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May 5th, 2017 |
Kick off your May and celebrate Bethlehem with Community Heritage Day, this Saturday, May 6 from 10 am – 4 pm at the Colonial Industrial Quarter – Rain or shine! Discover what it was like to be a colonial blacksmith, how the early Moravians built strong buildings out of stone, what some colonial dishes tasted like, and more!
This FREE family-fun event will be jam packed with live demonstrations from Wildlands Conservancy, HBMS blacksmiths, open-hearth colonial cooking from HBMS Foodways Group, hairwork artists, hands-on construction activities and colonial games, as well as tours of the 1762 Waterworks.
Experience a Live Bird Presentation by the Wildlands Conservancy. Learn everything you wanted to know about the different, fascinating birds who call the Lehigh Valley their home from these nature experts! Live-bird presentations will include red-tail hawks, turkey vultures, owls, and pigeons and starts at 11 am and 2 pm.
Hike with a naturalist from Wildlands Conservancy. Find out how to identify birds, birds’ nests or cavities, food sources, and other signs of bird activity. Plus, receive a free “hiking pack” with binoculars and other supplies! Hikes will begin at 12 and 3 pm.
Hear the fire roar, see sparks fly, and the anvil ring at the 1750 Smithy! Learn from our professional blacksmiths how colonial blacksmiths made the intricate hinges, door handles, hooks, and decorative objects you see everywhere in Historic Moravian Bethlehem!
Follow the smells to our open hearth and learn delicious colonial recipes from the Historic Bethlehem Foodways Group as they illustrate different open-hearth cooking methods. Yum!
Watch Susan Newquist of Red-Tail Designs use horsehair to create custom jewelry! This local artist and equine aficionado will demonstrate how she weaves handcrafted accessories using the hair from a horse’s tail or mane as her primary material. It is unlike anything we’ve ever seen!
See Lucy Cadwallader demonstrate the art of Victorian hair jewelry using human or horse hair! This self-taught artist has been making hair jewelry for 18 years, so she knows her stuff. Discover how she creates handcrafted jewelry and mementos from loved ones’ hair. She is a true hair art lover.
Laugh and reminisce at the various hairstyles sported by Bethlehem residents with this black & white photograph collection of residents’ hairstyles throughout history from the Bethlehem Steel Photo Collection.
Did you know that the 1762 waterwheel is 18 ft. in diameter, that’s the size of three 6-foot tall men standing one on top of each other! This National Historic Landmark helped pump spring water 92 vertical feet to a tower, and then by gravity provided water to five locations!
Try your hand at the Buzzsaw, Bucket Brigades, Hoops, Graces, Jacob’s Ladder and more! Watch out, things might get a little competitive!
Create one-of-a-kind designs to take home with you at our tin-punching station on the 2nd floor of the Smithy. Kids and adults will love practicing this colonial trade while learning more about the tin smiths.
Learn interesting facts about the Monocacy Valley on our Heritage Trail. Stroll along the creek that brought Burnside Plantation, Illick’s Mill, and the Colonial Industrial Quarter to life!
Find out in The Moravian Sugar Cake Mysteries, the newest book in the Old Bethlehem Mysteries Series! Co-author and President of Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites Charlene Donchez Mowers will be signing books, so don’t miss out!
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