Allemaengel Plein Air Challenge

October 10, 11, and 12, 2024

$6,000+ in awards

The Albany Township Historical Society is proud to announce a unique art event to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of Kempton in 1874. During October 10-12, 2024 the society will be sponsoring the Allemaengel Plein Air Challenge. The show will feature 30 to 40 juried artists who work outdoors in various mediums including oil, watercolor, and pastel. Two special youth categories will also be offered. Artists will compete for $6000+ in awards.

The event will occur in rural agrarian Albany Township in northern Berks County, Pennsylvania. All artists will create original works of art that capture the landscape, architecture, and all-around beauty of Kempton and Albany Township. Vistas to and from the mountains, historic structures, meandering streams, and rural farmsteads and lifestyles will provide our painters with an abundance of subject matter.

THE ALBANY TOWNSHIP AREA OFFERS A WIDE VARIETY OF SUBJECT MATTER FOR THE ARTIST

  • Rolling hills and valleys dotted with farmsteads, woodlots, and pastures

  • Well-preserved log structures.

  • Wonderful vistas of the Kittatinny Ridge, Donat’s Peak, Owl’s Head, and the Spitzenberg

  • Trexler Bridge, a stone arched structure constructed in 1841

  • Meandering streams like the Ontelaunee, Pine, Manor, Stony Run, and Kistler Creeks

  • Historic houses of worship like New Bethel Church and Jerusalem “Red” Church, both founded in the 1700s

  • The Pinnacle, Berk’s County’s most prominent topographical peak

  • World-famous Hawk Mountain Sanctuary

  • WK&S Railroad, a fully functioning, family-oriented train since the 1960s

  • Trexler Village, listed as a Historic District on the National Register

  • Thriving local businesses including Albright’s Mill, Bailey Wood Products, and many working crop and dairy farms

  • Plus much more