new brand by going to Lancaster's Web site at www.cityoflancasterpa.com and clicking on the "a city authentic" link.