BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Thunderstorms that Musikfest called "pesky" closed the festival for more than 3 1/2 hours on what is typically one of its busiest days Saturday.
The festival also was delayed on the SteelStacks campus as Bethlehem police discovered what they called "a commercial grade firework" at SteelStacks.
"Please continue to shelter as we await these pesky storms to pass. ... Safety is our top priority as we wait."Musikfest message on social media Saturday
Musikfest first shut down at 5:05 p.m. and directed people to "seek shelter (in your vehicles, businesses that are open to the public or the ArtsQuest Center building) from the impending weather ... as we wait for storms to pass."
A thunderstorm rolled through Bethlehem quickly after, and Musikfest said on social media that it would reopen at 6:15.
But in the meantime, the thunderstorm continued, and the festival announced at 6:23 p.m. that people again "should seek shelter ... as we wait for this second round of storms to pass."
At 6:51, it again announced the festival would reopen at 7 p.m., but just six minutes later said on social media that "the storm has not quite passed so we will delay opening until 7:20 p.m. Continue to shelter and we'll update again as soon as we can!"
At 7:22 p.m., it said on social media gat people should "Please continue to shelter as we await these pesky storms to pass. ... Safety is our top priority as we wait."
As the messages went out, more than 6,000 people waited in the rain for gates at the main Steel Stage to open for the sold-out concert by hard-rockers Shinedown.
Fireworks discovered
Then, at 9:08 p.m., on Facebook the Bethlehem Police Department said that it "was made aware of a commercial grade firework that was located along First Street on Bethlehem’s SouthSide."
"The Bethlehem Police Department in conjunction with several law enforcement agencies responded, secured the area and removed the commercial grade firework.
"A search of First Street and the adjacent area was completed and at the conclusion of the search along with the weather clearing, has resulted in officials directing the festival to re-open in its entirety."
Officers with police dogs made their way through the throngs of people waiting for the Steel Stage gates to open.
"The Bethlehem Police Department encourages the community to continue to 'See Something, Say Something,'" police said on Facebook.
No further details were given.
"The Bethlehem Police department encourages the community to continue to 'See Something, Say Something.'"Bethlehem Police on Facebook
Because of the delay, Musikfest officials asked Bethlehem city officials to extend the deadline for music to stop on the main stage only, ArtsQuest spokeswoman Jennifer LoConte said.
The Shinedown show was allowed to continue, 2 1/2 hours after it was scheduled to start.
The concert finished a little after 11:30 p.m.
Musikfest is scheduled to reopen at noon today.
