The Goschenhoppen Folk Festival is celebrating it's 43rd year this weekend. The festival is the primary educational event held by The Goschenhoppen Historians. The Goschenhoppen Historians was established as an educational society dedicated to learning about preserving and teaching the Pennsylvania German folk culture.
We saw a potter making redware, a wood turner making spokes for a wheel, all manner of textile crafts, and timber dressers. Central to Pennsylvania Dutch (as the English called them) life was worship. So, of course I stopped by to see the organ maker:
We stopped by a wood carver who specializes in bird carvings. He makes bird trees. These are bent sassafras branches mounted on a turned base. On the model tree, the maker attaches hand carved and painted birds. This carver had a tree with eight birds. Bird trees were a form of whimsical craft. They were made by amateurs for decoration in the home. Because they were fragile, very few have survived. The few that come to market in good condition and are of bent branch material can fetch steep prices.
We really admire and are grateful for the superb work the Goschenhoppen Historians are doing. They have acquired the Henry Antes house and surrounding 26 acres. They have a master plan for building out the site for expanded educational use. This is exciting, and we wish them the very best of success.