The Washington Post calls it a “must see.” USA Today labels it one of the “top three” festivals in these United States. What they’re talking about unfolds in eastern Pennsylvania June 30 – July 8, and you’re going to want to be there. ‘There’ is Kutztown, and you’ll have plenty of company.
This is the 63rd of the fabled Kutztown Folk Festival and we’re telling you about it early so you can make plans.
This Pennsylvania Dutch gathering features America’s largest quilt sale and pots of Pennsylvania Dutch cooking. Family feasts, ox roasts, sausage sandwiches, pies and plenty of pastries – they’re all there for the savoring.
The entertainment is enlivening, and it doesn’t stop. Nor do the craftsmen, all 200 of them. They’re here to show you their wares: fine furniture, miniatures, pottery, clothing, musical instruments, hand-painted art, iron ornaments, weavings, brooms, baskets, florals and hex paintings. Check out the paper art called “scherenschnitte” and ask the artists to show you how they do it.
The festivals reenactments should be memorable. That’s because they’re pegged to the 150th anniversary of the event that tore this country asunder, and then put her together again for the better: the Civil War. Listen to Civil War experts. Learn about Civil War medicine and cavalry tactics. See a private collection of Civil War artifacts never before made public.
If you’re interested in the rootedness of this country, the places and practices from which our nation sprung, the Kutztown Folk Festival really is a “must see.”
Story by Jerry Chandler
(Kutztown Folk Festival)
