PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH FOLKLIFE AND TRADITIONS COME ALIVE AT THE KUTZTOWN FESTIVAL

More Information: Dave Fooks, 610-683-1537
e-mail fooks@kutztown.edu

Just like the 4 th of July, the Kutztown Folk Festival is a one-of-a-kind American experience. In fact, it is the nation's oldest continuing folklife festival as well as one of the very best - and for 58 years America 's Independence Day has been its focal point. The 2007 Kutztown Folk Festival, to be held June 30 – July 8 at the Kutztown Fairgrounds, is no exception. Traditions, entertainment, and family fun all with a Pennsylvania Dutch flavor will abound.

Again this year well over 100,000 visitors are expected to attend. Many come year after year to be part of what the Washington Post describes as one of the “must see” festivals in the Middle Atlantic region. The Kutztown Folk Festival has also been selected as a top summer entertainment pick by the American Bus Association, USA Today, The Sunshine Artist Magazine, Sourcebook, and other national publications.

Folk Art and Crafts

Folk art and crafts have a distinctive place in American history and at the Festival. Craftsmen's traditional skills and techniques go back to our nation's first years and even earlier to the immigrants who brought them from Europe . Amazingly, many of the techniques used in wood carving, metal crafts, and other specialties have been passed down in families over generations and are still practiced in the crafts produced at the Festival.

Some 200 Pennsylvania German and other early American folk artisans demonstrate their skills in 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.

The last hex sign artists in the nation are among the folk artists at the 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.

Pennsylvania Dutch Quilts

Hand made quilts have their own history! They have evolved from the 19 th century functional use of converting scrap material into simple coverings, to the creation of elegant, exquisite works of beautiful design today. An art show in itself, the 2007 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. All of the quilts are made in America – none are imported.

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.

Sounds of Music

There is music everywhere at the Festival and visitors discover that music has always been an important part of life for the Pennsylvania Germans.

Pennsylvania Dutch fiddling fills the air every day. Time-honored folk, country, and religious melodies reflect traditions that go back in the Pennsylvania German community to the 19 th century. The music is a unique expression of a wonderful culture that is German in background but is strongly influenced by a pioneering American experience.

. The brassy sounds of the Heidelberg Band and the Sauerkraut Band provide upbeat music both on stage and on the midway as the strolling bands perform for visitors throughout the fairgrounds. A quieter tone is offered in the beautiful, centuries-old Mennonite devotional music sung by an a capella choir.

Folklore and Folklife

Pennsylvania Germans have written an important chapter in American history. This 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.

Fun For Kids

The younger set finds all the interactive fun they want at the Festival– real, live entertainment that holds their interest. The puppet barnyard theatre gets kids involved in the goings-on around Farmer Brown's barn, and sing-alongs are a big favorite. At the farm petting zoo, kids can see, touch, and feed cows, sheep, goats, pigs, mules, chickens, rabbits, and turkeys.

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.

And Good Eating Too…

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. And 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.

Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Admission for adults is $12, seniors $11. Children 12 and under are admitted free. There is ample free parking and free shuttle service is offered from the Festival parking areas to the fairgrounds. For a free brochure, please call 1-888-674-6136.
Visit the Festival website at http://www.kutztownfestival.com

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