The History of the “DeMotte Touch of Dutch Festival”
It all began with the formation of the DeMotte American Legion, according to the DeMotte Centennial Booklet published in 1976. This historical booklet compiled and written by DeMotte historian Mrs. Evelyn Roorda, was published in celebration of 100 years of existence for our wonderful town of DeMotte, here in Jasper County, Indiana. The followi
ng excerpt comes from that well written and captivating booklet:
“Very soon after the American Legion was organized, they began to hold yearly festivals called Homecomings, in honor of those young men returning home after the Second World War. They continued these much anticipated festivals for twelve years, with the last one being held in 1958. Many people enjoyed the carnival atmosphere brought to town by these Homecomings. For many years there was various entertainment and activities from time to time, but nothing of a continuing nature until 1970 when the (newly formed) Chamber of Commerce began to hold the Farm and Town Festivals. There were three of these celebrations held with the attendance at the last one in 1972 being estimated at 8000 people. These Farm and Town Days were designed to emphasize some of the unique products and industries of the DeMotte area. In 1975, the “Friends of the Library” held the first Arts and Crafts Festival. This proved to be a huge success.”
The Centennial Celebration of 1976 was held in conjunction with the Arts and Crafts Festival on August 14 of that year and brought a large number of visitors to town overflowing the streets with people. Thanks to the dedicated and tireless work of the members of the “Friends of the Library” the DeMotte Arts and Crafts Festival was held for many years in Freedom Park behind the DeMotte Elementary School with the attendance and interest building with each year. According to legend, one year the selected theme for the Arts and Crafts Festival was “Touch of Dutch”. The following year, the newspaper mistakenly referred to it again by that name and rather than change it, the name stuck evolving into the “Touch of Dutch Festival” becoming the name of the annual event. As time went on and the work load increasing, the “Friends of the Library” felt best to relinquish the responsibility for the festival in its entirety and the DeMotte Chamber of Commerce accepted the role of leadership. In so doing, and with the goal of the Chamber being to promote the business aspect of the community, it was decided to resurrect the original intention of the festival back in 1970 and therefore the name became the “Town and Country Festival”. Opportunity was given to showcase the business members of the Chamber of Commerce along with the vendors dealing with Arts and Crafts. It’s kind of hard to break a habit however as people kept referring to this DeMotte August festival as the “Touch of Dutch” rather than “Town and Country”. So why fight it? The DeMotte Chamber of Commerce made the decision a few years ago to once again call this beloved summer celebration the “DeMotte Touch of Dutch Festival” and it will probably live on for many years known by the Dutch influence of tulips, klompens, and oliebollen (Dutch doughnuts). We invite you and your family to come and enjoy our festival the second Saturday of August. Written by: Dr. Gerrit DeVries
