Events at Heemet Fescht 2023

KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Heemet Fescht 2023, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 23, features live music in the barnyard, traditional crafts, folklife demonstrations, hearth-cooking, live animals, children’s activities and more.

Indulge your interest in regional folk culture at the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center’s Heemet Fescht 2023: a celebration of the harvest and Pennsylvania Dutch farm life. Heemet (pronounced HAY-met) means “home” in Pennsylvania Dutch. Located on the historic Sharadin Farmstead at 22 Luckenbill Road, Kutztown, the event is free, fun and educational for the whole family.

Enjoy some of the region’s finest in traditional music in the barnyard featuring local Berks County folk musicians Keith Brintzenhoff, Dave Kline and the Mike Hertzog Trio. Join Dr. William Donner in the schoolhouse to learn about Pennsylvania Dutch culture and education and have your questions about the culture answered.

Traditional artisans from the Reading-Berks Chapter of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen will share their expertise in fine crafts in the historic log cabins onsite, along with folklife demonstrators in woodworking, tin smithing, blacksmithing and more throughout the farm. Learn about barn stars and hex signs with preeminent painter Eric Claypoole, who has painted over 100 barns in his career and will be demonstrating his traditional barn art.

Enjoy a Pennsylvania Dutch menu and more from T & C Concessions or savor smoked meats, vegetables, or fish from the Smokehouse Food Truck, both in between the schoolhouse and the barn.

Visit the Sharadin farmhouse to experience the delightful sound of the harp masterfully played by Sarajane Williams of PlanetHarp. Becky Manley will demonstrate open-hearth regional cookery in the kitchen featuring traditional Pennsylvania Dutch food.

Children can explore autumn craft activities including pumpkin painting, basket making and corn dolls. Puddin Heartland’s extraordinary potbellied pigs will delight visitors of all ages and stop by the schoolhouse porch for interactive old time toy demonstrations.

The harvest season would not be complete without some homemade pickles, preserves, jams and spreads from Ellen’s Garden, as well as flowers, bouquets, pumpkins and seasonal arrangements.

Families can also assist with the potato harvest onsite with the Potato Project, a non-profit organization providing food to the Greater Berks Food Bank.

Don’t forget to visit our new headquarters at the DeLight E. Breidegan Building to explore our featured exhibition “Painter of the Stars: The Life and Work of Milton J. Hill (1887-1972),” which highlights the work of a celebrated local barn star painter. The exhibition closes Saturday, Sept. 30.

For more information, follow PGCHC on Facebook and Instagram, visit pagerman.org/heemet-fescht or call 610-683-1589.