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WFMZ 69 News: Bethlehem hosts a sweet festival in a socially distanced way
July 20th, 2020 | In The News
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A longtime Bethlehem festival has bucked a pandemic trend.
Many popular summer events in our area have either been cancelled or are going virtual, but the Blueberry Festival at Burnside Plantation is going strong.
Organizers scrambled to salvage the annual tradition by coming up with ways to meet state coronavirus restrictions.
When it comes to blueberries, folks in the Lehigh Valley just can’t seem to get enough.
The festival has everything from delicious drinks, to incredible ice cream, to perfect pastries.
But the adoration of this favorite fruit almost didn’t happen.
“We’ve been planning this for a couple months at this point it has changed by the day you know based on what was going on but we’re happy that we’re able to be here, put something on and have people come out and enjoy all we have to offer,” said Carly Cheponis, of Historic Bethlehem Museum and Sites.
Instead of larger stages with music and tastings, this year’s event features limited options and fewer vendors.
About 6,000 visitors used to come on a weekend, now a batch of only 250 people come in for 90 minutes, and when the bell rings, they head out so the staff can clean up, and rotate in a whole new crop.
“It’s great they’ve made these accommodations to get us in here,” said Jason Babaz, of Easton. “It’s a nice warm day, lots of fun happenings around it’s just good to be out and about, and still have people respect each other and space.”
The festival’s new format runs every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through next Sunday.
