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Featured Image: Prismatica at LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura in Lugano, Switzerland. Photo is credit is LAC Foto Studio
BETHLEHEM, PA–Preview night at SteelStacks, the all-new Guardian Life Insurance Company of America Zinzenplatz, the first ever Musikfest Arcade and hilarious family-friendly comedy shows are among the many new highlights guests can enjoy at this year’s Musikfest Aug. 2-11, with a preview night Aug. 1.
The festivities begin early this year as Musikfest kicks off with preview night at SteelStacks Aug. 1, featuring free stage performances by Post Junction at Highmark Blue Shield Community Stage on Air Products Town Square; Big Bone Daddy, The Groove Merchants and Robert Miller’s Project Grand Slam at Air Products Americaplatz; and Earth, Wind and Fire at the Wind Creek Steel Stage. The evening also includes the 9th annual Grateful Dead Meet-up at the Movies, beginning 7 p.m. at the Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas.
Musikfest welcomes the addition of a new venue this year. Formerly known as Experienceplatz, Guardian Life Insurance Company of America Zinzenplatz makes its debut at Main and Lehigh Streets. The new venue will feature live music by dynamic tribute bands like Dancing Dream- A tribute to ABBA, Romeo Delight: The Ultimate Van Halen Tribute Band, The Dude Ranch: Blink 182 Tribute and many more. It will also include delicious food and beverage vendors and will be highlighted by Prismatica Art Installation, created by RAW Design in collaboration with ATOMIC3.
The one-of-a-kind installation is composed of 25 pivoting prisms, each over six feet fall. As visitors wander among the prisms, they will enjoy an infinite interplay of lights and colorful reflections and sounds. Prismatica was first presented in Montreal in 2014, and has traveled to countless cities across the globe including London, Chicago, New York City and Washington D.C.
Also new this year at Zinzenplatz is the Musikfest Arcade, which is open Aug. 2-11. The arcade features a collection of 20 arcade games from the past four decades including pinball machines and multicades provided by Pinfest, one of the largest pinball shows in the country. Games to be featured at the arcade include Eightball Deluxe, Nitro Ground Shaker and Monster Bash. Wristbands for the arcade are $10 and are available at the Zinzenplatz Food & Beverage Ticket Booth.
Other new attractions include:
Shinbone Alley Stilt Band
August 3-4 and 10-11, 3:30-6 p.m., Provident Bank Main Street
A dynamic ensemble of musicians who parade, dance on stilts and perform various feats of physical and musical dexterity, this 5-7 member ensemble includes saxophones, trumpets and drums with an occasional trombone, tuba, banjo or clarinet. Bond Street Theatre’s Shinbone Alley Stilt Band has energized festivals and special events around the world since 1982. The talented ensemble plays an eclectic repertoire of Dixieland, swing, rock, jazz and Blues, and it has delighted audiences in Japan, China, Brazil, Turkey and across Europe and the USA.
Family-friendly Comedy Shows
Aug. 3-4 & 10-11, 4:30 p.m., Lehigh Valley with Love ComedyPlatz
Lehigh Valley with Love ComedyPlatz is a stand-up comedy showcase featuring comedians from New York, Philly, the Lehigh Valley and beyond. New for 2019, catch ComedyPlatz on both weekends of Musikfest and family-friendly shows on Saturdays and Sundays at 4:30 PM!
Photo Op with the Iconic “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper” Photo
Aug. 3-4 & 10-11, 1-5 p.m., National Museum of Industrial History
Visit the National Museum of Industrial History’s outdoor plaza and take a selfie recreating the iconic photograph of construction workers eating lunch high atop 30 Rockefeller Plaza as it was erected in 1932. This great photo op for family and friends is free and takes place on a real steel beam with the famous “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper” photo as your backdrop.
Nintendo Switch Road Trip
Aug. 2-4, IBEW Local 375 Volksplatz
Bring your family to the Nintendo Switch Road Trip and experience a colorful and highly interactive space with playable demos of some of the hottest Nintendo Switch games, fun photo ops, Nintendo-themed challenges and more!
Other new activations this year include the opportunity to enjoy tasty samples of Smirnoff Orange Crush, Monster Energy Drink, Hood Cottage Cheese and more!
Named the “Best Music Festival in North America” by USA Today’s 10best.com, Musikfest features more than 500 performances on 17 stages throughout Bethlehem over 10 days. Proceeds from Musikfest support ArtsQuest’s free programming for the community year-round at the Banana Factory arts center and the SteelStacks arts and cultural campus. Dates for the 36th edition of the festival are Aug. 2-11. For more information, please visit www.musikfest.org.
Information and image provided to TVL by:
Mark Demko, ArtsQuest
http://www.artsquest.org/
