Pennsylvania Dutch take over Reading Terminal Market this weekend in Philly [photos]

The 25th Annual Pennsylvania Dutch Festival began Thursday at the Reading Terminal Market.

The Market’s center court is featuring traditional crafting like woodworking and quilting and many traditional foods, hand-churned ice cream, sausage sandwiches, funnel cakes and some less traditional, chocolate-covered bacon.

Karen Marron from Ridgewood, N.J., took a picture of her teenage son in front of a worker dipping sizzling bacon into chocolate, but she said she wasn’t interested in eating it. “I’d probably need a shower,” she said.

Visitors in the packed market lined up for dairy farmer Ray Stoltzfus’ hand-churned ice cream. Besides churning the cream, Stoltzfus also milked the cows. He says that the happy cows on his farm in Paradise, Pa. make better ice cream. “They posses a certain look of contentment,” said Stoltzfus.

Chase Nelson is a recent Philadelphia transplant from Lehigh, a small town Utah. He said that he’s a little overwhelmed by his first big city. He said he is looking forward to trying his first Pennsylvania Dutch donut from the famous Beiler’s Bakery. Rachel Smucker, who works behind the counter for Beiler’s, said that it’s no secret why the Pa. Dutch foods are so popular. “It’s the freshness,” she said.

The Pennsylvania Dutch Festival runs through Saturday, August 9th, when Arch Street will be taken over by the Pennsylvania Dutch Festival, including live music, buggy rides and a petting zoo.