CHERRY FAIR • Early American Craft Show
June 23, 2012 from 10 am - 5 pm
held at the historic Alexander Schaeffer Farm, Route 501 south of Schaefferstown, PA

Admission is $5, children 12 and under are Free

Features: quality period crafters, colonial demonstrations, family corner, hands on activities, wagon rides, contests, guided house and heirloom garden tours, blacksmith shop and sawmill demos, raffle & Sheep to Shawl, Cherry "Goodies," tasty food & ice cream!

Held Rain or Shine!

The seventh season of Public Archaeology at the Alexander Schaeffer Farm/Distillery will be held in July, 2012.
Those interested in volunteering should contact Pat Gibble at pegibble@hotmail.com or telephone 717-964-3147.

Young Villagers :
July 23 - 26, 2012
for students entering grades 4, 5, 6, 7

Learn colonial American crafts and trades from mentors.
Members: $45, nonmembers: $65
Held on Alexander Schaeffer farm.
Please contact the HSI at (717) 866-5242 for registration details.

Harvest Fest :
Saturday, September 15th, 2012 - Sunday, September 16th, 2012
Sat. 10:00 am - 5:00 pm; Sun. 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Come celebrate the harvest the Pennsylvania Dutch way! The Alexander Schaeffer Farm comes alive Saturday and Sunday during the Fall Harvest Fair. Enjoy period artisans, crafts, cooking. baking. cider-pressing, field and farm demnstrations, traditional music and entertainment, and much, much more!

There will be logging with horses, plowing, disking, and harrowing with horses, threshing of the rye grown on the farm. See the sawmill, shingle maker - all old. We will be pressing apple cider and making apple butter and corn shelling and corn cracking in the barn. View the colonial 4 square garden with heirloom plants. Tours of the Schaeffer house will be available, along with the spring house and the summer house. There is something no matter who you are.

Annual Book & Bake Sale:
TBA

In the basement of the Brendle Museum, come support Historic Schaefferstown, Inc. by selecting new and gently used books, videos, and audio in every genre: children's, mystery, historical, collectable, and more! Finish off the day with some fresh baked goods.

Annual Meeting:
Sunday, October 23, 2011 -- time TBA

Oct. 23 Annual Meeting at the Thomas Brendle Museum
Speaker: Jim Dibert, Adjunct professor of History at HAAC in Lebanon and holds a Master’s in Art in History from Leigh University. He is a Director of PA German Studies in partnership with HACC. In addition, he has served on the boards of Lebanon County Historical Society, PA German Society and Historic Schaefferstown. Jim has authored numerous articles for the publications of these three groups. He has also authored a book for Friends of Cornwall Iron Furnace – “Iron-Independence and Inheritance” story of Peter and Curtis Grubb.

Sun., Nov. 6 PA German Barnstars: Celestial Symbolism in Folk Culture
This program is a photographic presentation of field research conducted from 2007 to the present throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania in 6 counties, as a survey of decorated Pennsylvania Barns and the content of their decorations. The photographs reveal a diverse and colorful tradition of folk art that has persisted to the present day and overlaps with many other architectural traditions. In addition, the content of the designs will be compared to trends in Pennsylvania German folklore, especially as it pertains to beliefs and practices associated with the agricultural lifestyle and observations of the heavens.

Join us for an informative gathering. for more information...

2012 Saturday hands-on workshops teaching colonial era and Pa German crafts and traditions (ages 13 and up).

Held in the basement of the Brendle Museum, 111 N. Market St., Schaefferstown

Beginning PA German                                             Alice Spayd
Sat. Jan. 14, 21, 28   Feb.  4, 11, 18, 2012               Snow Date: Feb. 25, 2012
Time:  9:30 am to 11:30 am
Cost: HSI members: $35.00                                   Nonmembers: $40.00

Three Strand Rug Braiding                                    Janice Sonnen
Sat. Jan. 21, 2012                                                     Snow Date:  Sat. Jan. 28, 2012
Time: 9 am -2 pm
Cost:  HSI members: $65.00                                 Nonmembers: $70.00

Sgraffito Redware Oval Platter                               Susan Horst, Huber Haus  Pottery
Sat. Feb. 4, 2012                                                       Snow Date: Feb. 11, 2012
Time: 9 am- noon
Cost:  HSI members: $42.00                                 Nonmembers: $47.00

Potato Basket                                                            Karl Gettle
Sat. Feb. 18, 2012                                                     Snow Date:  Sat. Feb. 25, 2012
Time:  9 am- 3 pm
Cost:  HSI members: $37.00                                 Nonmembers: $42.00

Moravian Stars                                                         Susan Faulkner
Sat. March 10, 2012                                                 Snow Date:  Sat. March 17, 2012
Time:  9 am-1 pm
Cost:  HSI members: $30.00                                Nonmembers: $35.00

Theorem on Velvet                                                  Sandra Coldren
Sat.  March 31, 2012                                                Snow Date: Sun.  April 1, 2012
Time:  9 am-3 pm
Cost:  HSI members: $50.00                                 Nonmembers: $55.00

Please call 717-866-5242 for more information.

Christkindlmarkt & Tavern Lunch:
Saturday, December 10, 2011
           --- 9:00 am - 3:00 pm - Christkindlmarkt at Brendle Museum, Lower Level
          -- 10:00 am - 2:00 pm - Tavern Lunch at Gemberling-Rex House (sittings every hours, must have reservations)

Holiday shopping is a breeze at the yearly Christkindlmarkt. Browse a variety of goods, and top off the experience with an authentic colonial-style lunch (reservations required). The antics of early tavern hosts and hostesses will come as a shock for those who are unprepared for how they behaved generations ago!

5 sittings for the Tavern Lunch to be held at 10 am, 11 am, 12 pm, 1pm and 2 pm.  Call early, can only seat 20 at a time.
*Reservation Fee: $12