Featured Image: Apple lasagna and pasta by Pasta Eva
BETHLEHEM, PA–Fall officially arrives next week and Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites’ (HBMS) Apple Days is the perfect way to get a taste of the season!
Set for Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 20-21, the 12th-annual Apple Days is packed with live music, crafts and family-friendly activities, including pony rides, goat snuggling, a petting zoo and artisans demonstrating 18th-century crafts. Apple-inspired foods can also be found in abundance, with the aromas of baked apples, cinnamon and sweet treats mixed with the savory scents of international flavors. This year, get ready to sample apples in ways you might never have imagined as you discover dishes like apple risotto, apple lasagna, Apple Jacks donuts and more.
Among the 2025 food vendors is DonutNV of Nazareth, returning with special Apple Days donut flavors and toppings, including caramel apple, Apple Jacks, apple cinnamon and apple strudel. Philadelphia’s Pasta Eva, a hit at HBMS’s Blueberry Festival in July, returns with a menu of apple-themed takes on Italian classics, including spaghetti with an apple tomato sauce, risotto made with apples and caramelized onions, apple lasagna and apple tiramisù.
The 2025 Apple Days also takes on an international flavor with vendors such as Taco Town, offering a wide array of tasty tacos topped with choice of meat, and Couchpota.doh of Bethlehem, serving up delicious Ecuadorian cuisine including empanadas featuring apples in both sweet and savory recipes.
Order Your Favorite Desserts Today
An annual highlight of Apple Days is the Market to Go, featuring apple cider and delicious apple desserts. This year’s lineup is the largest ever, with nine different choices ranging from apple pie by Vallos Bakery, apple crumb cake by the Bakery Nook and apple cider donut holes by Backdoor Bakeshop to apple caramel ice cream from the Bethlehem Dairy Store and new apple crullers and gluten-free apple cinnamon muffins. It’s the biggest dessert lineup in the festival’s history!
Want the best deal? Get the Apple Extravaganza, featuring an apple pie, large coffee cake and strudel. Individuals can pre-order their favorite desserts and pick them at Apple Days (admission ticket required). Or, if they’re unable to attend the event, they can also get them at the Market to Go on Friday, Sept. 19, 4-7 p.m.
Enjoy Autumn-Inspired Beverages at the Tavern
At the Apple Barrel Tavern, attendees can sample a variety of autumn-inspired beverages from local producers such as Christmas City Spirits, Stony Run Winery and Banko Beverage Company. Taste the season with a special surprise seasonal cocktail, spiced wine, Strongbow and Woodchuck Amber hard ciders, Gourdo Extra Special Pumpkin Ale, vonC Festbier and other offerings. Tavern Tasting Tickets, which include five beverage samples of your choice and admission to the festival, are only $25. Full-size pours are also available for purchase.
Apple Days festival hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. both days. Advance discounted tickets are on sale now at historicbethlehem.org and 610-691-6055. For more information, visit historicbethlehem.org.
Information provided to TVL by:
Mark Demko
