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How free LANTA rides will work, and get up close with World Heritage | Musikfest headlines
August 2nd, 2024 | In The News
Written by Kurt Bresswein for Lehigh Valley Live
Visitors to Musikfest 2024 are going to find 770 fewer parking spaces in Center City Bethlehem, following the demolition that started earlier this year on the Walnut Street Parking Garage.
There is still the North Street Parking Garage among options nearby and three public garages on Southside: Riverport, New Street and Polk Street.
Additionally, Trans-Bridge Lines Inc. is running shuttles for a fee to the north side of Musikfest from 1525 Valley Center Parkway in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, and to Southside from Penn State Lehigh Valley, 2809 Saucon Valley Road in Upper Saucon Township. Visit musikfest.org for full pricing, hours and other details.
Lehigh Valley residents can also leave the car at home and ride LANTA. The public transit provider is offering free pickups at 14 shuttle stops within designated Musikfest zones. Once aboard, riders can continue at no charge to any stop on the Blue Line Enhanced Bus Service (EBS) RapidTransit (connecting to Easton and Allentown) and Green Line EBS RapidTransit (connecting to Whitehall and Wind Creek Bethlehem). Visit lantabus.com for hours and full details.
LANTA is also running a free Gold Line shuttle linking Bethlehem’s parking garages, and Levy Bus is operating a fee-based Purple Line North-South Transfer connecting the north-side and Southside festival grounds (a day pass is $6 for ages 13 and up, $4 for ages 3 to 12 and free for 2 and younger).
The new public transit options for Musikfest aren’t in response to the loss of the Walnut Street garage, which is slated to be rebuilt with a new, smaller garage with room for a retail component near Bethlehem’s Main Street, according to LANTA spokesman Chuck Genna.
“I just think everyone wants to get around Musikfest better than ever before, and I think this is going to help a lot,” he told lehighvalleylive.com.
Get up close with Moravian sites that earned UNESCO World Heritage status
Just a week ago, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting in New Delhi, India, bestowed a coveted designation on 10 acres of Bethlehem, nine structures and God’s Acre cemetery — all within walking distance of the 10-day Musikfest that officially gets underway Friday.
“The historic Moravian Church Settlements of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania/USA; Gracehill, Northern Ireland/UK; and Herrnhut, Germany now join Christiansfeld, Denmark (already inscribed in 2015) as a single World Heritage site that represents the outstanding universal value of these historic settlements and the worldwide influence of the Moravian Church,” Bethlehem officials had announced July 26.
Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites worked for over two decades to earn the recognition, which is expected to boost tourism for the city. The city, Bethlehem Area Moravians, Central Moravian Church and Moravian University also pitched in on the effort.
With tours available from the Historic Bethlehem nonprofit, Musikfest-goers and other visitors to the city are invited to take in the sites that include:
- The 1741 Gemeinhaus, 66 W. Church St., which is the oldest building in Bethlehem and houses the Moravian Museum of Bethlehem.
- The 1762 Waterworks, an ASCE Historic Civil Engineering and American Water landmark, which was America’s first pumped municipal water system in the Colonial Industrial Quarter that is home to Familienplatz and Martin Guitar Handwerkplatz during Musikfest and just across the Monocacy Creek from the popular Service Electric Festplatz.
“We are honored to welcome guests to tour Bethlehem’s most significant Moravian buildings and sites,” Lindsey Jancay, Historic Bethlehem’s vice president and managing director, said in a news release. “Summer is the perfect time to experience the Moravian Church Settlements in Bethlehem.
“Our Historic Bethlehem Walking Tours with a costumed, certified docent are a real step back in time. Or, visitors can tour at their own pace with the self-guided Heritage Trail — a great way to experience over 275 years of history in our community.”
Learn more by visiting historicbethlehem.org.
