{"id":133786,"date":"2026-03-09T20:50:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/133786\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:50:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:50:19","slug":"how-you-can-help-bethlehem-again-have-best-main-street-in-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/133786\/","title":{"rendered":"How you can help Bethlehem again have ‘Best Main Street’ in America"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new campaign seeks to help Bethlehem\u2019s Main Street win national recognition for the second year in a row, while encouraging year-round visits to the Christmas City.<\/p>\n

The city has once again been nominated for having the \u201cBest Main Street\u201d in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition, after winning the top honor last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Main<\/p>\n

Main Street in Bethlehem bustles with people Monday, March 9, 2026, after a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in the city unveiling that the area was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025. The news conference also promoted the Our Star Shines All Year Round initiative designed to convince travelers to visit Bethlehem. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Main<\/p>\n

Main Street in Bethlehem bustles with people Monday, March 9, 2026, after a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in the city unveiling that the area was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025. The news conference also promoted the Our Star Shines All Year Round initiative designed to convince travelers to visit Bethlehem. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Main<\/p>\n

Main Street in Bethlehem bustles with people Monday, March 9, 2026, after a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in the city unveiling that the area was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025. The news conference also promoted the Our Star Shines All Year Round initiative designed to convince travelers to visit Bethlehem. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Main<\/p>\n

Main Street in Bethlehem bustles with people Monday, March 9, 2026, after a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in the city unveiling that the area was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025. The news conference also promoted the Our Star Shines All Year Round initiative designed to convince travelers to visit Bethlehem. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Brianna<\/p>\n

Brianna Lasko of Lovely by Brianna casts the first vote as Kelly Ronalds, general manager of Historic Hotel Bethlehem, watches Monday, March 9, 2026, during a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in Bethlehem unveiling that Main Street in Bethlehem was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025 in an effort led by the hotel\u2019s marketing team. The news conference also introduced the Our Star Shines All Year Round marketing campaign to encourage travelers to visit the city. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Main<\/p>\n

Main Street in Bethlehem bustles with people Monday, March 9, 2026, after a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in the city unveiling that the area was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025. The news conference also promoted the Our Star Shines All Year Round initiative designed to convince travelers to visit Bethlehem. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Sean<\/p>\n

Sean Ziller, Bethlehem\u2019s deputy director economic development, speaks Monday, March 9, 2026, during a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in Bethlehem unveiling that Main Street in Bethlehem was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025. The news conference also introduced the Our Star Shines All Year Round marketing campaign to encourage travelers to visit the city. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Kelly<\/p>\n

Kelly Ronalds, general manager of the Historic Hotel Bethlehem, speaks as Brianna Lasko of Lovely by Brianna, watches Monday, March 9, 2026, during a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in Bethlehem unveiling that Main Street in Bethlehem was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025 in an effort led by the hotel\u2019s marketing team. The news conference also introduced the Our Star Shines All Year Round marketing campaign to encourage travelers to visit the city. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Main<\/p>\n

Main Street in Bethlehem bustles with people Monday, March 9, 2026, after a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in the city unveiling that the area was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025. The news conference also promoted the Our Star Shines All Year Round initiative designed to convince travelers to visit Bethlehem. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A new marketing initiative called Our Star Shines All Year Round to encourage travelers to visit the city all year is displayed Monday, March 9, 2026, during a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in Bethlehem. The news conference also unveiled that Main Street in Bethlehem was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Kelly<\/p>\n

Kelly Ronalds, general manager of the Historic Hotel Bethlehem, speaks Monday, March 9, 2026, during a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in Bethlehem unveiling that Main Street in Bethlehem was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025 in an effort led by the hotel\u2019s marketing team. The news conference also introduced the Our Star Shines All Year Round marketing campaign to encourage travelers to visit the city. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Kelly<\/p>\n

Kelly Ronalds, general manager of the Historic Hotel Bethlehem, speaks Monday, March 9, 2026, during a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in Bethlehem unveiling that Main Street in Bethlehem was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025 in an effort led by the hotel\u2019s marketing team. The news conference also introduced the Our Star Shines All Year Round marketing campaign to encourage travelers to visit the city. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Marci<\/p>\n

Marci Martinez-Howey, board chair of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce, speaks as Kelly Ronalds, general manager of Historic Hotel Bethlehem, watches Monday, March 9, 2026, during a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in Bethlehem unveiling that Main Street in Bethlehem was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025. The news conference also introduced the Our Star Shines All Year Round marketing campaign to encourage travelers to visit the city. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Shirts<\/p>\n

Shirts promoting a new marketing initiative called Our Star Shines All Year Round sit on display Monday, March 9, 2026, during a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in Bethlehem. The conference also unveiled that Main Street in Bethlehem was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Kelly<\/p>\n

Kelly Ronalds, general manager of the Historic Hotel Bethlehem, speaks as Brianna Lasko of Lovely by Brianna, watches Monday, March 9, 2026, during a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in Bethlehem unveiling that Main Street in Bethlehem was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025 in an effort led by the hotel\u2019s marketing team. The news conference also introduced the Our Star Shines All Year Round marketing campaign to encourage travelers to visit the city. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Kimberly<\/p>\n

Kimberly O\u2019Neill, the owner of Knobs and Knockers, speaks as Kelly Ronalds, general manager of Historic Hotel Bethlehem, watches Monday, March 9, 2026, during a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in Bethlehem unveiling that Main Street in Bethlehem was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025. The news conference also introduced the Our Star Shines All Year Round marketing campaign to encourage travelers to visit the city. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"LoriAnn<\/p>\n

LoriAnn Wukitsch, president and CEO of Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites, speaks as Kelly Ronalds, general manager of the Historic Hotel Bethlehem, stands next to her Monday, March 9, 2026, during a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in Bethlehem unveiling that Main Street in Bethlehem was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025. The news conference also introduced the Our Star Shines All Year Round marketing campaign designed to encourage travelers to visit the city. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The USA TODAY website is shown Monday, March 9, 2026, during a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in Bethlehem unveiling that Main Street in Bethlehem was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025. The news conference also introduced the Our Star Shines All Year Round marketing campaign to encourage travelers to visit the city. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Brianna<\/p>\n

Brianna Lasko of Lovely by Brianna casts the first vote as Kelly Ronalds, general manager of Historic Hotel Bethlehem, watches Monday, March 9, 2026, during a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in Bethlehem unveiling that Main Street in Bethlehem was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025 in an effort led by the hotel\u2019s marketing team. The news conference also introduced the Our Star Shines All Year Round marketing campaign to encourage travelers to visit the city. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Kelly<\/p>\n

Kelly Ronalds, general manager of the Historic Hotel Bethlehem, speaks as Brianna Lasko of Lovely by Brianna, watches Monday, March 9, 2026, during a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in Bethlehem unveiling that Main Street in Bethlehem was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025 in an effort led by the hotel\u2019s marketing team. The news conference also introduced the Our Star Shines All Year Round marketing campaign to encourage travelers to visit the city. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Kelly<\/p>\n

Kelly Ronalds, general manager of the Historic Hotel Bethlehem, speaks Monday, March 9, 2026, during a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in Bethlehem unveiling that Main Street in Bethlehem was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025 in an effort led by the hotel\u2019s marketing team. The news conference also introduced the Our Star Shines All Year Round marketing campaign to encourage travelers to visit the city. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A new marketing initiative called Our Star Shines All Year Round to encourage travelers to visit the city all year is displayed Monday, March 9, 2026, during a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in Bethlehem. The news conference also unveiled that Main Street in Bethlehem was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 22<\/p>\n

Main Street in Bethlehem bustles with people Monday, March 9, 2026, after a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in the city unveiling that the area was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025. The news conference also promoted the Our Star Shines All Year Round initiative designed to convince travelers to visit Bethlehem. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Voting is available daily until noon April 6 on the USA Today website or at votemainstreetbethlehem.com<\/a>. The 10 winners will be announced April 15, according to the 10 Best website.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt recognizes a living place where history, community and daily life come together,\u201d said LoriAnn Kukitsch, president and CEO of Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites, at a Monday news conference.<\/p>\n

Lovely by Brianna owner Brianna Lasko, who opened her home decor boutique last year on Main Street, began the voting during the news conference at the nearby Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe.<\/p>\n

She cast her vote by pressing a big, red button, calling it \u201cwonderful\u201d to be operating in downtown Bethlehem.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get to talk to people, you get to know what they\u2019re looking for, what they want to buy, and you just hear their personal stories,\u201d Lasko said. \u201cI think the biggest surprise is how many friendships I\u2019ve made with my returning customers, and we keep in contact. And even through social media and them popping by, it\u2019s just \u2026 it\u2019s a whole community here, which I did not anticipate and I love it the most.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Marci Martinez-Howey, the board chair of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce, said the nomination was no accident.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe truth is the recognition belongs to the people behind this \u2014 every storefront and small business that brings our downtown to life,\u201d\u00a0 Martinez-Howey. \u201cOur retailers, our restaurants, our entrepreneurs, our hotels and our community partners are the heart and soul of Bethlehem. Their passion, creativity and commitment are what make our historic district such a special place to live, work and visit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kimberly O\u2019Neill, co-owner of Knobs \u2018N Knockers, another Main Street business, said winning the USA Today honors last year has \u201cgiven us a great opportunity to share with others the beautiful tradition that is Bethlehem\u2019s Main Street here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur regional customers, our local customers and all of the tourists that come in \u2014 we\u2019re here to offer them the gracious hospitality that Bethlehem is so fantastic at serving,\u201d O\u2019Neill said.<\/p>\n

Alongside the USA Today nomination, Hotel Bethlehem General Manager Kelly Ronalds announced a new digital and print marketing campaign titled, \u201cOur Star Shines All Year Round.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said it\u2019s meant to encourage Bethlehem visits throughout the year rather than just during Christmas or Musikfest. The campaign will include limited-edition T-shirts available at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe.<\/p>\n

\"ShirtsShirts promoting a new marketing initiative called Our Star Shines All Year Round sit on display Monday, March 9, 2026, during a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in Bethlehem. The conference also unveiled that Main Street in Bethlehem was nominated in USA Today\u2019s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025. (April Gamiz\/The Morning Call)<\/p>\n

Special versions of those T-shirts, which feature a QR code to vote in the 10 Best competition, are also available for local businesses from the Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Bethlehem Association. Staffers at Hotel Bethlehem such as the bellhops and housekeeping workers will also wear them.<\/p>\n

Alongside the slogan and the Visit Historic Bethlehem logo, the shirts say \u201c#1 Best Main Street Bethlehem, PA 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to changing that to 2026,\u201d Ronalds said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new campaign seeks to help Bethlehem\u2019s Main Street win national recognition for the second year in a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133787,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154,1391,60,182,139,434,28,432],"class_list":["post-133786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news","tag-bethlehem-area","tag-business","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-northampton-county","tag-pennsylvania","tag-top-stories-tmc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}