Wapwallopen resident and retired art teacher, Ivan E. Hoyt was honored June 29 by the Kutztown Folk Festival and the Borough of Kutztown for 39 years of participating as a demonstrating craftsman at the annual event founded in 1950 and considered the longest continuous celebration of folk traditions in the United States.
Hoyt exhibited and interpreted his hand painted original design Pennsylvania Dutch Hex Signs, barn stars, Belsnickels and related folk art at the 9 day Kutztown Folk Festival from 1982 through 2023. He is a Master Artisan member of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, Reading-Berks Chapter.
Through his exposure at the Kutztown Folk Festival Hoyt’s work is collected nationally and internationally in private and public collections including the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institute. He has written a book about Hex Signs published by Stackpole Books in 2008 and has been featured in numerous newspapers, magazines, books, and electronic media including the Time Warner Cable documentary “Expressions of Common Hands.”
Additionally, Hoyt is very proud of the many students and teachers he taught about Hex Signs during his 33-year teaching career and the opportunities he had passing this folk art to teachers at the Luzerne County Intermediate Inservices.
At the opening day program for the 2024 Kutztown Folk Festival Hoyt was given a citation by Craig Koller, Interim Director of the festival recognizing his dedication and years of service and a proclamation from James F. Schlegel, Mayor of Kutztown Borough as he was inducted into the Kutztown Folk Festival Trail of History.
