Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites Unveils 37th Annual Blueberry Festival & Market To Go Entertainment Schedule

July 3rd, 2024

This year’s festival includes the new Blueberry Tavern, blueberry-inspired contests and more.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. (July 3, 2024)—Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites (HBMS) is preparing for the sweetest summer weekend. This year’s Blueberry Festival will occur on Saturday, July 13 and Sunday, July 14, at Bethlehem’s Burnside Colonial Farm. New this year is the Blueberry Tavern, which features ticketed tastings and full-size pours from Lehigh Valley-based brewers and distillers.

“This year’s Blueberry Festival is especially exciting thanks to the new feature, Blueberry Tavern,” said Lindsey Jancay, interim vice president and managing director. “We are always seeking fun ideas and interesting partner opportunities to create a new experience for our guests each year.”

Festival patrons will enjoy delicious food, live music, fresh blueberries, Colonial cooking demonstrations, a gardening showcase, and hands-on kids’ activities. Event attendance is anticipated to be around 4,000.

Contests and challenges

Need more incentive to indulge your passion for blueberries? Those who didn’t get their fill of the beautiful blue fruit are invited to participate in a pie-eating contest open to all ages. Registration is required, and a competition will be held each day of the festival: Pie Eating Contest Registration Form.  

Talented chefs or those just learning are invited to participate in HBMS’s blueberry culinary contest, one for adults and one for children 15 years old and younger. Thank you to King Arthur for providing the culinary contest prizes. The complete list of rules and requirements can be found on the registration pages: Adult Baking Competition and Kids Baking Competition. 

Blueberry treats to go

The festival’s Market To Go, open from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, July 12, gets your weekend off to a delicious start. Order blueberry-inspired goods in advance and pick up your tasty treats at Bethlehem’s Burnside Farm. The presale is live and includes pies, ice cream, strudels, tarts, cookies and more. If you plan to attend the event and wish to take the festival home, order full-size desserts online before the festival for pickup from the take-home tent on Saturday or Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ordering is available via HBMS’s online shop webpage.

HBMS is still accepting vendor applications for this year’s festival. Interested vendors can apply directly on the Blueberry Festival event page or contact Beth Beatty, HBMS’s special events manager, at bbeatty@historicbethlehem.org.

The two-day festival features entertainment acts between the Tavern and Community Stages. The following is a tentative Blueberry Festival entertainment schedule (subject to change):

Saturday, July 13

• Tavern Stage
  • 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.: Matt Miskie
  • 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.: Sadie Pepitone
  • 2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.: Russel Mason
  • 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.: Jeff Penque
  • 5:45 p.m. to 7 p.m.: The Beautiful Distortion
• Community Stage
  • 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.: Valley Collective Band
  • 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.: Moravian Music Foundation
  • 2:15 p.m.: Pie Eating Contest/Adult Culinary Contest
  • 2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.: Southern Lehigh Jazz
  • 4 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.: Frank Porter
  • 5:30 p.m.to 6:45 p.m.: Mark Hannig

Sunday, July 14

• Tavern Stage
  • 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Andrew Lobby
  • 12:45 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.: Achille’s Heart
  • 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Lake of Orchards
  • 4:15 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.: Sweet Hollow
• Community Stage
  • 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.: Tom Storm
  • 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.: The Masons
  • 2:15 p.m.: Pie Eating Contest/Youth Culinary Contest
  • 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.: Smooth Retsina Glow
  • 4:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.: Michael Patrick

“This event has grown over the years and is now an anticipated community staple perfect for family and friends,” said Jancay. “We would not be able to hold the weekend’s festivities without the support from our incredible sponsors.” 

Sponsors of this year’s festival include:

• Presenting sponsor: Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE).
• Harvester sponsors: Majestic Realty Foundation; The Morning Call; Lehigh Valley Press; Lehigh Valley Live / Express-Times; and Lamar.
• Cultivator sponsor: iHeart Media.
• Seed sower sponsors: Service Electric; Lehigh Valley Health Network; and WDIY.
• Gardner sponsors: Campbell, Rappold & Yurasits LLP; and Capital Blue Cross.
• Planter sponsors: PBS39/WLVT; Lehigh Valley Style; Tiller Private Wealth; Embassy Bank; and Stirling Painting.
• Friend sponsors: Herc Rentals; Moravian University; and Nitschmann Middle School.
• Culinary contest sponsor: King Arthur Baking Company.

Profits from this annual event support the mission of HBMS, which interprets and maintains 20 historic buildings and 65,000 artifacts and provides educational programming in the local community to bring three centuries of history to life.

For more Blueberry Festival sponsorship information, visit https://www.historicbethlehem.org/experiences/series/blueberry-festival-market-to-go/.

Share This