—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 10, 1976
56
These samples of pressed flower-art were on
exhibit in the Arts and Crafts building. The artist
who made them was Dorothy Longstreet.
Kutztown Folk Festival
By JOANNE SPAHR
and
By JUDY MITCHELL
KUTZTOWN Always a popular tourist attraction, this
/ear’s 27th Annual Kutztown Folk Festival is expected to
' >ave a whopping crowd of 100,000 visitors from the United
States, Canada, and Europe roam past and through its 300
exhibits.
Barbara Loust is pictured teaching Tracy Ahern
jow to spin with a drop spindle the way the Indians
ised to do.
i y
Mrs. I. Price of Reading R 1 puts the finishing
touches on one of her apple head dolls.
w
>~ *
Ladies from various county club groups
demonstrated the art of quilting in the quilt barn.
In the building, close to 1700 quilts were displayed
Started nearly 30 years ago by three professors from
Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pa. to perpetuate
Pennsylvania Dutch Folk Lore, the event has grown from a
country fair into a nationally known event.
This year the Bicentennial events centered on the East
Coast helped bring in an international tourist trade. By mid
point in the week, two foreign delegations had enjoyed the
festival.
One of the foreign groups was a 25-member delegation
from Reading, England, who were touring their United
States’ namesake. After seeing that Pennsylvania city, they
took a jaunt up to Kutztown and took in the sights.
The other foreign group came with the U.S. Travel
Association from Europe and did not speak English. In
terpreters were engaged to serve them. There were also
Japanese visitors to the folk festival.
What does the Kutztown Folk Festival have that draws a
crowd of 100,000 including foreign visitors? It has oodles and
oodles of Pennsylvania Dutch folk lore, crafts, and foods to
captivate even a Pennsylvania Dutchman who has growiuip
in the tradition presented.
The exhibits include a “commons” where traditional crafts
are presented by artists in full dress. There is rug weaving,
broom making, candle dipping, lamp making, vegetable
dying, and many, many more traditional crafts which were
once necessities for daily living.
Then, for the “just for fancy” crafts, there is a large
building which houses Pa. Dutch crafts such as scheren
schnitte, or paper cutting, reverse glass tinsel painting, and
frakteur art, an ancient type of printing used on old official
documents.
For quilt lovers there is a quilting building where the prize
winners of a quilting contest are housed. This year, 1700
quilts were entered in the contest, which was divided into
patchwork, applique, embroidery, antique, and all-quilted
Donna Adam pitches straw to George Kline who feeds the antique thresher owned by Donna’s
grandfather, George Adam.
'f
' «*T*
for sale. The quilt shown is nearly finished and
features flags of alienations.
J. Claypool’s hex signs are hand painted
categories. First to fourth place winners were named for
each category and honorable mentions were given. This
made a total of 50 quilts which were mandatorily housed in
the bam.
Besides the many exhibits spread over the 35 acres, the
folk festival hosts special events. Since many visitors come
to see the “plain people”, and since many “plain people” are
either prohibited to entertain in the festival or choose not to,
there is an impersonation of an Amish wedding held twice
daily and an Amish pageant also done two times each day.
The pageant outlines the struggle the Amish had to remain
separate and the history of their development in this country.
I Continued on Page 58|