Bethlehem Press

Alex Gergar fills festival paths with music as he charms families with his accordion playing.

Many chose to pick their own apples but additional vendors sold to guests as well.

Cindi, left, and Susan, right, demonstrate how apple breads and desserts were made in the 1800s. The women baked treats in a brick oven in one of the colonial houses on the property.

PRESS PHOTOS BY ALLISON POCZAKA new addition to this year’s festival intrigued dog lovers such as Raelynn and her father, who read to Abby, a therapy dog from Therapy Dogs International. The therapy dogs were adored by all and Richard, left, Abby’s owner, noted the smiles the four-legged friends bring to everyone’s faces.

Gress Mountain Ranch offers donkey rides from JoJo and Cecely, led by Bryn, left, and Alice, right. Gress Mountain Ranch is a local rescue farm who help a variety of animals in need.

The Family Fun Apple Days festival expands over the Burnside Plantation property, also known for the Summer Blueberry Festival. This year the festival brought in record numbers of over 3,500 people.

There couldn’t have been a better way to say ‘goodbye’ to summer and ‘hello’ to autumn than Historic Bethlehem Museum and Sites’ 4th annual Family Fun Apple Days Festival. On Sept. 9 and 10, the Burnside Plantation hosted record numbers of over 3,500 apple lovers from locations all over the Lehigh Valley.

This year’s expanded festival offered more activities than ever – all of the family-friendly variety. Children expressed their creativity with crafts such as apple stamp T-shirts, pinecone birdfeeders and paper apple puppets. Keeping with theme, families were also able to dip their own caramel apples, go apple bobbing in the paddock, play a multitude of outdoor games and of course, go apple picking in the on-site orchard.

Food was also on the minds of patrons, with the almost limitless possibilities of apple themed sweets, including apple strudel, fritters, cider doughnuts, crumble top apple pie, apple pierogies, new this year from Black Forest Deli, and much more.

This year’s entertainment tent hosted performers such as The Magnolia Sadies Dancers, 99 Stringz, Drunkenmillers Winners from the Lyons Fiddle Festival, and Friends of Godfrey Daniels. In addition to performers, children showed their competitive side during a doughnuts eating contest. Doughnuts were tied to the ends of a string as competitors knelt with hands behind their back racing to be the first to finish.

Another highlight of the festival was the addition of Therapy Dogs International on site. Abby and Emma were the two dogs from the organization stationed inside the barn while children sat down with a book and read to them. This new program offered children a fun activity in conjunction with supporting education and literacy.

LoriAnn Wukitsch, vice president and managing director of the Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites, mentioned the plans for more festival expansion next year. Additions will include expansive children’s activities and culinary demonstrations, farm equipment for show, and more food options for purchase and tasting. Expansions from this year and next are all possible with the help of over 75 volunteers and their efforts, before, during, and after the festival.