UPPER MACUNGIE TWP., Pa. — ArtsQuest, the organization that annually presents Musikfest in Bethlehem, has announced it will offer a music festival and other events in Upper Macungie Township this summer.
ArtsQuest will hold Concerts on the Grange on May 12-13, it was revealed at a township supervisor meeting Thursday.
It also will hold festivals called Upper Macungie Days in June and VegFest in September. All will be at Grange Park, the township's 165-acre open space.
- Upper Macungie Township has partnered with ArtsQuest to put on new events to raise awareness of Grange Park
- New events are coming to Upper Macungie’s Grange Park in May, June and September
- They include Concerts on the Grange, Upper Macungie Days and VegFest
The events are significant because ArtsQuest rarely offers programming off its home SteetStacks campus in South Bethlehem.
The organization's presentation of the Sangriafest wine festival in Upper Macungie in 2019 — also a partnership with the township — was the first time it ever held a festival outside of Bethlehem.
Sangriafest, a 21-and-older event, returned to Upper Macungie in 2022, and a list of events on SteelStacks' websiteindicates it will again be back on Sept. 2.
Applications are being taken for food and festival vendors.
A way to celebrate
Township supervisors on Thursday unanimously approved special event permits for the new events.
The township will partner with ArtsQuest to put on new events to raise awareness of Grange Park.
“We see this as a partnership and a way to celebrate Grange Park and Upper Macungie Township through our experiences by bringing joy to the community and its residents while helping the businesses in the community thrive," ArtsQuest Chief Operating Officer at ArtsQuest Curt Mosel said.
Township Board of Supervisors member James Brunell expressed his appreciation for ArtsQuest.
“It's amazing to see this grow. So we appreciate you being here — all except VegFest. You had me up until VegFest,” Brunell said, jokingly.
The new events
Officials said the new Concerts on the Grange will feature live music and lots of food. The specific musical acts that will perform are being decided, officials said.
It was not immediately clear whether it or the other new events will be free. Sangrifest, for example, cost $35-$79 to attend last year.
Local restaurants and food trucks will serve as the food vendors for Concerts on the Grange. Mosel said seven potential vendors already have expressed interest.
“We think they'll be a great way to kick off summer at Grange Park,” Mosel said.
“We think they'll be a great way to kick off summer at Grange Park."Curt Mosel, chief operating officer at ArtsQuest
The next new event, Upper Macungie Days, will be June 23-25.
There will be food, music, lawn games, inflatables and other activities.
There also likely will be some kind of competition within the fire department, but Mike Kukitz, the new recreation manager for Upper Macungie Township, said the details are still being decided.
The final new event will be VegFest on Sept. 9.
Mosel described the event as “a celebration of the Lehigh Valley's consistently growing plant-based lifestyle scene” that will feature many food vendors and retailers.
Bethlehem and Easton also have held VegFest events. The Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce will host a VegFest event in Allentown on April 29.
Kukitz said he is looking forward to the new events.
“We’re very excited to partner with ArtsQuest to bring these events to our community,” Kukitz said in an interview.
Stepping outside Bethlehem
When ArtsQuest announced the first Sangriafest at Upper Macungie in 2019, Mosel said ArtsQuest still was "committed to Bethlehem and growing its programming and festivals in the Christmas City."
"At the same time, presenting a SangriaFest at Grange Park provides excellent cross-marketing opportunities for both the township and our organization,” Mosel said at the time.
Mosel said SangriaFest Upper Macungie would let ArtsQuest reach a new audience, “which will hopefully help us attract additional patrons to our festivals here in Bethlehem. As a nonprofit that focuses on using arts and culture to support economic development in our region, this fits in very well with our mission.”
ArtsQuest has presented Musikfest in downtown Bethlehem since 1984. ArtsQuest touts Musikfest, held each August, as the largest free, ungated music festival in the United States.
In 2002, before ArtsQuest formed as an organization, Musikfest partnered with Allentown Symphony Hall — now Miller Symphony Hall — to offer a series of year-round concerts. But that series was canceled within a month because of poor ticket sales.
ArtsQuest then in 2010 partnered with Sands Casino, now Wind Creek, in Bethlehem to run a series of concerts called Musik at the Sands as a fundraiser for ArtsQuest and a test for the future Sands Bethlehem Event Center. That series was largely successful.
