Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites Unveils June 2024 Events

May 30th, 2024

Events include free family programming, the annual Rooms to View Tour, and the opening of the nonprofit’s latest exhibition, “Checking In? Bethlehem’s Alluring Accommodations.” 

BETHLEHEM, Pa. (May 29, 2024)—Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites (HBMS) announced its lineup of events and activities for June 2024, including the Rooms to View House & Garden Tour, Saturdays at Burnside, a Vintage Baseball Game, Free Sundays at the Museums, the opening of HBMS’s latest exhibition, “Checking In? Bethlehem’s Alluring Accommodations. In addition, six historical tours are also available for guests, including the return of the Cemetery Tour: Death & Dying. 

“We are excited to offer a packed slate of events for the month of June to provide enriching experiences for our community and out-of-town visitors alike,” said LoriAnn Wukitsch, HBMS’s president and CEO. “For 32 years, the Rooms To View House & Garden Tour event has been a pillar event for this community, and we are thrilled to host it again. We are so grateful to the homeowners for opening their front doors and garden gates to help make this year memorable.”

The Rooms to View House & Garden Tour is a two-day event featuring a unique, exclusive look into the beauty of Lehigh Valley residences, stylish kitchens, and flourishing gardens. It will kick off with a Preview Soiree on Friday, June 7, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and the tour will occur on Saturday, June 8. Following the tour, the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts is hosting a Garden Party Reception from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets to the Preview Soiree are $135, including admission to both the soiree and the tour. Tickets for the tour are $45 for future HBMS members and $35 for existing members. 

“Checking In? Bethlehem’s Alluring Accommodations” explores Bethlehem’s long hospitality legacy. Made possible through support from the exhibition’s presenting sponsor, Historic Hotel Bethlehem, this multisite experience takes attendees to local landmarks, including the Moravian Museum of Bethlehem, the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts and the Sun Inn, to learn about some of the city’s most famous visitors.

The exhibit runs from June 1, 2024, through January 26, 2025. HBMS and the Sun Inn offers a Checking In Combo Ticket purchase option,  which provides admission to the event, a self-guided tour and a Christmas City Spirits tasting experience, including a complimentary tasting glass, at the Sun Inn. Combo tickets are $30 and are only available to adults 21 and older. Exhibition admission for all ages can be purchased at HistoricBethlehem.org.

The Historic Farm at Burnside  is hosting two events on June 1:

• Saturdays at Burnside: The public is invited to visit the farm on the first Saturday of each month for FREE historical fun. Visitors will learn about the “farm in the city,” which has been part of the Moravian community since 1748. Open to all ages, this experience offers a make-your-own weather-vane activity that teaches about the tools farmers used to determine how to plant crops in the 18th and 19th centuries. Additionally, guests can participate in “You Point, We Pick,” where they select which plants they would like to take home, and a volunteer gardener will pick them up in exchange for a donation. 
• Vintage Baseball Game: HBMS hosts an 1864-style matchup between the Athletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphia and the Brandywine Base Ball Club at 12 noon. Attendees will see how baseball was played in the past and take a swing themselves. Guests are encouraged to bring their own comfortable chairs. Guests can explore the Burnside house, barns, and grounds between innings and make their own baseball pennants to root for their favorite team. Tickets are required for this event. Tickets start at $5 for children, $10 for adult members, and $12 for adult nonmembers

HBMS offers Free Sundays at the Museums on the first Sunday of each month through Nov. Visitors receive complimentary admission to both the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts and the Moravian Museum of Bethlehem from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Funded by the support of the Jones Children Fund, the program features a hands-on activity for the whole family. At the Kemerer Museum, visitors create a mixed-media flower bouquet on canvas. Moravian Museum of Bethlehem visitors make a colonial-style sweet bag. Free Sundays are sponsored in part by Macaroni KID, and will take place on June 2, July 7, September 1, October 6 and Nov. 3.

HBMS is running six historic tours during June: Old Bethlehem Walking Tour,  Apothecary Tour, Rise and Fall of Bethlehem Steel Walking Tour, Cemetery Tour: Death & Dying, John Adams Walking Tour, and Playful Pathways: A Family-friendly Tour of Bethlehem. 

A certified guide leads the Old Bethlehem Walking Tour in period dress and shares the 275-year history of Bethlehem’s unique beginnings since 1741. The Colonial Industrial Quarter Walking Tour takes visitors to the country’s first industrial park to discover how the early Moravians established the largest concentration of crafts and trades in the American Colonies.

The Apothecary Tour allows visitors to explore the Apothecary Museum, the country’s oldest continually operating drug store, and learn how inoculations were done before vaccines and other medicines were used between 1743 and 1952. The Love, Lust & Marriage Tour is an adults-only experience at the Gemeinhaus and Moravian Museum. During the tour, a certified guide dressed in traditional Colonial attire reveals secret details about early Moravian love, courtship, marriage and intimacy.

On the Rise and Fall of Bethlehem Steel Walking Tour, guests learn about Bethlehem Steel, which was once the second-largest steel producer in the country and helped build some of America’s most significant landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge and the Chrysler Building. The 90-minute walking tour features up-close views of the former steel plant and an in-depth look at the steel-making process and the workers’ roles in our country’s history. 

This month, the Cemetery Tour: Death & Dying returns, taking guests on a fascinating journey through the intriguing beliefs of early Moravians regarding mortality and spirituality. This tour goes through God’s Acre, Bethlehem’s oldest cemetery. It touches on the Moravians’ exceptional perspective on equality and how it transcended even in life’s final moments while highlighting the incredible tales of the individuals laid to rest at the cemetery. 

The John Adams Walking Tour highlights Bethlehem’s role in the American Revolution and what the second president, John Adams, had to say about the city in 1777. 

HBMS offers a kid-friendly tour, Playful Pathways: A Family-Friendly Tour of Bethlehem. During the tour, attendees learn about the history of Bethlehem in a way that keeps children and adults of all ages entertained and learning. It’s a stroller-friendly walk open to everyone ages 2 and up. Kids under 5 years old can attend cost-free.

The following tours are regularly scheduled on weekends: 

• Fridays
  • 1 p.m. – Old Bethlehem Walking Tour
  • 1 p.m. – Rise & Fall of Bethlehem Steel
  • 3 p.m. – John Adams Walking Tour
• Saturdays
  • 11 a.m. – Playful Pathways: A Family-friendly Tour of Bethlehem
  • 1 p.m. – Old Bethlehem Walking Tour
  • 1 p.m. – Rise & Fall of Bethlehem Steel
  • 3 p.m. – Death & Dying: Cemetry Tour
• Sundays
  • 1 p.m. – Old Bethlehem Walking Tour
  • 1 p.m. – Rise & Fall of Bethlehem Steel
  • 3 p.m. – Apothecary Tour

Interested visitors can book custom or group tours on dates not on the calendar through HBMS’s website at www.historicbethlehem.org/visit-us/group-tours.

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