On Saturday, September 25th, Old Economy Village will celebrate Erntefest, a traditional German harvest festival.  The event runs from 10:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.  The Village celebrates Erntefest each year to demonstrate ways the Harmonists, and other people living in western Pennsylvania, would have prepared for winter in the nineteenth century.  The annual festival will feature craft demonstrators and methods of 1800s food preservation activities for visitors, family entertainments, music and German food.  Tickets are $10.00 per adult and $5.00 for children 3-17; children under 3 are free. Admission is also free to members of the Friends of Old Economy Village.  

For more information on Erntefest call (724)266-4500 or visit our website www.oldeconomyvillage.org  Admissions may be purchased in the Visitor Center at the corner of 16th and Church Streets or at the entrance gate of Old Economy Village on Church Street in Ambridge. Free parking is available at the Visitor Center with additional parking in the parking lot of Centria on Merchant Street and side streets of the Historical District.            

Visitors of all ages have a chance to learn how to make sausage, butter, cider, and a variety of other traditional fall foods. There will be broom making, meat smoking, coopering, bee keeping, wine making and more, all activities that would have been done by members of the Harmony Society in the years before the Civil War.  A farm Marketplace and petting zoo will also be a part of the festivities.  

Of course, before playing old-time games such as sack races, graces and walking with stilts, children of all ages must do their chores - pumping water, washing clothes, milking the “cow,” making rope and rolling barrels.  Toys and child-sized household fittings of a typical 19th century household await the tiniest of hands at das Kinderhaus, the children's hands-on house.  Another family favorite, the craft area, will offer children the opportunity to help create a large penny-rug which will be displayed in the Visitor Center at Christmas.  In addition to the many site-wide activities, the Village’s historic buildings and exhibits will be open.    

While most western Pennsylvanians were raising a traditional mix of products – wheat, corn, cows and hogs - the Harmonists were also raising Merino sheep, cultivating vineyards, operating commercial bee yards and planting 10,000 mulberry trees to sustain silk worms.  They sold goods at their general store and shipped by railroad and steamboat large quantities of wine, cider, beer, cloth and fruit trees to markets across the eastern United States.  During Erntefest, visitors become actively involved in Harmonist agricultural practices.  They can use a basket press and taste grape juice from Economy’s vineyards or learn how to make beautiful silk fabric from the silkworm’s cocoon.

Musical performances presented during the day will pay tribute to the original works composed and performed by Harmony Society members during their “Golden Age” of music, 1825 through 1831. The Village houses the Society’s original music manuscripts, as well as many early print editions of musical scores from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.   

For those visitors who enjoy food, there will be  corn roast, funnel cakes, hot dogs and grilled brats on site and also a selection of German favorites, such as bratwurst and red cabbage, sauerkraut, potato pancakes, warm German potato salad, homemade apple and cherry strudel and gingerbread with lemon sauce and more. These treats, available from 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., are prepared by members of St. John’s Lutheran Church, in the Harmonists original house of worship which is located across the street from the historic site.  Tours of the church will also be offered beginning at 10 a.m. and continuing on the quarter hour throughout the day, with the last tour at 4:15 p.m.    

The Harmonists combined agriculture and manufacturing with remarkable success.  In 1820, Pittsburgh’s population was only 7,000.  The arrival of nearly 1,000 Harmonist workers in 1824-1825 represented a considerable boost to the region’s overall population, as well as the region’s agricultural and textile production output and interstate commerce in general.  

Old Economy Village is one of 25 historic sites and museums on the Pennsylvania Trail of History ®, and is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.  For more information or to request a free 24-page Trail of History visitor’s guide, visit www.phmc.state.pa.us or phone toll free 1-866-PA TRAIL.  Persons with disabilities needing special assistance or accommodation please call (724) 266-4500 in advance to discuss your needs.  Pennsylvania TDD relay service for the hearing impaired is available at (800) 654-5984.