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38th Annual Blueberry Festival
It’s the sweetest festival of the summer…and you’re invited! Make a plan to visit Bethlehem’s beautiful Burnside Plantation for great food; live music; fresh, delicious blueberries and desserts, Colonial cooking, gardening; kids activities; and much more!
Blueberry Festival Dates
- Market to Go:
- July 18 from 3 PM – 7 PM
- Festival:
- July 19 & 20 from 10 AM – 6 PM
We walked through and admired plants in the large garden, spoke to the spinners making wool yarn, ate under the big tent and experienced the children’s blueberry pie eating contest. We also purchased blueberry preserves upon advice of a festival volunteer who was knowledgeable about consistencies of jelly, jam and preserves. It was a good day!
2024 Festival Attendee
Blueberry Desserts & Market to Go
Choose from a delicious selection of blueberry inspired desserts available for pickup to take home and enjoy! Want to take home a delicious dessert from Blueberry Festival, but are unable to make it to the festival? Pre-order your desserts to pick up before the festival begins.
Pick-up for these desserts for Market to Go will be Friday, July 18 from 3 PM – 7 PM at Burnside, or you can pick up and take home during the festival! If you pick up during the festival, you must purchase admission to the festival.
This year we are happy to welcome Vallo’s Bakery as our new Blueberry Crumb Pie Supplier! Vallo’s is a third generation local, family owned favorite for delicious, freshly baked treats of all kinds. We are also happy to welcome Bake-a-Re, who will be providing a gluten-free option.
In addition, we are happy to welcome back Bakery Nook and Backdoor Bakeshop for the Strudel, Coffee Cakes and Sugar Cookies and Bethlehem Dairy Store for the Ice Cream.
Desserts Include:
- Blueberry Bonanza (includes a pie, large coffee cake, and strudel)
- Blueberry Pie
- Blueberry Coffee Cake
- Blueberry Strudel
- Blueberry Sugar Cookies
- NEW! Blueberry Crullers
- 1/2 Gallon Blueberry Swirl Ice Cream
- NEW! 1/2 Gallon Vanilla Ice Cream
- NEW! Gluten-Free Blueberry Lemon Mini Cakes
Blueberry Festival Parking
Visitor parking is available in the large lot at Schoenersville and Mauch Chunk Roads or the Nitschmann Middle School Parking Lot, 1002 W. Union Blvd). Complimentary shuttle service to Burnside Plantation begins at 10 AM each day and runs continuously during festival hours.
Drop-off for persons with disabilities is available at the Burnside Plantation main entrance off Schoenersville Road. Mention ADA drop off to Security at the site entrance.
2025 Blueberry Festival Vendors
Food Vendors
- Taste Budz
- Donut NV
- Thirst Trap Lemonade
- The Rolling Brew
- Taco Town
- Pasta Eva
- Aroi Mango LLC – Sunday Only
Crafters
- Soaps on Linden
- Rebel Hive Meadery
- Cheryl Baker, Star Maker
- Deep Roots Hard Cider
- Mod Metal Works
- BG Silversmiths
- RanaeArt
- Marcy’s Treasures
- Whisker Biscuits
- The Fresh Soap LLC
- Amid the Moss
Crafters (continued)
- Groundhog Blues Pottery
- Zimeray Designs
- Deirdre Rose Designs
- Em & Ko Company
- East Valley Foods
- Liam’s Luck Wood Craft
- TileWorks of Bucks County
- Birdsong Birdhouses
- Matt-Hat Jerky
- Casa de Jorge Salsa
- Caricatoonz
Blueberry Entertainment Schedule
Schedule is subject to change.
Brewberry Tavern Stage
July 19
- 11 AM – 12:30 PM: Lockman & Purcell
- 12:45 PM – 2:15 PM: Temple Avenue Jazz
- 2:30 PM – 3:45 PM: Andrea Carlson and the Love Police
- 4:15 PM – 5:45 PM: At Whit’s End
July 20
- 11 AM – 12:30 PM: Swing Time Dolls
- 12:45 PM – 2:15 PM: Smooth Retina Glow
- 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM: Big Squeeze Zydeco
- 4:15 PM – 5:45 PM: Dr. Doctor
Community Stage
July 19
- 10:15 AM – 11:15 AM: Andrew Land
- 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM: The Story Doctor
- 12:45 PM – 1:45 PM: Dave Fry
- 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM: Pie Eating Contest & Kids Baking Contest
- 2:45 PM – 4:00 PM: Nick Franclik
- 4:15 PM – 5:30 PM: Jim Steager
July 20
- 10:15 AM – 11:15 AM: Tom Yurasits Magic
- 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM: The Story Doctor
- 12:45 PM – 1:45 PM: Mike Duck
- 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM: Pie Eating Contest & Adult Baking Contest
- 2:45 PM – 4:00 PM: Nick Franclik
- 4:15 PM – 5:30 PM: Andrew Dunn
Johnson Barn Programming
- Art of Artifacts – 12 PM (noon) to 1 PM July 19 & 20
- Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts benefactor Annie Kemerer owned a 200-piece wedding China set hand painted and monogrammed by local artist Mae Erdman. Decorate your own ceramic teacup and saucer with acrylic paint pens! Work freehand or use stencils to create a patterned look. Sign up is limited to the first 15 people for both days and doesn’t include admission to the festival. Sign Up Today!
- The Bookmark: Lafayette’s Untold Revolutionary Love Story – 2 PM to 2:45 PM July 19
- Learn More about this novel and story through a talk with the author Anne Supsic
- The Birthplace of Industry: Stories of the Colonial Industrial Quarter – 4 PM – 4:45 PM July 19 & 2 PM – 2:45 PM July 20
- Hear how the early Moravians built a thriving community in Bethlehem. Completely self-sufficient, these industrious settlers quickly established the largest concentration of pre-Industrial Revolution technology in the nation, with approximately 50 crafts, trades and industries in operation by the mid-1750s. Discover the Birthplace of Industry in America!
- Bethlehem Steel: Rusting Relic Presentation & Book Signing – 4 PM – 4:45 PM July 20
- Learn about the history of Bethlehem Steel and see some incredible photography of many never-before-seen and likely never-to-be-seen-again perspectives with authors and photographer, John and Steven Landis.
Historic Demonstrations
Explore heritage skills and historic demonstrators!
- Visit with the demonstrating blacksmith and tinsmith
- Discover the unique properties of beeswax and learn about the Moravian tradition of candlemaking
- Try your hand at Artifact Challenge and see if you can correctly identify unique 18th century items
- Visit with the Second Saturday Spinners and learn how fiber is turned into thread or yarn
- In the Vendor Village many new craftsmen will be demonstrating their trades including pottery and woodworking
Great Bethlehem Blueberry Baking Contest
NEW this year, Professional judges! Prizes courtesy of King Arthur Flour.
Contest Requirements
- Kids Division
- Exhibitor must be 15 and years or younger and an amateur chef.
- Saturday, July 19 at 1:45 PM, winners announced at 2:30 PM on the Community Stage.
- Adult Division
- Exhibitor must be 16 years or older and an amateur chef.
- Sunday, July 20 at 1:45 PM, winners announced at 2:30 PM on the Community Stage.
Judging Criteria
- Taste: 50 points
- Overall Appearance & Creativity: 25 points
- Texture: 25 points
- All Divisions
- You are responsible for your own serving dish. No part of the entry will be returned.
- If flour is required in recipe, King Arthur flour must be used with receipt of purchase included.
- Entrants recipe, name, phone number, address, age, and email must be printed on an 8.5″ x 11” sheet of paper and submitted along with their entry on the day of the contest.
- Recipe must include at least 1 cup of blueberries.
- Recipe must include all ingredients, quantities, and preparation instructions.
- Refrigeration is not available. If your entrée needs to be chilled prior to judging, please pack in a cooler.
- Including Gluten Free Desserts! (Will be judged separately)
Entry Information
- Entries must be prepared at home.
- Festival admission is not included with contest registration.
- Be prepared to discuss your recipe briefly with our judges. Is it a family heirloom recipe? Did you adapt the recipe, create something completely original or bake a tried and true favorite?
Blueberry Festival Pie Eating Contest
Join us for the annual Pie Eating Contest at the Blueberry Festival! Both Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 PM on the Community Stage there will be an adult (16 and older) and kids (15 and under) pie eating contest!
Sign ups are first come, first serve with a limit of 12 participants per contest.
Photos from Past Festivals
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