Musikfest 2008

Today was the most beautiful day for a visit to Musikfest in downtown Bethlehem. Temperatures were in the seventies and eighties and the skies were clear and bright. We arrived in the morning for a leisurely breakfast of bagels and coffee on Main Street before the crowds arrived. We saw performances by Marc Silver, LynnMarie and the Boxhounds, Dan May, the Daisy Jug Band, the ever popular Red Elvises, and Eric Steckel, and a few others while strolling around. We consumed our share of mango coolattas and fried pierogies before heading over to the Bethlehem Brew Works for some tasty appetizers and coffee to refresh us for more music!

We started out the day with a relaxing paddle boat ride along the Lehigh Canal.

Pretty fountains in the canal

The butterfly garden attracts a visitor

Well tended blooms of Musikfest

A view of City Hall looking towards Americaplatz

More garden pictures

Behind the Bethlehem Public Library, a favorite spot of mine!

We took a break from the crowds by strolling through one of the oldest cemeteries in Bethlehem. We saw headstones from the early 1700s.

Native American dancer

The crowd pleasing Daisy Jug Band performs a song, complete with washboard and washtub bass. They involve the audience in most of their songs, and the crowd had a fun time banging on pots and pans and forming a congo line. Pennsylvania won the kazoo contest (of course!).

Performance of Swoon at Handwerkplatz. They dance and sway and interact on high flexible poles.

The mysterious Frank DellaPenna of Cast In Bronze played the Carol of the Bells and several others on the impressive carillon, a musical instrument of cast bronze bells.