Share an Affordable Day of Family Fun with the Pennsylvania Dutch!
Nothing tops the good old-fashion summer fun to be found at the Kutztown Folk Festival! Now
in its 64th year, the Kutztown Folk Festival is the oldest folklife festival in America. Celebrating the Pennsylvania Dutch Culture, this unique festival continues to attract upwards of 150,000 visitors per year. Named as One of America‚s Top Celebrations by USA Today, it was named
as a Must See Festival by the Washington Post, and was twice featured in National Geographic.
· With activities and interests geared towards the entire family, this nine day festival certainly has something for everyone to enjoy.
· Demonstrations of traditional crafts by 200 juried American craftsmen, folklife demonstrations, historical reenactments, antiques.
· Traditional music, seminars, dancing, folk tales and children‚s entertainment run non-stop on 5 separate stages.
· Visit the largest Quilt Sale in the Nation, featuring over 2,000 American made quilts.
· Children experience traditional, hands-on enjoyment in exciting new ways. Noah‚s World animal park, hay mazes, do-it-yourself mural paintings, rides, and their own children‚s stage make this Festival a time to remember as a wonderful family experience for your kids.
· Last, but certainly not least – the best Pennsylvania Dutch food and treats to be had anywhere! An authentic Ox roast, traditional PA Dutch foods and cooking, sit down meals, a PA Dutch buffet dinner, funnel cakes, shoo-fly pies, ice cream favorites and desserts of an astonishing variety has earned the Festival a reputation for the finest PA Dutch food to be had anywhere!
64 YEARS OF TRADITION KEEPS THE
KUTZTOWN FOLK FESTIVAL – “ONE OF A KIND”
2013 marks the 64th annual Kutztown Folk Festival – the oldest, continuously operated
folklife festival in America. This weeklong Festival continues to draw visitors from all over the
world, entertaining families while providing insight and understanding of the traditions of the
Pennsylvania Dutch and their fascinating way of life.
In the summer of 1950, three of America’s leading folklorists presented the first of the
Kutztown Folk Festivals, using a unique hands-on approach to let “outsiders” experience
firsthand what it means to be a part of a Pennsylvania Dutch family. Key to the events success
was the ability of the “Festivals Founding Fathers” to organize the area’s local citizens and
coordinate their participation in the Festival. It was not actors, but the actual Pa Dutch natives
that were demonstrating their everyday way of life.
Nearly 25,000 people descended on Kutztown that first year. What started as a four day
showcase during the 4th of July week, quickly grew to nine days drawing well over 130,000
attendees. Not only do multiple generations of the same families continue to present and
participate at the Festival, likewise, multiple generations of attendees visit the Festival each year.
Today at the Festival one can still find traditional craftsman demonstrating their skills
and tools that helped build this great country. Farming and folklife demonstrations abound
throughout the grounds. The phrase “eat till ya ouch” still has great meaning as fabulous
examples of Pa Dutch foods continue to tempt the visitors. The sounds of square dancing jiggers
and folk music fill the air, while children try their hand at many of the activities geared just to
them. Of course, the pageantry and symbols of the Pa Dutch culture such as quilts and barn stars
still continue to catch the eye of all who attend.
Through the years, the Kutztown Folklife Festival has had to change and adapt to the
changes in society. Today, children’s activities abound and admission is free for children 12 and
under. For the ladies, the Festival now houses the largest quilt sale in America and has an
internationally attended Quilt Auction of its top prize winning quilts. Today a visitor experiences
more music, more entertainment, more fun, and far less work than they would experience in a
Pennsylvania Dutch household. But the purpose of the Festival is still fulfilled, as evidenced by
the blend of continued participation by the local PA Dutch community, as well as many of the
foremost experts and scholars of this fascinating microcosm community of America. This
unusual nine-day festival had been featured twice in National Geographic, and has been called
“one of the most unique Festivals on the East coast” by the Washington Post, and with good
reason.
June 29 through July 7, 2013. Visit our website at www.kutztownfestival.com or on Facebook –
www.facebook.com/kutztownfolkfestival
