ZIONSVILLE PA – The history of the Stahl family’s potters, and their production of Pennsylvania German redware pottery between 1934 and 1956, comes alive again Saturday (June 21, 2025).
The one-day, 38th annual summer Stahl’s Pottery Festival returns – rain or shine – from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to the pottery site, 6826 Corning Road, in the Lehigh County village of Zionsville. It’s a 19-mile drive northeast of Pottstown.
Admission to the festival costs $5 per adult; those younger than age 18 are admitted free, and parking also is free. Tickets are available at the entrance.
Festival visitors will learn about redware as crafted by Charles Stahl and his descendants, Thomas, Isaac, and Russell. They can tour the clay storage room and the workroom where the potters labored. They’ll see the round, stone, beehive-shaped wood-fired kiln where pieces were fired. They also will discover unique pieces of family members’ pottery, furnishings and traditions.
On the site grounds, guests also will find displays of 34 independent potters, presenting and selling their own unique earthenware creations. Demonstrations at a potter’s wheel and raku firings will be conducted throughout the day. Organizers also will hold a drawing to win a piece of handcrafted pottery by one of the participating potters.
For those seeking collectibles, the festival offers something for everyone. Hats, tee-shirts, books, note cards, and an assortment of redware ornaments are available at its collectibles stand. They include a new ornament for 2025 is being introduced this year.
A variety of foods also is available. They include home-made beef and turkey barbecue, fresh cut French fries, and home-baked goods.
Preserved by Descendants
Descendants of Thomas Stahl purchased the Stahl’s Pottery site in 1987. They formed a non-profit organization, Stahl’s Pottery Preservation Society Inc., and have held annual pottery festivals ever since. The society’s goal is to preserve the historic Stahl’s Pottery site, and to educate visitors about the art of Pennsylvania German redware pottery.
In past years the society also has held a fall pottery festival during October.
The collection of buildings in which the Stahls and their laborers worked is found within a country setting in the hills of the Powder Valley. All funds raised by the festival are utilized for the site’s preservation and interpretation. For more information call 484-306-3868.
Top photo by Fellipe Ditadi on Unsplash+, used by Travels With The Post under license
Other photos provided by the Stahl’s Pottery Preservation Society Inc.
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