All good things...
Last June we traveled to Kutztown for its annual folk festival. We didn't realize it at the time, but due to "dwindling interest and increased costs" it apparently was the last Kutztown Folk Festival. The very first one occurred back in 1950.
Looking through the photos from that trip was bittersweet, as we had planned to return again this summer. Pennsylvania is a glorious state. Its folk art and history have always been a comforting part of my life. Seeing old, faded hex signs on massive, tired barns is as exciting today as it was the first time I spotted one as a child. Summers are like the stuff of Ray Bradbury's short stories. Falls are pure magic. Our winter landscapes of layered browns and grays never cease to resemble something the Wyeths couldn't resist to paint. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
The Kutztown Folk Festival was a blast... a true celebration of Pennsylvania Dutch culture. Rows of vendors and artists of every kind. Music and dancing and interesting presentations under flapping tents that provided shade from the summer heat. We listened to the history of hex signs and barn stars and learned how the PA Dutch preserved their food. We saw replicas of an early Church and schoolhouse. We bought some terrific coffee at one stand and spiked it at the recommendation of an old farmer doing the same to his coffee, as we all moved to the vendor next-door - a distillery selling some fantastic whiskey.
That was the most memorable part. Everyone there was kind and friendly and seemed really proud to share their heritage.
The highlight of the event was a very special "Country Kitchen" presentation of an authentic Pennsylvania Dutch meal (including the seven sweets and seven sours tradition). In a mockup of a hundred-year-old kitchen with a wood burning cast iron stove from the 1920's, we sat around a table with six strangers as our host and chef prepared everything from scratch and educated us on the process and history. Keep in mind this was a very hot and humid day in June and we're sitting around in this hot wooden kitchen, near a wood-burning stove. Incredibly, I wouldn't have changed a thing. Somehow it felt appropriate. There was homemade iced tea made from apple mint leaves, and we drank tons of the wonderful stuff. We got to know the other guests as we passed around plates of delicious food. By the end of that amazing dinner, it felt like we were all friends.
On a personal note, I'm not much of a praying man, but prior to eating dinner, the host had us all join hands and say a short prayer of thanksgiving. It was really quite special, and I felt truly grateful for the opportunity to experience a meal in such a way, and with these super nice folks. I felt gratitude for a lot of things.
Below are some photos from that neat summer day. I made sure to get some shots of the amazing food - that's Moravian chicken pie and the best apple dumpling pie you've ever had.
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