PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY AT THE 2006 KUTZTOWN FESTIVAL
More Information: Dave Fooks, 610-683-1537
e-mail fooks@kutztown.edu
Nine days of wholesome family fun with a distinctive Pennsylvania Dutch flavor awaits visitors at the Kutztown Festival July 1 – 9, 2006 at the Kutztown Fairgrounds.
Now in its 57 th year, the Kutztown Festival is the oldest, continuing folklife festival in America . It is one of the largest too, and in 2005 drew well over 130,000 visitors. In addition, it is one of the most celebrated festivals in the nation. Among many honors, the festival has been twice selected as one of America 's Top 100 events by the American Bus Association, and was named by the Washington Post as one of three “must see” festivals in the region.
“There is so much to do at the 2006 Festival. There is literally something for everyone, including our famous folklore programs, the huge quilt show, folk art and crafts, music, dancing and entertainment running continuously on six stages, an expanded program of children's activities and, of course, the best Pennsylvania Dutch food anywhere,” according to Festival Executive Director Dave Fooks.
Traditions and skills that date to the early 19 th century are found in the folk art and crafts at the festival. Many of the techniques used in wood carving, metal crafts, and other specialties have been passed down in families over generations.
Some 200 Pennsylvania German and other early American folk artisans demonstrate their skills in diverse crafts including fine furniture, miniatures, pottery making, clothing, musical instruments, hand-painted art, iron ornaments, weavings, brooms, cut paper art known as “scherenschnitte,” Pennsylvania German calligraphic writing called "fraktur", beeswax candles and more.
Eastern Pennsylvania 's finest traditional hex sign painters – in fact the last hex sign artists in the nation - are among the folk artists at the 2006 festival. For decades, Ivan Hoyt and Bill Schuster have demonstrated and sold their barn signs, milk cans, and decorative miniatures at the Kutztown Festival. Eric Claypoole carries on the hex art painting traditions learned from his late father, Johnny Claypoole, who in turn learned hex sign painting in the 1950's from the legendary Johnny Ott.
Festival Quilt Sales Largest in America
An art show in itself, the 2006 exhibition and sale of nearly 2,500 beautiful, hand-made Pennsylvania German motif quilts is one of the most popular events at the festival. These masterpieces represent countless hours of dedicated work by quilters in the region.
The quilt show and sale have become famous across the eastern United States . Now the largest quilt sales event in the nation, the show draws the attention of thousands of visitors each day at the Festival.
“For the serious quilt collector, this is a major event .“The colors, designs, and originality are very impressive every year, and also every year fresh ideas are incorporated into the quilts while they retain the basic Pennsylvania German theme,” Fooks said.
From 100 outstanding quilts in the show, twenty-four are awarded top honors, and from these quilts four are designated as the best of the show. Visitors can view the prize-winning quilts during all nine days of the Festival. The quilt auction on the second Saturday of the festival is the highlight of the show and is attended by large numbers of bidders from the Middle Atlantic region and beyond. Each year over the past five years, records have been set for the highest price paid for an individual prize quilt.
Music in the Air Everywhere!
Again this year, live music ranging from folk singing and country fiddling to the sounds of brass bands will be heard from one end of the festival grounds to the other.
The Heidelberg Band and the Sauerkraut Band will return to provide lively oom-pah sounds for appreciative audiences throughout the fairgrounds. Familiar folk music will come from the Blue Mountain Gospel Express, Echoing Heart, and the Mountain Folk Music Duo. Keith and Karlene Brintzenhof will invite their audiences to join with them in singing songs in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect. Again this year, the quiet, centuries-old Mennonite music sung by an a capella choir will be a special treat. Acoustic Roadshow will display the talents of local musical performers and also provide visitors with the opportunity to play simple melodies on the guitar.
Everyone knows that they are near the hoedown stage when they hear the foot-stomping music of Lester Miller and the Country Boys. More or less continuously over the past 40 years, Lester Miller has gotten his children, grandchildren and friends on the festival stage for jigging and hoedown dancing which he describes as “Pennsylvania Dutch aerobics.” Visitors are invited to join in a square dance “free for all” Wednesday and Friday evenings.
Pennsylvania German Living History
The traditions of the Pennsylvania Germans are found everywhere at the festival, and history comes alive especially on the seminar stage with speakers on topics ranging from religion and family life to clothing and folk medicine. In the Neighborhood House, members of the Grundsow Lodge carry on conversations in
the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect, and invite visitors to sit down with them to ask
questions and learn more about the Pennsylvania Germans.
Traditional religious practices are reflected in the Mennonite meeting house services held each day, in presentations on the Mennonites and Plain People who are an important component of the Pennsylvania German population, as well as the Reformed and Lutherans, who formed the majority of the settlers in southeastern Pennsylvania in the 17 th and 18 th centuries.
Pennsylvania German farm life is reflected in demonstrations of cow milking, sheep shearing, wool carding, spinning, soap making, candle making, blacksmithing, and furniture making. The farming heritage is also shown in exhibits of antique farming equipment, and the family farmstead is represented in an old-fashion summer kitchen where family meals are prepared.
Celebrations, Kids' Activities, and More
Everyone loves a colorful 4 th of July parade and the parade at the Kutztown Festival is one of the best. Just the way it has been for more than 50 years, all of the Festival's craftsmen, entertainers, and presenters, along with two brass bands and a color guard with both the American and Pennsylvania German flags, will march along a route to the main stage where the traditional Independence Day ceremony will be held.
Kids find all the interactive fun they want – real, live entertainment that holds their interests. Ed and Brenda Hanna's puppet barnyard theatre gets them involved in the goings-on around Farmer Brown's barn, and sing-alongs led by Karen Terry Ludwig are a big favorite with the younger set.
At the Noah's Ark farm petting zoo, kids can see, touch, and feed cows, sheep, goats, pigs, mules, chickens, rabbits, and turkeys. Then pony rides are available next to the zoo. A mule-drawn carousel called “the flying swing” - the only one of its kind in the nation- is another favorite with children.
There's much more. Traditional children's folk songs by the musical duo “Echoing Heart,” the HexExpress (a unique train made of 55-gallon oil drums,) Der Korn Box (the Pennsylvania Dutch equivalent of a sand box – this one is filled with corn kernels), the hay maze, make and take crafts, and Pennsylvania Dutch games are among the myriad of children's activities.
Good news for parents, too. Children 12 years of age and under are admitted free of charge when accompanied by adults.
Did We Mention Food?
The Pennsylvania Germans are famous for their culinary creations and some of the best are served at the festival.
From one end of the festival grounds to the other, there seems to be no end to the ham and chicken dinners, home-made soups, chicken pot pie, corn fritters, funnel cakes, shoo-fly pie, strawberry shortcake, and apple dumplings. The famous Pennsylvania Dutch ox roast has been a festival tradition for decades.
Thousands of hungry visitors sit down for a leisurely meal at the dining hall sponsored by one of the local churches. The all-you-can-eat fare features some of the best basic Pennsylvania Dutch cooking, all served family-style.
Then, there is bread fresh from the Festival's real 19 th century outdoor bread oven, and home-made apple butter that is brought in fresh daily. It's all scrumptious and plentiful. Kids are not forgotten, either. Kinner Eck (children's corner) offers food just for them – pizza, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and hot dogs, to name a few items.
To learn the secrets of traditional home cooking, visitors stop by the Festival's summer kitchen. Meals at the summer kitchen are created from generations-old Pennsylvania Dutch recipes and cooked on an authentic, turn-of-the-century wood fired stove and other old-fashioned appliances. The summer kitchen is where everyone gets truly authoritative answers to their questions on all
aspects of Pennsylvania Dutch food and cooking.
Before leaving for home, visitors often stop by the farmers' market and butcher's shop for Pennsylvania Dutch take-home delicacies such as hams, smoked sausages, cheeses, homemade pies, fruit and nut breads.
A True Community Event
The Kutztown Festival is a partnership of the Kutztown University Foundation, Inc. and the Kutztown Fair Association, Inc. Two dozen community organizations and nearly 400 volunteers from the surrounding area help to make the festival possible. The spacious, clean fairgrounds has paved walkways, indoor and outdoor exhibit areas.
Admission prices are adults, $10, seniors, $9, children 12 and under, free. There is plenty of free parking in the festival parking lots, and free shuttle service is also available. Kutztown , Pennsylvania is easily accessible from PA Route 22, mid-way between Allentown and Reading .
For additional information on the 2006 Festival, please visit our website at http://www.kutztownfestival.com The festival office telephone number is 510-683-1597.
xxxx