Sonnenberg Homecoming features musical, organ festival, more buildings
ARCHIVE PHOTOS BY ANNA McCUNE | DGKN
The Gerber/Nussbaum barn, the summer house, the Moser building and a bird’s eye view of Sonnenberg Village from the Gerber Barn. Visitors to Sonnenberg Village Aug. 12 will have an opportunity to tour buildings, enjoy music, watch a vintage baseball game and more during the annual Sonnenberg Homecoming.
DGKN staff report
This year’s Homecoming Aug. 12 at Kidron Community Historical Society’s Sonnenberg Village has an extra music component and even more to see and do to delight local history buffs and to make the event worth coming home.
Festivities for the 16th event kick off with a fun one-act musical comedy put on by Sonnenberg Children’s Theatre. “Recess!” by Keith Jackson and adapted by Christa Wolf will be performed by talented youth actors at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Aug. 10 and 11 at the Welcome Center. Tickets are $5 per person, children 5 and younger are free.
Schantz Organ Company celebrates its 150th anniversary, the Orrville company is hosting a Reed Organ Festival. With ties to the early settlers and the restored Tschantz Cabin in Sonnenberg Village, Schantz Organ Company kicks off the Reed Organ Festival at 10 a.m. at the Barn, which is one of the more recent arrivals and joins the other historic buildings completed in the village. Learn about Tschantz immigration within the Anabaptist Migration as well as a history of the Schantz Organ Company. A Reed Organ Hymn Sing follows at 11 a.m. The event continues at the Welcome Center, a historic building which previously housed Sonnenberg Church, at 12 p.m. with the Orrville Community Band Concert.
Sonnenberg Homecoming has many of the traditional activities people have looked forward to year after year at 13497 Hackett Road. Buildings and gardens open at 9 a.m. featuring crafters, food vendors and an ice cream wagon. David Tschantz will present the early family history at 10 a.m. at the Gerber/Nussbaum Barn and Vic Schantz will present Schantz Organ Company History at 10:30 a.m. at the barn. John Schmidt will be the song leader for the Hymn Sing and Reed Organ Recital at 11 a.m. at the barn. After the Orrville Com-munity Band Concert at noon, enjoy a vintage baseball game at 1 p.m. as Smithville Stars take on the Kidron Nine. Schantz Organ Co. exhibits will be on display at the barn at 2 p.m. and the day comes to a close at 3 p.m.
Project Manager Ray Leisy has been busy with his team of dedicated volunteers working on a new parking lot, restoring historic buildings with rich local histories, and maintaining the grounds to welcome visitors.
For more information about the Kidron Community Historical Society, how to donate, become a member or volunteer at Sonnenberg Village and the Heritage Center, visit kidronhistoricalsociety.org.
