November 16–December 31
Tuesday–Saturday, 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM

Dazzling hand-made work by over two dozen local artists. The 2012 sale featured:

• Fraktur—Emily Smucker-Beidler, Lynn Sommer, Dennis Stephan
• Painted Boxes—American Art Traditions (Eleanor Sweeney & Jan Taylor), Jim King
• Redware—River Rat Pottery (Bob Hughes), Denise Wilz, Zettlemoyer Pottery (Tammy Wilkinson)
• Scherenschnitte—Sandra Gilpin, Clifford Nevin
• Stoneware—Steve Witmer
• Traditional Fiber Arts—Eleanor Bittle, Cindy Irwin, Janet Mast, Mary Jane Miller, Lynn Sommer, Tina Sonnen, Marie Sugar
• Wood Carving—Alan Kohr, Jim Murphy
• Quilts—Lois Flickinger, Connie Lapp, Mae Stoltzfus

The book and museum store also carries a diverse selection of gifts year-round, including:

• wooden toys by Haba;
• cooperative board games;
• fair-trade scarves;
• Lonely Monk coffee, and much more!

Each November and December, Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society sells hundreds of pieces of locally hand-crafted folk art in its bookstore and museum near  Tanger Outlet Center on Lincoln Highway East.

The annual Pennsylvania German Folk Art Show & Sale will includes the work of over two dozen artists in a dazzling variety of media, including tin, toleware, scherenschnitte, ceramics, fraktur and fiber arts. 

During the 1700s and 1800s, these art forms were part of everyday life in Pennsylvania’s Swiss and German immigrant communities. Today, items inspired by traditional designs and techniques are prized for their unique character and quality construction.

“Toleware” comes from the French words for sheet metal and often refers to painted tin boxes and kitchen items. Scherenschnitte, or “scissor cuts” are patterns and scenes cut out of paper, sometimes hand-painted. Fraktur refers to a “broken” lettering style and decoration used to embellish manuscripts such as birth and marriage certificates. 

In training for her craft, fiber artist Janet Mast said, “I learned that the things we use on a daily basis could be both useful and beautiful.”