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What started 24 years ago as a simple gathering to celebrate the end of the garden has grown into one of Kitchen Kettle Village's most popular events--the Seven Sweets & Sours Festival. Held annually the third weekend in September, rain or shine, this year's dates are Thursday, September 17 from 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Friday, September 18 from 9 a.m.-8 p.m.; and Saturday, September 19 from 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
This is not your usual harvest event. Rather, the Seven Sweets & Sours Festival is a tribute to one of the most intriguing aspects of Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine--where the bounty of the garden is preserved as delectable condiments and relishes, to enjoy alone or as a side dish to a main course. Every inch of the Village grounds will be tied into the Sweets & Sours theme, from food tastings and the sharing of recipes to the colorful End of the Garden creature displays featuring far-out critters made from corn husks and other natural materials. In between there's a winter quilting bee, pumpkin painting, cookie decorating, and local artist making scarecrows. Entertainment will be provided by "Banjo Jimmy and His Sidemen", a Village institution with his own audience of followers who love his down-home ragtime style.
Try the World's Only Foot-Powered Ice Cream Maker, run by Lapp Valley Farm Ice Cream. This beautifully restored 1800's farm treadmill (originally powered by mule) is now foot-powered by visitiors who take 1 1/2 minute turns churning the ice cream. It's probably the most inefficient way to make ice cream, but certainly lots of fun. And for their effort each participant will earn a free sample of Lapp's Ice Cream--an exclusive at Kitchen Kettle--made at the Lapp family farm, and one of the smoothest, richest ice creams made in the U.S.!
All day Friday, check out the Chicken Barbecue run by the Intercourse and Gordonville Fire Companies. The barbecued chicken is available for eat-in or take-out, and the Ladies Auxillaries of both fire companies will offer items to complete the meal.
Of course, the heart of this festival is the Jam & Relish Kitchen, where the making of Chow Chow is always one of the most popular food demonstrations and tastings. Fresh batches of pickled watermelon rind will also be featured, along with the ever popular corn relish, pepper relish (both hot and regular), onion relish, pepper jam, tomato jam, pumpkin butter, and pickled beets. Also popular this time of year is a sweet spread called "peanut butter schmier", which tastes like a nutty fudge with a hint of brown sugar and is wonderful smeared over homemade bread, on ice cream, or between chocolate chip cookies!
The event is open to the public free of charge, and there is plenty of free parking on the Village grounds. Kitchen Kettle Village, which features Kitchen Kettles's famous Jam & Relish Kitchen as well as 34 food, artisans' and crafts shops, is located on Route 340 in the Village of Intercourse, 10 miles east of Lancaster. Telephone: 1-800-732-3538.
The history of Lancaster County's covered bridges is intimately connected with the history of Pennsylvania itself. An essential part of 19th century trade and commerce, approximately 1500 covered bridges were built in Pennsylvania by the turn of the century. Besides allowing passengers or goods to safely cross a river, most bridges have been the setting for swimming, fishing, picnics, and games of hide and go seek. Covered bridges have an aesthetic and personal character that is loved and appreciated by both neighbors and visitors alike.
For some it may come as a suprise to know that most covered bridges in existance today have had to struggle long and hard for their survival. The "covering" of a covered bridge is designed to protect its internal skeletal structure from the elements. For the same reason, they are often elevated high above the waters they cross. Nevertheless, they are vulnerable to damage from floods, ice, and severe storms. They are also threatened by oversized vehicles and reckless drivers, vandalism, and arson. Many are replaced by concrete structures in order to facilitate the building of wider roads and to accomodate increases in the volume of traffic. In many cases, entire neighborhoods have banded together to provide funds for a bridge's preservation and maintenance, as well as to petition against their planned destruction.
Out of approximately 120 covered bridges built in Lancaster, only 28 remain today. Still, Lancaster County has the greatest concentration of covered bridges in Pennsylvania, if not in the nation. Many of them stand within minutes of popular tourist destinations throughout the county. For those interested in a more in-depth look at the bridges of Lancaster County, the book Seeing Lancaster County's Covered Bridges by E. Gipe Caruthers is an essential tool. In addition to personal anecdotes about the bridges and those who travelled through them, the book provides detailed directions to all of Lancaster County's covered bridges, as well as suggested tour routes.