Calendar
Pottstown Area Artist Guild Spring Open Juried Fine Arts Show - RECEPTION & AWARD CEREMONY
Enjoy the talent of 43 regional artists and over 70 pieces of art. Talk with the artists, understand their process a bit more and even find that piece that captures your heart, touches your soul, and tells your story. It could just be your exceptional day!
Come for the art and enjoy so much more…
• Refreshments
• Music by Harpist Betsy Chapman
• Cash Raffle at Reception ONLY for two $100 Gift Cards from BLICK art materials
• Art & Craft Gift Shop - PAAG Members are offering special smaller art & craft items in the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center Gift Shop on the first floor. Treat someone you love or just yourself!
There is no charge to attend this event, but please register to attend this reception so we can plan for your presence. Go to our website https://paag.info/art-show/ to register and for more information about this show.
Brown Bag: Current News and Updates from Lower Silesia
Dave Luz is in contact with a number of friends in or near Lower Silesia (now southwest Poland) through social media. In this informal presentation, Dave will present happenings in Twardocice (Harpersdorf) and the surrounding community over the last couple of years—perhaps even from a few days ago!
Program in-person or via Zoom. Register by emailing info@schwenkfelder.org or calling 215-679-3103. FREE
Pottstown Area Artist Guild Spring Open Juried Fine Arts Show - last day
Last day to view the Pottstown Area Artist Guild Spring Open Juried Fine Arts Show
Penn Dry Goods Market - Zoom lecture
The Royal School of Art Needlework at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition 1876 by Dr. Lynn Hulse, co-founder, Ornamental Embroidery.
Click here to register for this Zoom only lecture.
Penn Dry Goods Market
The Penn Dry Goods Market is a textile-focused antiques and vintage show with dealers hailing from Pennsylvania and other locations on the east coast. Our dealers are among the best in antique textiles, offering samplers and other needlework, quilts, coverlets and woven objects, linens, yardage, sewing smalls, sewing tools and equipment, buttons, baskets, and general Americana. Visitors will find treasures from across the country and around the globe at a variety of prices!
Penn Dry Goods Market
The Penn Dry Goods Market is a textile-focused antiques and vintage show with dealers hailing from Pennsylvania and other locations on the east coast. Our dealers are among the best in antique textiles, offering samplers and other needlework, quilts, coverlets and woven objects, linens, yardage, sewing smalls, sewing tools and equipment, buttons, baskets, and general Americana. Visitors will find treasures from across the country and around the globe at a variety of prices!
Schwenkfelder Summer Camp 2024: Traveling the Valley & Beyond
Traveling The Valley & Beyond
Dates: Monday, July 29 - Friday, August 2
Ages: Children 7–12 years old
Times: Drop off from 9:15am–9:30am
Camp Hours: 9:30am–3pm
Pick Up: from 3pm–3:15pm
Cost: $125 per child
*Early Bird Special, just $99 per child until 4/1/24
With a focus on traveling by way of the Conestoga Wagon, trains, planes, and automobiles from the past and present, campers will explore exhibits and related artifacts throughout the museum. Crafts, games, and related activities will also be included.
Register at schwenkfelder.org/programs-for-kids. Extra info: Campers are asked to bring their own packed lunch and water bottle; daily snacks will be provided.
Redware Sgraffito Plate Workshop
This workshop, scheduled for Saturday, September 21, 2024, from 10 am to 3:30 pm at the Schwenkfelder Heritage Center, will focus on the sgraffito technique used by 18th and 19th century Pennsylvania German potters to make expressive designs in their folk art pottery. Sgraffito means to “scratch” and workshop participants will draw and scratch a design on a redware plate. Participants can choose a traditional Pennsylvania German design or create their own! No experience required. The participants have the option to sgraffito 7” or 10” redware plates coated with white clay slip; limit of 3 plates as time permits. All the sgraffito tools and books for ideas are provided or bring your own. After the workshop, the plates will be dried, glazed, and fired - this takes 4-6 weeks. Participants will be notified when the plates are ready. Pick up finished work at the workshop site, at the studio in Macungie by appointment or shipped to participant for an additional cost. Bring a bag lunch.
The Workshop Leader Denise Wilz has been creating Pennsylvania Redware since 2002. She has a degree in Studio Art from Moravian University and was a computer programmer and craft hobbyist prior to embarking on a career as a redware potter. She is a Master Artisan of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen and is currently on the PGC board. Denise is also included in the Directory of Traditional American Crafts presented by Early American Life. You can see her work on her website - wilzpottery.com
Registration is required for this workshop. The workshop fee is $60 plus $36 for a 7” plate or $48 for a 10” plate. The registration deadline is September 14.
Back Porch Conversation: Working for Knoll
Knoll, with its production plant in the Valley since 1941, has been central to the economy of the Upper Perkiomen Valley as well as an international style setter. Come hear from employees past and present about Knoll’s history and role in the community. Admission is free, and refreshments will be served. Click here for required pre-registration and more information
Seasonal Saturdays: Fabric Crafts
Make & Take crafts for all ages
These programs are free of charge, and there is no registration needed. Just drop into the Stauffer Education Room. Fun for all ages! Younger children may need a parent or guardian to assist them.
Canceled! Hands-On Heritage: American Girl Tea
Free of charge but please register by calling 215-679-3103 or emailing Meredith Reinhart at meredith@schwenkfelder.org.
An American Girl springtime tea with your friends and favorite doll or stuffed animal. We will learn about a female historical figure, engage in crafts and activities, socialize with friends and enjoy refreshments. Everyone will receive a journal to use and keep.
Brown Bag: Development of the Kitchen Cook Stove
Bob Wood traces the development of coal and wood fired kitchen stoves often fondly remembered as not only doing the family’s cooking and baking but also heating the house as well.
Program in-person or via Zoom. Register by emailing info@schwenkfelder.org or calling 215-679-3103. FREE
Adult Program: Genealogy Club
Come to this in-person group to get help with doing your family history 👥
The Pennsylvania Dutch Kitchen Garden
We welcome Dr. William Woys Weaver, an internationally known food historian and author of “Heirloom Vegetable Gardening” and numerous other titles. His lecture will survey what we know about kitchen gardens based on surviving documentation as well as horticultural genealogies that trace back into Mennonite seed exchanges with Holland. Dr. Weaver will discuss the 18th century varieties that form the basis for Pennsylvania Dutch foodways and the connections with Europe, like the Dutch Mennonite subventions paid for by Mennonite Agnes Block (1629-1704).
Dr. Weaver’s grandfather established the seed collection in 1932, now the oldest private seed collection in Pennsylvania and a 501c3 non-profit now called the Roughwood Center for Heritage Seedways. Dr. Weaver will have his books and a selection of his heirloom vegetable seeds available for purchase at the program.
Seasonal Saturdays: Sun Catchers and Wind Chimes
Make & Take crafts for all ages
These programs are free of charge, and there is no registration needed. Just drop into the Stauffer Education Room. Fun for all ages! Younger children may need a parent or guardian to assist them.
Virtual Tour of "American Dreams"
Hear curator Dr. Christina A. Ziegler-McPherson discuss the exhibit “American Dreams: A New Life in the USA.” On view at the Haus der Geschicte Baden-Württemberg in Stuttgart, Germany, this exhibit explores the history of Germans who settled in America, with a special focus on Pennsylvania. The Heritage Center is providing a place to view the talk and virtual tour for free. No registration needed.
This Zoom presentation is made possible by the German Society of Pennsylvania with co-sponsorship of the Max Kade Institute for German American Studies at UW–Madison and the German Historical Institute of Washington.
Brown Bag: Fastnachts and Fish Fridays: Eating Our Way Through Carnival and Lent
The always informative and entertaining Candace Perry shares traditional foods for the spring holidays.
Program in-person or via Zoom. Register by emailing info@schwenkfelder.org or calling 215-679-3103. FREE
Moravian Sugar Cake Workshop
Brought to Bethlehem by the early Moravian settlers and handed down from mother to daughter through successive generations, the Moravian Sugar Cake has remained a local favorite for centuries. Learn how to make this buttery yeasty cake in this workshop taught by Alice Wolfgang and go home with one ready for the oven! Participants will also enjoy a brief presentation that explains how the Moravian cake is related to the Schwenkfelder cake and provides 6 different variations of the recipe. Preregistration is required and the workshop fee is $20 plus a $10 fee for the baking supplies. Participants should bring a 9X13 cake pan, mixing bowl (3 quart or larger), mixing spoon, small plastic tub with lid (2 c), dry measuring cups, Pyrex measuring cups, and measuring spoons.
Basket Weaving Workshop with Karen Wychock
February 24, 10am-3pm Basket Weaving Workshop by Karen Wychock
Participants can weave 2 berry baskets over a wooden mold for $40. These baskets were traditionally woven by farmers in the winter months and would be used for single servings of berries that were sent to the restaurants in New York City in the early 1900s.
Adult Program: Genealogy Club
Come to this in-person group to get help with doing your family history 👥
Brown Bag: Heritage Poultry Breeds
Heritage breeds are those raised by our farming ancestors. Learn the advantages and disadvantages to raising these breeds from Emily Shoup, Extension Educator, 4-H Youth Development, Juniata and Mifflin Counties.
Program in-person or via Zoom. Register by emailing info@schwenkfelder.org or calling 215-679-3103. FREE
Grundsau Lodsch fer Yunge
Please join us for our annual “Grundsau Lodsch fer Yunge” on Sunday, February 11th, 1-3pm. There will be many activities, fun for all ages. Come learn about this cultural history while also learning some PA German dialect! Refreshments will be provided. Please contact Meredith Reinhart at 215-679-3103 etx. 28 or meredith@schwenkfelder.org, to register for this event, to ensure that we have enough supplies. Look forward to seeing you!
Hands-On Heritage: Soup Mix Jars
Free of charge but please register by calling 215-679-3103 or emailing Meredith Reinhart at meredith@schwenkfelder.org.
Ingredients provided to bottle soup mix into jars to make at home. *Make sure to register for this event so we don’t run out of ingredients.
CANCELLED-Seasonal Saturday: Bird Feeders
We regret to inform you that this event is cancelled due to lack of enrollment.
Brown Bag: The Story of Corn: Its Origin, Cultivation, and Uses
Native American maize was one of the new food cultivars that the Germanic immigrants found here. Bob Wood discusses how, for man and livestock, corn soon became an essential crop.
Brown Bag: Christmas Potluck and the History of Christmas Cookies
Admission to the December Brown Bag is to bring a favorite traditional dish (and a copy of the recipe) to share. If you have the Schwenkfelder cookbook, please use a recipe from the cookbook. If you are not a cook, feel free to bring something like cut-up ring bologna and cheese.
Hands-On Heritage: Christmas Ornament Crafts
Free of charge but please register by calling 215-679-3103 or emailing Meredith Reinhart at meredith@schwenkfelder.org.
Explore past generations through the traditions we continue to uphold. Make-and-give as gifts. Homemade gifts are the best, right? Join us for a festive evening of crafting while listening to holiday tunes.
Adult Program: Genealogy Club
Come to this in-person group to get help with doing your family history 👥
Seasonal Saturdays: Thanksgiving Crafts
Make & Take crafts for all ages
These programs are free of charge, and there is no registration needed. Just drop into the Stauffer Education Room. Fun for all ages! Younger children may need a parent or guardian to assist them.
Hands-On Heritage: American Girl Tea - Thanksgiving Food Traditions
Free of charge but please register by calling 215-679-3103 or emailing Meredith Reinhart at meredith@schwenkfelder.org.
Explore past generations through the traditions we continue to uphold. Learn about Thanksgiving food throughout the years, comparing past traditions to modern times. Bring your favorite doll or stuffed animal to share in the fun.
Brown Bag: Schwenckfeld and the Eucharistic Controversy: Additional Evidence from Recent Translation
Presented by Dr. Drake Williams
Dr. Drake will discuss Schwenckfeld scholar Emmett McLaughlin’s presentation about Schwenckfeld and the Eucharist as well as several fresh translations of sections in the Corpus Schwenckfeldianorum, which will add further to the understanding of Schwenckfeld’s views.
Goschenhoppen Quilt Turning with Barbara Garrett - Session 2
Participants will gather around a stack of 25 vintage quilts thoughtfully selected from the Textile Collection of the Goschenhoppen Historians. Pennsylvania quilt historian Barbara Garrett will discuss the quilt’s design, construction, and history….and then “turn” to the next quilt.
Goschenhoppen Quilt Turning with Barbara Garrett - Session 1
Participants will gather around a stack of 25 vintage quilts thoughtfully selected from the Textile Collection of the Goschenhoppen Historians. Pennsylvania quilt historian Barbara Garrett will discuss the quilt’s design, construction, and history….and then “turn” to the next quilt.