Nix Besser! The Kutztown Folk Festival
By Christopher Miller
KUTZTOWN, PA – Over many mountains and through many valleys is the small college town of Kutztown, Pennsylvania which is also home to a very unique celebration of Pennsylvania culture and heritage.
If you ask anyone in the southern PA/Berks County region, there is “nix besser” (none better) of a festival than the Kutztown Folk Festival, a celebration of all things Pennsylvania Dutch. The festival, which has been running continuously since 1950 with the exception of the COVID pandemic these past couple of years, is the oldest continuously operated folklife festival in America.
Taking place at the Kutztown Fairgrounds conveniently located across the street from Kutztown University, the nine day event draws visitors from around the world entertaining and educating the masses on Pennsylvania Dutch life, language, heritage, and culture.
Having been born and raised in the heart of PA Dutch-land, I had the recent opportunity to take in the sights, sounds, and smells of this iconic festival of my heritage.
The morning started off with my wife and I making a B-line to the Main Stage to catch the show and presentation of Mr. Chris Larose and Mr. Doug Madenford, both Lock Haven locals who made the trip to Berks County for the festival. Though we arrived somewhat late, we did learn that the character for Star Wars Yoda could have come from the PA Dutch. Let me explain – growing up, sometimes I would talk a little backwards. Phrases like “outten the light,” “make the light out,” or “throw the horse over the fence some hay” were common knowledge in the Lehigh County area. The PA Dutch just speak a little…backwards at times. Like Yoda. “The greatest teacher, failure is.” Then again it is possible that Yoda could have been named after Yoder, a popular Pennsylvania (and Amish) last name.
No German festival is complete without a biergarten, so my wife and I enjoyed a pint at the nearby establishment.
The rest of the festival was a myriad of color, sounds, smells, barn stars, hex signs, and old-world demonstrations. We dined on pulled pork, bratwurst, french fries, sweets, and typical fair-style foods. We also had the fun opportunity to learn more of the local dialect.
“Wie bischt (du)?” (how are you) was a phrase I learned from my grandmother before she passed away in 2009. It was also included on a basic language handout presented by Keith Brintzenhoff who teaches Beginner Pa.
German Language Classes at the Pa. German Cultural Heritage Center, also known as the one room schoolhouse, in Kutztown. Possible responses to the question were either gut (good) or schlecht (bad). Being a smart alek I chose to respond with “schlecht – heiß (heis)” (bad – hot) where I was immediately corrected and should have responded with “schlecht – heess” (hess), where the original “old German” word had been changed in spelling and pronunciation for some time. I deserved it.
In all, if you wish to attend the festival, plan to make it an entire day event. It has only been a few days since the festival ended and the dates for next year’s event are posted on the website: July 1 – 9, 2023. It surely cannot be missed!
