Featured Image: Musikfest 2022 by Jeff Auger<\/p>\n
BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2013\u00a0Shortly after Grammy-award winning Olga\u00a0Ta\u00f1\u00f3n wrapped up her performance on the\u00a0Wind Creek Steel Stage Sunday, Aug. 14, Musikfest attendees and those\u00a0throughout the city turned their eyes to the sky. Enthusiasm built through the crowd, all pausing for just one more Musikfest moment: that moment coming via the sights and sounds of its annual fireworks display.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m grateful to the community for the overwhelming, and continued support of Musikfest,\u2019\u201d ArtsQuest President and CEO Kassie Hilgert said. \u201cAll throughout the festival \u2013more and more folks from volunteers to patrons \u2013 made it obvious how connected they are to Musikfest. It\u2019s that sense of connection, that makes what we do with Musikfest here in Bethlehem so special each year. None of what we do would be possible without our \u2018extended family\u2019 of performers, patrons, staff, dedicated volunteers, sponsors, members, local businesses, law enforcement, the City of Bethlehem and community leaders. That\u2019s what is so special about Musikfest, everyone is genuinely vested.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Hilgert, there\u2019s no doubt that the festival is well-loved, noting that 2022 was a record attendance year for the nation\u2019s largest free music festival, drawing some 1,240,000 attendees from 39 states, Washington, DC, and eight countries. The previous record was 1,226,000 in 2019.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s festival featured approximately 500 unique performances across 16 free stages, mouthwatering food, interactive displays and so much more! Highlights of this year\u2019s \u2018fest included headlining acts\u00a0Boyz II Men, Kip Moore,\u00a0Willie Nelson & Family, Poison, Ziggy Marley, Counting Crows, among others.<\/p>\n
After nearly a decade, the festival returned to Payrow Plaza, providing attendees in Bethlehem\u2019s Northside an additional concert venue: Stadtplatz, with free performances daily from 5-10 p.m. Musikfest also debuted a brand-new Wind Creek Steel Stage this year.\u00a0\u00a0Designed by Mountain Productions and built by local IATSE 200 labor force, the familiar stage design has been used at many events such as Rolling Loud and Firefly.<\/p>\n
For Catasauqua singer-song writer Melody Cruz, this year\u2019s Musikfest has been nothing short of phenomenal. \u201cThis year Musikfest has been exhilarating,\u201d said Cruz, who first attended the festival in 2004 to support her grandparents and mother who were performing, before making her first appearance as a performer in 2021. \u201cNumber one, I felt super lucky and grateful that all of the performances were still on. I could tell this year that people were coming out and taking in a performance and then returning to another performance helping to increase my fanbase. I could tell this year that people really came out, supporting and responding to Musikfest. I could feel the energy and the love.\u201d<\/p>\n
Musikfest featured 140 corporate sponsors, more than two dozen artisans\/retailers and nearly 40 food vendors.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe community definitely came out in droves,\u201d Russell Fletcher, CEO and Founder of Mishka Premium Vodka said. \u201cI feel like the community support is here at Musikfest. We are in 10 of the largest cities in PA and from a Lehigh Valley perspective, we had community come out and it was a great experience for us. Even our followers and supporters from Philly and Lancaster all came out to the festival; our arts director from Brooklyn even came out. Musikfest gave a great proving ground for our cocktails, and we\u2019re looking forward to expanding it next year. Musikfest gave us an opportunity to grow awareness of our brand.\u201d<\/p>\n Musikfest is made possible thanks to the support of the city, the Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority, Bethlehem Area School District, Northampton County, Lehigh County, the support of the corporate community, and more than 1,000 volunteers and 2,000 supporting members.<\/p>\n \u201cMusikfest once again reminded us of the happiness, vibrancy, and energy that is a central part pf Bethlehem\u2019s identity,\u201d Bethlehem Mayor J. Williams Reynolds said.\u00a0\u201cThank you to the volunteers, staff, musicians, small businesses, and public safety personnel who helped to give us another special 10 days in our community. We are counting down the days till we can \u2018Fest again.\u201d<\/p>\n The next Musikfest is set for Aug. 4 \u2013 13, 2023. Visit\u00a0musikfest.org<\/a>\u00a0for more information. Aside from Musikfest, ArtsQuest provides countless opportunities for the community to enjoy, year-round, including different musical, artistic, cultural and educational experiences on its campus at the\u00a0SteelStacks<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Banana Factory<\/a>. To ensure the future of ArtsQuest, visit\u00a0artsquest.org\/donate<\/a>.<\/p>\n About ArtsQuest<\/strong> Through festivals such as its flagship event,\u00a0Musikfest<\/a>; the\u00a0Banana Factory Arts Center<\/a>; and the ArtsQuest Center at\u00a0SteelStacks<\/a>\u00a0arts and cultural campus, ArtsQuest\u2019s programming reaches more than 1.9 million people annually. The organization\u2019s programs and events, approximately 50 percent of which are free to attend, have a combined economic impact of more than $136 million annually in the region. ArtsQuest is a proud member of NIVA, the\u00a0National Independent Venue Association<\/a>\u00a0and NATO, the\u00a0National Association of Theatre Owners.<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Information provided to TVL by: <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Featured Image: Musikfest 2022 by Jeff Auger BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2013\u00a0Shortly after Grammy-award winning Olga\u00a0Ta\u00f1\u00f3n wrapped up her performance on the\u00a0Wind Creek Steel Stage Sunday, Aug. 14, Musikfest attendees and those\u00a0throughout … Continue reading \u2018Connection, Community and Great Weather\u2019 | 39th annual Musikfest wraps with record-breaking attendance<\/span>
\nArtsQuest\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0mission is to provide access to exceptional artistic, cultural and educational experiences using arts and culture as key elements of economic development for our urban communities. ArtsQuest\u2122 supports this mission via the presentation of performing and visual arts, film, arts education classes and outreach, youth programming and cultural events.<\/p>\n
\nKelley Andrade, ArtsQuest
\nPublic Relations Coordinator
\nhttp:\/\/www.artsquest.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n
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