ALLENTOWN, Pa. Allentown is ringing in a brand-new festival this weekend – celebrating a chapter of American history right here in the Lehigh Valley.

69 News Reporter Sydney Kay was in Allentown with a preview of the event and more on its connection to the Liberty Bell.

The Liberty Bell Festival will take place Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Downtown Allentown from 4th to 7th Street and Hamilton Street. The event will feature a historical reenactment and a block party, along with live music and vendors.

The festival will highlight the story of how Allentown helped protect the Liberty Bell during the American Revolution, as well as showcase local businesses and organizations, according to the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce website.

Attendees can enjoy a commemorative Liberty Bell march through Downtown Allentown, followed by a festival filled with music, food, shopping, interactive experiences, and community pride, the chamber says.

Admission is free and open to the public.

Brittney Ciardi, with the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, said Hamilton Street from 4th to 7th streets will be shut down for the event. She said the event will have good vibes and plenty of family activities.

“We’re so excited,” she said.

Ciardi said more than 50 vendors will be at the festival.

Steve Meitzler, Co-Founder and President of the Brandywine Colonials Fife & Drum Corps, said his group will perform a flag raising ceremony at 11 a.m. then will lead a processional to the church down the street where the Liberty Bell was kept safe during the American Revolution.

Brandywine Colonials Fife & Drum Corps Co-Founder and Vice President Joshua Fink said the bell was hidden in Allentown at the time the British were occupying Philadelphia in 1777.

The Liberty Bell, as well as other bells, was hidden underneath the floorboards at Zion’s Church in Allentown for about nine months.

Fink said it had been called the Pennsylvania Statehouse Bell. It later grew in significance as a symbol of liberty, freedom, and independence, Fink said.

To find more information, people can go to the Inside Allentown website or check out live updates on the Allentown Chamber’s Facebook page.