BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither was Musikfest.
ArtsQuest, the nonprofit organization that presents the nation’s largest, non-gated, free music festival, says the 11-day event spanning Bethlehem on both sides of the Lehigh River doesn't just blow into town overnight.
It takes a virtual army of volunteers and other unsung heroes.
Cory Stevens, volunteer and internship programs manager with ArtsQuest, said 1,062 people helped out with last year’s festival.
“So pretty much any aspect of Musikfest you engage with, a volunteer has a hand in in some way or fashion."Cory Stevens, ArtsQuest volunteer and internship programs manager
And the 2024 showing is on track to have about that same amount, Stevens said said.
You’ll find volunteers in their easy-to-spot shirts pouring beer at beverage trucks around the festival, helping with cash conversion for the event’s new cash-card system and helping guests with their questions at information booths, among many other responsibilities over this year's run.
“So pretty much any aspect of Musikfest you engage with, a volunteer has a hand in in some way or fashion,” Stevens said.
And they come from all over. Stevens said that while a majority of volunteers are local, with many from Bethlehem, others make their way in from other states, including New Jersey and Florida.
How to join
Interested in helping out next time? The volunteer online portal is at artsquest.org/volunteer — though a separate application for Musikfest goes live each year on April 15.
Volunteer officials ask for a minimum of three shifts at the flagship event in August.
And if you’re not free for Musikfest, there’s always help requested for the Levitt Pavilion Summer Concert Series offering three free concerts each weekend from May to September.
And also for ArtsQuest's Oktoberfest and Christkindlmart.
“It’s great for high school students who are trying to get those hours if they need them for graduation. And those who are a little bit older, it’s great to sort of find that new friend group and really get to see what it’s like behind the scenes at some of the biggest parties in the Lehigh Valley.”Cory Stevens, ArtsQuest volunteer and internship programs manager
Stevens said volunteering is a good gig, no matter one’s age.
“It’s great for high school students who are trying to get those hours if they need them for graduation,” Stevens said.
“And those who are a little bit older, it’s great to sort of find that new friend group and really get to see what it’s like behind the scenes at some of the biggest parties in the Lehigh Valley.”
A view from Public Works
It's not just volunteers who make Musikfest happen each year.
For Bethlehem's Public Works Department, it’s been business as usual over the past month or so prepping for Musikfest.
This year is Department Director Michael Alkhal’s 26th Musikfest while working for the city.
Alkhal said his staff starts prep work at least a month before the fest, teaming up with Musikfest to identify any trouble spots around the city regarding infrastructure, including repairing roadways and filling holes in parking lots.
Besides what you may typically see public works personnel doing for festival prep, Public Works Director Michael Alkhal said his team even performs an annual check for loose concrete at the Route 378 overpass.
His team also helps handle the standard maintenance of all festival grounds in use — including street and venue cleaning from 3 to 7 a.m. — and provides venues with electrical power and plug-in capabilities.
Besides what you may typically see public works personnel doing for festival prep, Alkhal said they even perform an annual check for loose concrete at the Route 378 overpass.
“We get the electrical [bureau], the bucket trucks and an inspector — they tap on the concrete in all different places to see if there’s anything hollow behind the concrete that would indicate that it might come off soon,” Alkhal said.
“If that’s the case, they would chip it off so it doesn’t happen unexpectedly.”
