ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The 75th celebration of the Kutztown Folk Festival, once known as the largest folk festival in the U.S., won't happen this year.
Instead, a local academic, who has professional ties to the beloved cultural tradition, is hoping to keep the memory alive through his presentation on its rich history.
Kutztown University professor William Donner led a folk-themed discussion Saturday about the Pennsylvania Dutch cultural festival, which organizers announced in November would not return due to economic constraints.
He presented the "History of the Kutztown Folk Festival" at the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum, 432 W. Walnut Street.
Pennsylvania Dutch culture
The festival was started in 1950 by Alfred Shoemaker, William Frey, and Don Yoder, three professors who founded the Pennsylvania Dutch Folklore Center at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster in 1949.
"The idea was to have people represent and display their own culture. It was partly motivated by open-air museums in Europe, in which people would reconstruct an entire pre-industrial village, similar to Colonial Williamsburg, except I think they did a better job," Donner said.
"What Shoemaker, Frey and Yoder wanted was to shift the academic study of folklore from the songs and stories people told, to folk life, which would include songs and stories, but also the other things that people did in their lives. How the people represented themselves and presented their own culture."
Among the hundreds of exhibitors each year, the vendors emphasized farming, cooking and baking, butchering, craft-making, harvesting and threshing, or separating grains.
Liars contest, fond memories
At the nine-day event, Donner took notice of the academic stage — a space at the event dedicated to teaching classes related to the Pennsylvania Dutch.
It was also a spot where the locals would speak Pennsylvania German — a language that Donner says has dwindled over the years.
It is estimated that only 300,00 Pennsylvanians speak Pennsylvania Dutch and it is mostly heard in Amish and Mennonite communities.
Fond memories, tall tales
Donner shared some of his fondest memories of the festival, where he started conducting lectures in the late 90s.
Among his favorite recollections: the writer's contests, followed by a humorous "tall-tale" game dubbed the liar's contest, where people would recite the most outrageous lie and recite it back in Pennsylvania Dutch and English.
"There was a sense of fellowship or community even if just for those nine days. It was really intense, but engaging," Donner said.
"There were people that I really liked and got to see for those nine days, all the vendors and some of the people that came up on my stage. It really was a wonderful time."
Exploring farm life, Easter
Donner, a professor of anthropology with an emphasis on Pennsylvania Dutch culture and history, is currently conducting research on farming in the region.
It's another example of the Pennsylvania Dutch community facing an expiration.
"The family farm still exists, but it's becoming rarer and rarer," Donner said. "There are more big industries and focused crops, than family farms. And not just in Pennsylvania, but across the country."
To learn more about family farm life, the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center will celebrate Easter on the Farm, a free event for families.
Similar to the Kutztown Folk Festival, though not as big, there will be folklife demonstrations, live musical performances by folk musicians, a farm animal display and an Easter egg hunt.
