MACUNGIE, Pa. — One of the biggest festivals in the area is coming back this weekend for a major anniversary — and no, it's not Musikfest.
Das Awkscht Fescht, one of the largest antique and classic car shows in the country, will take place Aug. 4-6 at Macungie Memorial Park.
- Annual Das Dawkscht Fescht will celebrate its 60th annual season at Macungie Memorial Park this weekend
- The classic and antique car festival is expected to bring thousands of visitors and hundreds of cars to the park, dating back to the early 1900s
- The festival will take place August 4-6 at Macungie Memorial Park, and costs $9 for adults over the age of 13
The event will celebrate its 60th annual season.
The 42-acre Fescht will highlight the Corvette as its featured vehicle for the year, which as a model celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2023.
Last year, the festival highlighted British and European cars.
The festival, along with other festivals such as the upcoming Wheels of Time event, are major fundraisers for the park, which is not owned by the borough and instead exists as a nonprofit entity.
The event is expected to bring hundreds of classic, antique and specialty cars dating back to the early 1900s.
Amy Hillegass, manager of Macungie Memorial Park, which puts on the event, said it is thanks to the volunteers who help put it on that allow it to have continued for all these years.
"Some volunteers, they've been coming for years and years and years, and they come and help. .. That's one of the neat things about this, there's a lot of people that have their heart and soul in it."Amy Hillegass, manager of Macungie Memorial Park
"Some volunteers, they've been coming for years and years and years, and they come and help," Hillegass said.
"It always gives me goosebumps kind of thing, the stress of preparing for everything, and I always say, like, there are a lot of things that get done around here that I don't even know because there's been the same volunteers doing it for many years, and they just come and do it.
"That's one of the neat things about this, there's a lot of people that have their heart and soul in it."
Hillegass also noted the assistance of the Ontelaunee car club with coordinating vehicles and flea market stands.
'A different crowd'
She said that while the overlap with Bethlehem's massive Musikfest is not the best, it offers something different from the large music festival on the other side of the Lehigh Valley.
"It's a different crowd," Hillegass said.
There's a lot of people that have their heart and soul in itAmy Hillegass, Manager of Macungie Memorial Park
Hillegass said recent additions to the festival are geared toward younger families who may not have an immediate connection to the classic cars of the early and mid-1900s.
They include a petting zoo from the Peaceable Kingdom, a scavenger hunt, an antique toy show, a bounce house, a Crayola-sponsored craft and art tent and various other children's entertainment and activities.
The festival also will feature arts, crafts and antique vendors, a beer garden, bingo events and a flea market for auto parts and memorabilia.
Hillegass said music will feature styles of the 1950s through the '80s, with about a dozen live music performances taking place throughout the weekend.
Hillegass said current estimates put the number of attendees at 15,000 to 20,000 each year depending on the
weather.
Hours of the festival will be from 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday.
Show cars enter fields after 7:30 a.m. each day.
Admission is $9 for adults, and free for ages 15 and younger.
