A new season has begun at what is known as The Sweetest Place on Earth, a family destination not too far from the Ohio Valley that is rich with history and chock full of fun.

Located in the southeastern portion of central Pennsylvania, Hershey, Pa., is home to not only the famous Hershey chocolate factory, but also to a wide assortment of world-class attractions, many of which were originally tied to local life around the candy making town and evolved over the past century to become part of America’s milk chocolate mecca.

Today millions of people from all over the world visit the town of Hershey, Pa., for its many attractions, including a major amusement theme park and water park, zoo, museums, concert venues, resorts and other tourist draws.

The community of Hershey, Pa., was established as a place where employees of the original Hershey Chocolate Factory and their families could live. The business and the community were the brainchild of chocolate tycoon Milton S. Hershey, an native of the rural Pennsylvania area and namesake of the town and chocolate empire.

Milton Hershey was born in 1857 in Derry Township, Pa. (For perspective – just before Hershey turned 6, the Battle of Gettysburg was fought in nearby Adams County).

A few years after the Civil War came to an end, a 14-year-old Hershey left odd jobs and started an apprenticeship as a confectioner. He traveled across the country to Denver, Chicago, New Orleans and New York seeking business opportunities, learning about the trade and honing his candy making skills.

He learned how to make caramels using fresh milk, a technique that would later be a key to his candy making success. After a series of business starts and stalls which included a couple of bankruptcies, he founded the Lancaster Caramel Company back home in rural Pennsylvania and found huge success. The company employed around 1,300 workers in two factories in the late 1800s when Hershey, after visiting the world expo in Chicago, had a revelation: the future of the candy business was not in caramels, but chocolate.

Hershey took a gamble and sold his successful caramel business in 1900 for a reported $1 million to shift focus on his new vision centered on chocolate. Hershey kept the rights to the subsidiary of the business: Hershey’s Chocolate Company. He purchased land near his home stomping grounds of Derry Township, where neighboring dairy farms could offer the needed supply of milk. In the first decade of 1900, Hershey built the biggest chocolate factory in the world with the latest technology to mass produce his trademark products – first the Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bar, then Hershey’s Kisses and later Hershey’s with Almonds.

Looking back, the country boy from Pennsylvania with only a fourth-grade education used his passion, vision and unbridled work ethic to become first an entrepreneur, then a business developer turned tycoon and eventually a philanthropist.

Milton Hershey and his wife were not able to have children. When he died in 1945, he left behind an American success story, a business philosophy that still drives The Hershey Company today and a town that serves as a home to his legacy.

“I have only one desire in the remaining years allotted me, to see that the people of Hershey, which includes my employees, shall receive everything that I could possibly do to make not only their place of living, but their lives, more pleasant,” Hershey said later in his life.

The town and tourist attractions grew along with the business. What started out as a picnic area for employees of the factory grew into Hersheypark. A collection of exotic animals on the properties became a zoo at Hershey that was the inspiration for what today is ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park. Rose gardens expanded over 75 years to what is now the immaculately manicured Hershey Gardens, a sprawling 23-acre site with themed seasonal displays.

The privately owned Hershey Trust Company today collects approximately $297 million to benefit the Milton Hershey School, the world’s largest residential school for children in social and financial need. The school was started by Milton and Catherine Hershey in 1909 as a residential school for orphans. After Catherine’s death in 1915, Milton Hershey transferred the majority of his assets and control of the chocolate company to the trust and remained active with the trust and school’s operation for the rest of his life.

Today, the Hershey Company operates the chocolate, candy and foods business, with plants in Hershey, Pa., and in other locations across the country and around the world. Hershey Entertainment & Resorts operates Hersheypark, ZooAmerica, Hershey Gardens, Hersheypark Stadium, Hersheypark Camping Resort, Hershey Lodge, The Hershey Hotel, Giant Center and the Hershey Bears hockey team, the Hershey Country Club and other businesses and restaurants around the town of Hershey, Pa.

Highlights among the attractions include:

HERSHEYPARK

Opened in 1907 by Milton Hershey as a picnic and pleasure area for his employees, Hersheypark has grown into a 120-acre theme park with more than 70 rides and attractions, including 13 roller coasters.

One-price admission to the park provides access to all the rides and entertainment, as well as admission to the sprawling water park, The Boardwalk at Hersheypark, at the center of the complex. The five-acre Boardwalk features a wave pool, slides and splash zones among its nine unique water attractions, along with 29 rental cabanas.

Admission to the park also includes access to the adjacent ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park, an 11-acre, walk-through zoo that cares for more than 200 animals representing more than 60 species from five different regions of North America.

HERSHEY’S CHOCOLATE WORLD

Located adjacent to the entrance of Hersheypark is Hershey’s Chocolate World, which features an array of shops, restaurants and tour experiences all centered on Hershey’s candies.

Tours of the actual Hershey’s factory used to be offered many years ago. Today, visitors can get the same experience in a more tourist-friendly setting. The free tour is filled with animated characters and videos that show visitors how cocoa beans go from the tropical rainforests to a step-by-step transformation into Hershey’s chocolate. Free samples are offered at the end of the tour.

Hershey’s Create Your Own Candy Bar tour allows visitors to tie on the lab aprons and put on hair nets to get a factory experience by making your own custom candy bar from scratch and designing your packaging, as well.

The Hershey’s Chocolate Tasting Adventure features a fun, interactive and educational class about the development and recognition of the different flavors of chocolates.

Chocolate World also features an interactive 4D theater, trolley tours through Chocolate Town, USA, the Hershey’s Bake Shoppe, Hershey’s Dessert Creation Studio, cocoa and coffee shop, ice cream and milkshake shop, the Amazing Candy Machine, Hershey’s Largest Candy Store, an atrium with live cacao plants and more candy-themed merchandise than you can image.

CONCERT AND

SPECIAL EVENT VENUES

Hershey is home to a variety of live sports and entertainment venues, including the 30,000-seat Hersheypark Stadium, Hersheypark Arena, Giant Center, The Star Pavilion and Hershey Theatre.

Opened in 2002, Giant Center is home to the Hershey Bears hockey team. Hershey Theatre opened in 1933 and is the area’s premier arts center. Hersheypark Arena opened in 1936 and the Star Pavilion opened in 1996; both host more intimate concerts. Hersheypark Stadium was built in 1939 and is the most prominent outdoor stadium between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Top acts performing there this season include Beyonce on June 12, Twenty One Pilots on June 19, Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas on July 16 and Paul McCartney on July 19, among many others.

RESORTS

The Hotel Hershey is a historic hotel with 276 guest rooms, suites and cottages. The Hershey Lodge is a resort boasts 665 guest rooms a the new Hershey’s Water Works indoor pool complex featuring two swimming pools, Twizzlers Twist Slides, Reese’s Water Walk, play structures and outdoor splash pad. The Water Works officially opened on Memorial Day weekend.

OTHER ATTRACTIONS

In the downtown area of Hershey along Chocolate Avenue (complete with street lamps in the shape of Hershey’s Kisses) is The Hershey Story, a museum that takes visitors on the story of Milton Hershey’s legacy and history of the company from its beginning. There are personal items on exhibit (interesting fact – Milton Hershey had booked a trip on the maiden voyage of the Titanic, but didn’t go!) and interactive, hands-on displays. There are also several other attractions in and around town.

For more information on Hershey, Pa., The Sweetest Place on Earth, visit wwwHersheyPa.com.