Morning Call: Bethlehem’s Blueberry Festival & Market To Go: What you need to know

It’s a delicious tradition that lets the Lehigh Valley know it’s really summer.

The 34th annual Blueberry Festival & Market To Go will be held July 17 to 21 at the historic Bethlehem Plantation.

If you’ve never been, this festival offers every imaginable way to enjoy in-season blueberries — from pies, ice cream and donuts to drinks of all sorts. And this festival is perfect for families, with tons of events for kids.

Last year, the festival shifted largely to a “Market to Go” format, allowing folks to still get their favorite blueberry-centric foods while balancing the need for pandemic safety.

This year’s event will be a bit of both: A two-day, in-person festival with food, contests and family fun (July 17-18) and a three day to-go market (July 19-21), where folks can order their favorites, pick up them and take them home.

Here’s the rundown on what you’ll find this year:

Hours and dates

In-person festival: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. July 17 and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 18

Market to Go: Pre-order online. Drive-thru pick up, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 19-21

Location: Burnside Plantation, 1461 Schoenersville Road, Bethlehem

Pre-order and safe pickup

How it works: Pre-order blueberry desserts and more at the online store: store.historicbethlehem.org/VIP-blueberry-to-go-market/

Choose your pickup day and time

Head to Burnside to get your order through a safe drive-thru pickup

What can I order?

Here’s just a sample of some of the delicious foods you can order for pick-up:

Blueberry pie from Easton’s Tombler’s Bakery: $15

4-inch blueberry tarts from Tombler’s: $5 each

Blueberry strudel from Coplay’s Bakery Nook: $15

Blueberry coffee cake from the Bakery Nook: $15

1/2 gallon of blueberry ice cream from Bethlehem’s Dairy Store (aka The Cup): $10

Plus: A selection of blueberry jams and jellies, salsas, shrubs, jerky, syrup, coffee, baking mixes, fresh blueberries and blueberry bushes to take home and plant in your own yard.

Order: store.historicbethlehem.org/VIP-blueberry-to-go-market/

Festival foods

Of course, this festival is all about blueberry foods. Here’s just a sample of what you’ll find at the festival:

Blueberry Dessert Tent Menu: Slices and whole blueberry pie, ice cream, blueberries, coffee cake; slices and whole strudel

Numerous food vendors including Big Poppa’s Backyard BBQ, specializing in Southern-style cooking

Demos and contests

Over at the Blueberry Festival Culinary Tent & Contest, you can watch food demos and watch who wins the Best Blueberry Dessert contest.

Adult Best Blueberry Dessert, 2 p.m. July 17: You have to be 16 years old and older to enter and be an amateur chef.

Kids 15 and Under Best Blueberry Dessert Culinary Contest: 2 p.m. July 18.

Both contests require at least one cup of blueberries in the recipes and that if flour is used, it must be King Arthur Flour, with receipt of purchase included with the recipe.

Full list of rules and how to enter: https://historicbethlehem.org/blueberry-festival/blueberry-culinary-contest-form/#BBFCulinaryContest.

Registration for the culinary contests is free but does not include festival admission. Registration deadline is 3 p.m. July 14.

Speaking of contests …

A Blueberry Festival tradition, the pie-eating contest is back, 2:15 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the community stage.

Categories are Kid (Ages 17 and under) and Adult (Ages 18 and older)

Sign up online or at the Information Tent. Maximum of 12 participants. Registration for the Pie Eating Contest is free and does not include admission to the Blueberry Festival.

Blueberry Brewery Tent

You’ll find brews, wines, and liquors by Cave Brewing Company, Lost Tavern Brewing, McCall Collective Brewing Company, 14th Fret Brewing Company, Logyard Brewery, Boyd’s Cardinal Hollow Winery, and Xplorer Spirits.

How it works: With the Blueberry Brewery Tasting Combo Pass ($25), those 21 and older will receive admission to the festival, a tasting glass and five tastings in the tent.

Also, next to the Blueberry Brewery Tent, Morning Call Beer Writer Craig Larimer and his brew crew will be demonstrating how ale was made 275 years ago in Bethlehem and talking about Lehigh Valley beer history. Larimer’s team will be making a batch of “Burnside Amber Ale.”

Live music

While you’re at the festival you can enjoy music from acts such as the Will Kiss Band, Andrew Lobby, Matt Miskie, Temple Avenue Jazz, and other local musicians and groups.

Family fun

Activities for the whole family include children’s crafts from the Museum of Indian Culture and outdoor games. The child and adult blueberry baking competitions will be judged by Young Chef’s Academy, Allentown. There will be live demonstrations from Young Chef’s Academy and Neverland K9 Institute, a pie-eating contest for children and adults, and more.

The Read to Dogs program is back in the Lower Haas Barn where children can read to friendly Therapy Dogs in a quiet setting. Kids can bring their favorite book to read or choose from a selection provided in the barn.

For all those animal lovers, back by popular demand, the Blueberry Festival will also feature a petting zoo and pony rides from Sunset Boarding Stables. Get up and close to favorite farm animals including goats, sheep, chickens, ducks, and rabbits.

For four-legged friends

The festival is pet-friendly.

Dress up your pups in their best blueberry costumes and enter the annual dog parade, which will be held at 3:15 p.m. July 18 in the lower meadow. (Best dressed will win a prize.)

Parking

Two places to park:

Westgate Mall (for shuttle pick up and drop off at Burnside Plantation) in front of the old Weis Market at 2285 Schoenersville Road. Bus shuttles on loop to festival and back to Westgate Mall. Dogs are not permitted on the shuttles.

1150 Mauch Chunk Road, just a short walk from Burnside Plantation.

How much

Tickets: $10 for adults 18+, $5 for children 4-17, and free for children 3 and under. Order: https://historicbethlehem.org/blueberry-festival/

Registration for contests is free but does not include festival admission.