Published August 18. 2026 11:51AM<\/p>\n
Bethlehem was alive with the sound of music \u2026 and folks were merrily festing once more as Musikfest celebrated its 43rd year in the Christmas City.<\/p>\n
The blend of music, food, fun and community is the secret sauce that has made Musikfest special for more than four decades.<\/p>\n
And the variety of food vendors as well as the dedication of volunteers are without a doubt vital ingredients in keeping the festival\u2019s lively vibe going strong and bringing a taste of Bethlehem to all who visit from near and far.<\/p>\n
Press photos by Tami QuigleyTwo thumbs up for Musikfest: \u201cIt\u2019s the best time of the year!\u201d Jack Wagner, right, says Aug. 8 as he enjoys the fest with high school friend Hunter Sarmento by the New Jersey-based O\u2019Lobster Food Truck of Harvest Specialty Catering at Handwerkplatz. Wagner, of Bethlehem, an alum of Moravian University, invited Sarmento, of Downingtown, to enjoy his first fest. \u201cMusikfest is a great show of community in Bethlehem and its history, with the platzes a testament to its German heritage. I\u2019ll definitely be back,\u201d Sarmento said.<\/p>\n
Donny Petridis, one of the owners of Theo\u2019s Gyros \u2013 a Musikfest staple since the festival\u2019s debut \u2013 shaves meat for their signature dish at their Main Street locale. Theo\u2019s also has a stand at Plaza Tropical. \u201cLife is good. We have a good following of customers who come back each year, and we\u2019re grateful they do,\u201d Petridis said, adding customers have thanked him for keeping prices the same this year. Petridis\u2019 parents opened Theo\u2019s as a small place on Broad Street over 40 years ago. Today, he and his sister Martha Mihalopoulos, run Theo\u2019s year-round at the Quakertown Farmers Market, where it has been for 38 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow that\u2019s what I\u2019m talkin\u2019 about\u201d Maurico Ramirez\u2019s gesture seems to say as Yianni Kyzridis, owner of Pat\u2019s Pizza and Bistro, displays one of Pat\u2019s yummy signature pizzas fresh out of the oven. Pat\u2019s marks its fifth year of serving up pizza, appetizers and pasta at Festplatz. \u201cWe serve about 400 to 500 pizzas a day,\u201d Kyzridis said. Pat\u2019s opened at 1426 W. Broad St. in November 2017. For more information visit patsbethlehem.com\/.<\/p>\n
Michael Figueroa serves a hungry customer at Hungry Hound Express, the Moravian University food truck which marked its third year at the fest. \u201cWe\u2019ve been busy,\u201d Figueroa said at the truck\u2019s Main Street location. Figueroa was helped by Jack Bullington in dishing up smash burgers that afternoon. Both work for Moravian University Dining Services, in conjunction with Sodexo. Text MUFOODTRUCK to 82257 for text updates on where the Hungry Hound will roll to next.<\/p>\n
Anne Lukas of Allentown serves a beverage to a thirsty fester while Jennifer Brown taps one at Liederplatz. Both love volunteering at Musikfest. \u201cI enjoy meeting new people from different walks of life and helping them with information to navigate the festival,\u201d Lukas, a volunteer for six years who celebrated reaching 1,000 hours of volunteering that day, said. \u201cThis is a well-organized volunteer organization. The volunteer management is excellent,\u201d Brown, a volunteer for 13 years, said, \u201cand I get to hear free music!\u201d Brown also volunteers at Musikfest Caf\u00e9, Oktoberfest and Christkindlmarkt.<\/p>\n
Johnny Schafer, general manager of the Lehigh Valley-based Milk Train, takes a customer\u2019s order at Handwerkplatz during Milk Train\u2019s first year at Musikfest. Why did the train make tracks to Musikfest this year? \u201cBecause it\u2019s where it\u2019s at!\u201d Schafer said. \u201cIt\u2019s where everyone comes together to feast, or fest, as they say.\u201d Milk Train serves ice cream, coffee and shakes, and is known for its popular waffle cone cookie dough bowls. \u201cWe\u2019re busy nonstop from the moment I get here until I leave,\u201d Schafer, who has been in the business for 21 years and with Milk Train for two years, said. For more information visit facebook.com\/p\/Milk-Train-61575896495424\/.<\/p>\n
Petridis, Zugeila and Gabriel Burgos watch Nicole prepare one of Theo\u2019s tasty gyros for a customer. Petridis\u2019 father was asked to participate when Musikfest launched in 1984, and the rest is history.<\/p>\n
Fest-goers of all ages enjoy an afternoon at Liederplatz.<\/p>\n
Customers enjoy a cool treat at Milk Train on a steamy afternoon.<\/p>\n
Festers check out the variety of smash burger options and more at Hungry Hound Express.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published August 18. 2026 11:51AM Bethlehem was alive with the sound of music \u2026 and folks were merrily…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267785,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-267784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267784","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=267784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}