Photo by Lisa Boehm

As the nation’s largest free music festival gets ready to return for its 34th year, Musikfest is seeking mouth-watering and show-stopping eats and treats from the region’s food vendors to pair with its 10 days of musical entertainment. Musikfest 2017 is scheduled for Aug. 4-13 and vendors interested in applying should do so by Jan. 27 at www.musikfest.org/applications.

For many ‘fest fans, Musikfest’s food options, which complement the theme of each festival venue, are the icing on the cake, with everything from Pennsylvania Dutch and German fare at Festplatz to the Caribbean, Mexican, Cuban and Puerto Rican menus at Plaza Tropical. Joining longtime Musikfest vendors like The Bethlehem Dairy Store, Karl Ehmer and “Aw Shucks” Corn in recent years have been new crowd favorites including Tica’s Tacos, famed for its summer “music festival tour;” Philadelphia’s Viva Empanada; and Chick n’ Cone, which was recently featured on the Cooking Channel’s “Carnival Eats” program.

With more than 500 performances on 15 stages, attendance at the past six Musikfest’s has been near or more than one million visitors annually. Through a jury selection process, up to 60 food vendors are chosen to fill the festival grounds, which stretch throughout North and South Bethlehem, creating a city within a city. While more than 80 percent of the vendors hail from Pennsylvania, participants from New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida have also made their way to the festival in recent years.

For more information on Musikfest and being a vendor at the festival, visit www.musikfest.org.