Press Releases
SCHWENKFELDER LIBRARY & HERITAGE CENTER
105 Seminary Street, Pennsburg, PA 18073
Phone: 215–679–3103; Fax: 215–679–8175
info@schwenkfelder.com
www.schwenkfelder.com
November 18, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: David W. Luz
Tel. 215–679–3103
Fax 215–679–8175
CHRISTMAS MARKET: A TOUR OF PENNSYLVANIA GERMAN TRADITIONS & FOLK ART
Pennsburg, PA— The Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center, 105 Seminary Street, Pennsburg, PA, invites the public to its annual Christmas Market: A Tour of Pennsylvania German Traditions and Folk Art on Saturday, December 3, 9:30 am–4:00 pm and Sunday, December 4, 12:00 noon–4:00 pm.
Join us for our annual Christmas celebration at SLHC and also at our dear friends' sites, Goschenhoppen Historians and the Mennonite Heritage Center. Our visitors are promised distinctly different festive holiday treats at each location, but we all share the wish to bring our patrons a bit of the warmth of Christmases past to their present—and presents!
At the Heritage Center you will find "I Love the Holidays" Christmas Shopping Fun. Our Exhibits currently running include the Christmas Putz; Bradley Hendershot, Artist; 18th Century Fraktur; and The Legacy of Christopher Schultz. Beth MacCausland will sell hand-decorated, home-made gingerbread men and women on the spot for a wonderful holiday take-home treat. Calendars by renowned Pennsylvania folk artist Barbara Strawser will also be available for purchase on Saturday, December 3.
Families are invited to participate in two separate craft programs during the Christmas Market. On Saturday, December 3, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm, join puppet artist Francine Schmitt to make Angel and Father Christmas hand puppets. Schmitt, from the RumTum Puppet Theater, will bring her stage and with our museum educator, Rebecca Lawrence, lead participants in a hand puppet holiday craft workshop. Registration is $10 per first participant per family then $2.50 for each additional family member. Ages 6 years and up are welcome to participate. An advanced RSVP is needed by November 26, 2011, to participate in the Puppet Workshop. Contact Rebecca Lawrence at 215–679–3103 for additional information.
Return to the Heritage Center on Sunday, December 4, and attend a drop-in program from 1:00 to 3:00 pm to make traditional folded German Christmas stars. Participants will learn how to make a folded star. All supplies are provided. A donation of $5 per participant is encouraged. An RSVP is not needed for Sunday's program.
Goschenhoppen Historians, Red Men's Hall, Routes 29 & 63, Green Lane, will offer vintage Christmas collectibles, delicious home-baked goodies, and Folk Festival craftsmen's wares. The Mennonite Heritage Center, 565 Yoder Road, Harleysville, features their Pennsylvania German Folk Art Sale with the finest traditional crafts as well as a special exhibit: Life Milestones: Depictions of Mennonite observances of birth, school, baptism, weddings, and death.
For more information, directions, or decisions about inclement weather, call the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center at 215–679–3103 or the Mennonite Heritage Center at 215–256–3020.
The Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center was founded in 1884 as an informal collection in a private home to assure the preservation of the Schwenkfelders' cultural identity. Today the Heritage Center, a not-for-profit organization, is still preserving, interpreting, and documenting the history of this German Protestant group along with their Pennsylvania German Heritage. The Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm; Thursdays 9:00 am to 8:00 pm; Saturdays 10:00 am to 3:00 pm; and Sundays 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. The Heritage Center is closed to the public on Mondays. For additional information call 215–679–3103 or visit our website www.schwenkfelder.com
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David W. Luz
Executive Director
Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center
105 Seminary Street
Pennsburg, PA 18073
Tel. 215–679–3103
Fax 215–679–8175
email: info@schwenkfelder.com
www.schwenkfelder.com