Visit the Mennonite Heritage Center, 565 Yoder Rd., Harleysville, the first weekend in December for the opening of the Fine Craft Show & Sale and the Fine Art Exhibit. The shows are held annually during the month of December and are a wonderful opportunity to purchase fine pottery, textiles, wood carvings, baskets and affordable original art. There’s something for every budget!
The shows open with the Christmas Market tour on Saturday, Dec. 5 from 9:30 to 4 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 6 from noon to 4 pm.
The event is a joint holiday tour with the Goschenhoppen Historians, Green Lane, and the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center in Pennsburg. The Goschenhoppen Historians transform their museum into a Christmas tree wonderland and have a bake sale that is a Pennsylvania German epicurean delight. Schwenkfelder Library features an elaborate Christmas putz, exhibits and a well stocked gift store with unique items. The event is free of charge at all three sites.
If you can’t wait until the opening day of the Christmas Market tour, you are invited to attend a special Preview Reception at the Mennonite Heritage Center on Friday, Dec. 4 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Mennonite Heritage Center. The reception is the first opportunity to purchase the folk art or original paintings by your favorite artist. A $5 donation is requested for the evening.
The Fine Craft Show & Sale and the Fine Art Exhibit continue through the month of December. Also on display during December at the Mennonite Heritage Center is the exhibit “Calligraphy and Bookbinding: Twentieth Century Artists Fritz and Trudi Eberhardt”. The Eberhardts were immigrants from Germany arriving in Philadelphia in 1954. They both had served bookbinding apprenticeships in Germany. They produced a major legacy of work that included orders from this country’s prestigious rare-book libraries and universities. They prepared documents for Popes, Presidents and heads of state in France, Germany, England and China. Fritz was a master calligrapher. The exhibit will include examples of their work drawn from public and private collections.
Mennonite Heritage Center hours for Opening Weekend are Saturday, Dec. 5, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 6, 12 to 4 p.m.
Throughout December: Tuesday through Saturday: 10 am to 5 pm. Closed Dec. 25 and 26. Open Dec. 31 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information or to check snow emergency cancellations, see <www.mhep.org> or call 215-256-3020.
