Celebrate Bethlehem with Community Heritage Day!
Kick off your May and celebrate Bethlehem with Community Heritage Day, this Saturday, May 6 from 10 am – 4 pm at the Colonial Industrial Quarter – Rain or shine! Discover what it was like to be a colonial blacksmith, how the early Moravians built strong buildings out of stone, what some colonial dishes tasted like, and more!
This FREE family-fun event will be jam packed with live demonstrations from Wildlands Conservancy, HBMS blacksmiths, open-hearth colonial cooking from HBMS Foodways Group, hairwork artists, hands-on construction activities and colonial games, as well as tours of the 1762 Waterworks.
Get the Lay of the Land with this Map of Activities | RSVP Here for Your Chance to Win a Prize
Get a Bird’s Eye View of the Colonial Industrial Quarter
Experience a Live Bird Presentation by the Wildlands Conservancy. Learn everything you wanted to know about the different, fascinating birds who call the Lehigh Valley their home from these nature experts! Live-bird presentations will include red-tail hawks, turkey vultures, owls, and pigeons and starts at 11 am and 2 pm.
Take a Walk on the Wild Side
Hike with a naturalist from Wildlands Conservancy. Find out how to identify birds, birds’ nests or cavities, food sources, and other signs of bird activity. Plus, receive a free “hiking pack” with binoculars and other supplies! Hikes will begin at 12 and 3 pm.
What Was It Like to Be a Colonial Blacksmith?
Hear the fire roar, see sparks fly, and the anvil ring at the 1750 Smithy! Learn from our professional blacksmiths how colonial blacksmiths made the intricate hinges, door handles, hooks, and decorative objects you see everywhere in Historic Moravian Bethlehem!
Love Cooking?
Follow the smells to our open hearth and learn delicious colonial recipes from the Historic Bethlehem Foodways Group as they illustrate different open-hearth cooking methods. Yum!
See Hairwork Done Today!
Watch Susan Newquist of Red-Tail Designs use horsehair to create custom jewelry! This local artist and equine aficionado will demonstrate how she weaves handcrafted accessories using the hair from a horse’s tail or mane as her primary material. It is unlike anything we’ve ever seen!
See Lucy Cadwallader demonstrate the art of Victorian hair jewelry using human or horse hair! This self-taught artist has been making hair jewelry for 18 years, so she knows her stuff. Discover how she creates handcrafted jewelry and mementos from loved ones’ hair. She is a true hair art lover.
Flashback to the Past
Laugh and reminisce at the various hairstyles sported by Bethlehem residents with this black & white photograph collection of residents’ hairstyles throughout history from the Bethlehem Steel Photo Collection.
Be Wowed by the 1762 Waterworks in Action
Did you know that the 1762 waterwheel is 18 ft. in diameter, that’s the size of three 6-foot tall men standing one on top of each other! This National Historic Landmark helped pump spring water 92 vertical feet to a tower, and then by gravity provided water to five locations!
Can You Master These Colonial Favorites?
Try your hand at the Buzzsaw, Bucket Brigades, Hoops, Graces, Jacob’s Ladder and more! Watch out, things might get a little competitive!
Discover Tin-Punching
Create one-of-a-kind designs to take home with you at our tin-punching station on the 2nd floor of the Smithy. Kids and adults will love practicing this colonial trade while learning more about the tin smiths.
Love Exploring?
Learn interesting facts about the Monocacy Valley on our Heritage Trail. Stroll along the creek that brought Burnside Plantation, Illick’s Mill, and the Colonial Industrial Quarter to life!
What new mystery do amateur sleuths Mitzi & Adele uncover?
Find out in The Moravian Sugar Cake Mysteries, the newest book in the Old Bethlehem Mysteries Series! Co-author and President of Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites Charlene Donchez Mowers will be signing books, so don’t miss out!
Don’t miss out on these other fun activities:
- Hear musical performances by 99 Stringz! This acoustic trio will play largely traditional songs with two- and three-part harmonies and instrumental jigs, reels, and waltzes from 10am – 1pm outside of the Luckenbach Mill!
- Head over to Historic Hotel Bethlehem for Hotel History Tours every hour on the hour.
- Stop by Franklin Hills Vineyards’ Bethlehem Location for samples of their cider.
- Head into the Moravian Book Shop in Bethlehem for a spot of Moravian Tea.
