BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Is there a hometown hero you’d like to celebrate this Memorial Day, but don’t know how?
- ArtsQuest's 13th annual ‘Our Hometown Heroes’ exhibit begins May 27
- The first 200 photos submitted will be featured in their 2023 display
- The photos can be of anyone who has ever served or is currently serving in a military branch
ArtsQuest is inviting community members to submit photos of their friends and loved ones for the 13th annual "Our Hometown Heroes" exhibit at SteelStacks, according to a news release.
The photos can be of anyone from the Lehigh Valley area who is currently serving or has ever served in the U.S. Armed Forces.
The exhibition dates back to 2010, when the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks opened.
"We thought in particular, Memorial Day was a very solemn day," said ArtsQuest CEO Kassie Hilgert.
"We needed to be authentic with acknowledging the sacrifice of the men and women who serve. Especially as we sit at the base of the blast furnaces, and the importance of Bethlehem steel to the World War efforts."ArtsQuest CEO Kassie Hilgert
"We needed to be authentic with acknowledging the sacrifice of the men and women who serve," she said, "especially as we sit at the base of the blast furnaces, and the importance of Bethlehem steel to the World War efforts."
In the first year of the display, there were just a few banners with eight pictures on each piece.
Now, more than 1,400 local servicemen and women have been honored through the exhibit.
"They wrap around the entire campus," said Hilgert.
"It's the sea of faces that you see, the number of people that have served and have made that sacrifice," she said, "really I think speaks volumes to the fabric of our community."
The exhibition is an opportunity to honor loved ones, but also to help the community heal.
"If you look outside, you just see small groups of people gathering around a photo, they're taking a selfie with that photo, they leave flowers," said Hilgert.
"It is a truly solemn, special, intimate moment to be able to witness."
Photos will be accepted through the month of March.
The first 200 photos submitted will be featured in the 2023 display, and include the member’s rank, branch, dates of service and hometown.
The exhibit will last from the start of Memorial Day weekend, May 27, through the Fourth of July.
“We’re proud to partner with ArtsQuest in continuing the tradition of honoring our members of the military," said Dave Lobach, Embassy Bank president and CEO, in the release.
"Especially those who have lost their lives protecting and serving our nation.”Dave Lobach, Embassy Bank president and CEO
"Especially those who have lost their lives protecting and serving our nation.”
Embassy Bank is partnering with ArtsQuest on the exhibit.
High-resolution photos can be submitted to steelstacks.org/memorial. Hard copies can be dropped off at branches of Embassy Bank or at ArtsQuest’s Banana Factory, located at 25 W. 3rd St., Bethlehem.
A Memorial Day service, “A Time to Remember,” will be open to the public, where the names of local heroes who have died in the line of service will be read.
That will be on May 29 at 3 p.m.
"That service to me is one of the most important ones we do all year," Hilgert said. "It's a moving time to come down here."