The Philadelphia Folk Festival is a three day long music extravaganza. During those three days, three generations of people come together in a farmer’s field in Schwenksville, PA to listen to (and play) some amazing music, camp, and bond with their fellow hippie compatriots. When you step onto grounds, you take a step back to fifty years ago when ‘Fest’ began. Not only is the entire vibe of the festival the same now as it was then, so is the style of clothing. Along with friends and music, another attraction to Fest is its craft area. There, you will find one of the most unique assortments of clothing and goods ever brought together in one place.
Because we at J&O dedicate the vast majority of our time to studying fabric, this blogger was immediately drawn to the wearable goods being sold. As I looked around, I could not help but notice that organic cotton was by far the most popular fabric.
Every tie-dye vender that I talked to told me the same thing: almost all of their goods are made with organic cotton; it is durable, dyes well, holds color, and is versatile. If that list isn’t enough of a reason to invest, the fact that it is organic fabric means that the material was not bleached and over processed. The only other type of fabric that I found in the tie-dye stalls was one beautiful silk dress (also organic). I loved the color and feel so much it almost went home with me!
After I stepped away from the die-dye stalls, I stumbled upon a man selling shirts and ponchos from a thick material that I soon found out was a heavy wool cotton blend. The gorgeous fabric was hand woven by the owner, a Chilean man who ran his whole operation from making the garments to finding events to sell them. His hand made products are an inspiration from the perspective of someone who works with fabric. He was making more than clothing, he was creating art!
This Fest was filled with amazing friends, fantastic music and great fabric finds. I know that I speak for campers, vendors, and performers alike when I say that this was one of the best Folk Fests ever and that I look foreword to attending the next 50!
