Experience Community Day like Never Before

March 19th, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: LoriAnn Wukitsch, Vice President and Managing Director
Email: lwukitsch@historicbethlehem.org
Date: March 12, 2014

Community Day: Find Your Heritage with Historic Bethlehem
Experience the Free Heritage Trail Scavenger Hunt!
Bethlehem, PA
April 5, 2014
Get ready to experience Community Day like you have never seen it before. This year, visitors to Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites will be able to sample three of our six Heritage Trail links featuring 80 stops and three centuries of history.

The FREE 2014 Heritage Trail Scavenger Hunt will feature select stops from our Moravian Founders, Monocacy Valley, and Victorian Bethlehem links, showcasing some of the most significant sites from Bethlehem’s history. Move from one stop to the next and find your heritage through this immersive walking tour. Our expert guides will be waiting to answer your questions and give you a taste of the Heritage Trail, which is now available for a full download from our newly redesigned website, HistoricBethlehem.org.

Want a FREE download including all 80 stops on the Heritage Trail? Be one of the first 500 people to visit the Heritage Trail page on our website and fill out the request form. Recipients of the free Heritage Trail download will be entered to win an exclusive behind the scenes “Into the Vault” tour at the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts when they turn in their completed Community Day Heritage Trail Scavenger Hunt map at the Historic Bethlehem Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe.
Guests are welcome to start their Heritage Trail Scavenger Hunt experience at any of the listed stops. At each stop you will be able to check off a piece of the scavenger hunt and learn more about this great way to experience Bethlehem’s rich heritage:

Featured Links and Stops

Moravian Founders – Focused on the very heart of Historic Bethlehem, and in the newly designated Historic Moravian Bethlehem National Historic Landmark District, this link tells how the city’s first settlers built a prosperous economy, filled with crafts and trade.
• Stop #1 – Historic Bethlehem Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe and 1810 Goundie House: Visit the home of Bethlehem’s brewer, Mr. Goundie, then head next door to the home he built for his daughter in the 1830s as a general store which serves as a store to this day! When restoring the building we found the original doorway between the two houses as they are connected today.
• Stop #5 – Moravian Museum of Bethlehem: One of two National Historic Landmarks and the oldest standing building in Bethlehem, the Moravian Museum’s Gemeinhaus is believed to be the longest continually used log structure in the United States dating to 1741.
• Stop #13 – 1750 Smithy: Not just home to blacksmiths, the 1750 Smithy also housed the locksmith, tin smith and, to the surprise of many modern-day people, a gun smith.

Monocacy Valley – Wind along the Monocacy Way Trail and follow the creek that brought life to Burnside Plantation, Illick’s Mill, and the Colonial Industrial Quarter.
• Stop #20 – South Side Monocacy Valley: Learn about the importance of the Monocacy Creek to the early settlers of Bethlehem and then follow the scenic dirt path along this important waterway that connects our farm in the city to the Historic Moravian National Historic Landmark District!
• Stop #21 – Road to Nain Village: The Nain-Schober house thought to be the only remaining building left of the original settlement and has had several different locations, landing in its current one in 1905. Learn about the village of Nain and its important role in Bethlehem’s history.
• Stop #24 – Burnside Plantation Johnson Barn, Hass Barn, Gardens & Orchard: Burnside Plantation was the first privately held property in the settlement and the first private home. Burnside Plantation’s gardens and orchard are beautiful in any season. Only heirloom trees and plants are grown here. They are tended by a dedicated group of volunteer gardeners who adopt plots that supply our Summer Kitchen. This stop also features the Johnson Barn, which has one of only two operating high horse-power wheels in the United States. To tour the barn and the kitchen be sure to pick up a Pass into History admission ticket at the Burnside Plantation Welcome Center.

Victorian Bethlehem – Take in the breathtaking homes that housed Bethlehem’s wealthiest industrialists.
• Stop #39/40 – City Center Complex and the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts: Hear the story behind Pennsylvania’s only museum dedicated to the decorative arts, housed in not one but three Victorian homes. Then learn what Tondabayashi in Japan, Schwabisch Gmund in Germany and Murska Sabota in Slovenia all have in common as you stroll around the City Center’s beautiful grounds.

Download your treasure map for this special scavenger hunt at HistoricBethlehem.org or pick up a copy and start the hunt at any of our four participating sites; the Historic Bethlehem Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe, Moravian Museum of Bethlehem, Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts, or Burnside Plantation. When you finish the scavenger hunt bring your completed map to the 1810 Goundie House (enter through the Historic Bethlehem Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe) to receive a special prize!

In addition to the new and improved scavenger hunt we are excited to announce that we will be previewing our new Heritage Trail iOS App. Guests will be able to see samples of this great new way to learn about Bethlehem’s past when they end their day at the 1810 Goundie House. The Heritage Trail is available now on our website as a digital download or by renting a hand-held recorder complete with maps from the Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe at 505 Main Street. Any guest who would like to purchase the full Heritage Trail may do so before or during Community Day and still participate in the scavenger hunt. The new Heritage Trail iOS App will be available for purchase later this spring.
While you are out in the city try and spot Francis “Daddy” Thomas and Johanette Etwein who will be strolling the streets of Bethlehem as part of the new Docent on Main program. Feel free to stop and talk to Daddy Thomas and Johanette any time you come to Bethlehem to learn more about what is happening in the Historic District. From dining specials to special activities, they are able to help you find your heritage and guide you towards a great experience. Find them roaming along Main Street, Broad Street, and Church Street, seven days a week and learn about Bethlehem then and now!

This annual event is a great way to learn about everything that Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites has to offer. After the scavenger hunt consider purchasing the Pass into History and enjoy special activities at select sites included in admission exclusively for Community Day. Children under the age of 12 will receive free Pass into History admission all day on Community Day, all passes are valid for an entire year!

Participating Sites and Activities

Moravian Museum of Bethlehem – Make a fire fighter helmet and learn about the historic fire engines, Perseverance and Diligence. Learn to make your very own folded paper Moravian star from our resident expert!

1810 Goundie House – Step back in time and see what Bethlehem used to look like; Check out the “Main Street Views” exhibit! Get a sneak peak at our upcoming Heritage Trail iPhone App!

1750 Smithy – Check out the Blacksmith at work; he’ll be creating amazing iron pieces, right in front of your eyes!

Burnside Plantation – Come and see this hidden gem of Bethlehem, watch the Historic Bethlehem Colonial Foodways Group making traditional hasenpfeffer (rabbit stew).

Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts – Kids! Hunt for History will be held at the Kemerer Museum, learn to create your own piece of art using paper cutting techniques. While you are there be sure to check out the Once Upon a Treehouse interactive play area!

Follow the day’s events and share your photos via Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram #communityday. Don’t forget to post on our Facebook wall to be entered into a contest to win a free $75 Family Membership and a Commemorative Print of the City of Bethlehem! Post and tell us why you love HBMS and Community Day between 3/29 and 4/12 to be entered to win.

Historic Bethlehem 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. Historic Bethlehem is located in Eastern Pennsylvania, only a 1.5 hour drive from Philadelphia to the North and 2 hours west of New York City. Historic Bethlehem is an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and is distinguished as a National Historic Landmark District for Historic Moravian Bethlehem. For more information please call 610-691-6055 or visit www.historicbethlehem.org.

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