BLUEBERRIES – AND SO MUCH MORE
Hailed as the “Sweetest Festival of the Summer,” the 2015 Blueberry Festival promises live music, local crafters, children’s games, colonial demonstrations, beer, wine and mead tastings and, of course, blueberry pie and blueberry ice cream.
Historic Bethlehem Museum & Sites will host the 2015 Blueberry Festival Saturday, July 18 and Sunday, July 19 at Burnside Plantation, 1461 Schoenersville Road, Bethlehem. The two-day festival includes regional crafters demonstrating their expertise in wood carving, yarn dying, hammock-making and more. Homemade blueberry confections will be featured throughout the festival along with a variety of other specialty food vendors. New this year is the expanded tasting tent, Blueberry Brewery. In addition to sampling beer, wine and mead visitors will also be able to purchase full-size drinks provided by Colony Meadery and Pinnacle Winery and craft beers from Shangy’s – The Beer Authority.
Families can learn the history of colonial farming, watch colonial cooking demonstrations in the Summer Kitchen and experience the high-horse power wheel in the barn via guided tours of the grounds. Kids will enjoy pony rides, making a bluebird house and dressing up in colonial costume, while guests of all ages will appreciate the famous blueberry pie-eating contest. Along with strolling musicians and magicians, live music will be presented throughout the festival. The West Field Stage will host notable bands This Way to the Egress, She Said Sunday and Craig Thatcher & Nike Van Wyk on Saturday afternoon and old favorites, Dave Fry and the Billy Bauer Duo will be performing several times throughout the festival.
New this year, guests can participate in the Blueberry Cooking Contests both Saturday and Sunday. Contests categories include: Cold Summer Soup, Blueberry Salad Dressing or Sauce, Blueberry Pie with Crumb Topping, Double Crust Blueberry Pie, Gluten Free Blueberry Bars or Cookies, Healthy Blueberry Snack, and No Bake Blueberry Dessert. Prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place will be awarded at the festival. Registration forms must be completed and mailed back to Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites by July 4, 2015 in order to participate.
Festival hours are 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Saturday, July 18 and 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Sunday, July 19. Free parking is available in the Martin Tower lot and tickets are available at the gate: $8 for adults, $4 for children (4-12), FREE for children 3 and under. Tickets for Blueberry Brewery include six tastings, a commemorative glass and admission to the festival can be purchased for $20. Become a new member of Historic Bethlehem Museum & Sites and admission is FREE.
Burnside Plantation, the “Farm in the City,” is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Burnside Plantation lies along the Monocacy Creek, six-tenths of a mile north of the Colonial Industrial Quarter, America’s first industrial park. In the mid-1980s, a group of preservationists and environmentalists petitioned Lehigh County to purchase the last remaining tract, 6.5 acres, of the original 500 acre Burnside Farm to save as open space and to preserve the heart of an 18th century farm within the city limits of Bethlehem.
Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites is a not-for-profit institution that brings to life three centuries of American history. Historic Bethlehem tells the story of a small town of great influence, home to some of our nation’s earliest settlers, to America’s first municipal water pumping system and to one of the world’s greatest industrial companies. Located in eastern Pennsylvania, Historic Bethlehem is located ninety minutes north of Philadelphia and two hours west of New York City. Historic Bethlehem is an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and a National Historic Landmark District.
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