- Recent rainy weekends have affected attendance at local outdoor fall festivals
- Grim's Orchard & Family Farms in Breinigsville and Seiple Farms in Bath report fewer visitors during their festivals
- Oktoberfest in Bethlehem has added additional large tents in anticipation of rainy weather
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Josh Grim isn’t a greedy man.
With yet another partly rainy weekend in the forecast that likely will keep large crowds away from the fall festival at Grim’s Orchard & Family Farms, a recent visitor told farm owner Grim they will pray for sun and no rain.
I just don't want more rain."Josh Grim, owner, Grim's Orchard & Family Farms in Breinigsville
“All I want is no rain,” Grim said this week at his 83-acre Breinigsville farm. “If it’s sunny, that’s OK, too. I don’t need both. But I just don’t want more rain. I’m hoping.”
Mother Nature isn’t listening.
The forecast for Saturday is, well, grim, continuing a trend of wet weather for most weekend days over the past several weeks.
The Lehigh Valley has experienced only one completely dry weekend since the beginning of August.
And that has left the multitude of fall festivals throughout the Lehigh Valley reeling.
Rainy weather on the final two days of the Celtic Classic festival in Bethlehem last month cut attendance significantly and has created uncertainty surrounding the immediate future of the festival.
ArtsQuest's Oktoberfeststarted last week with a dry Friday, but has had rainy days since.
And Bethlehem's Harvest Fest on Saturday faces a similar fate.
“We still have three weekends to go here in October,” Grim said. “We cross our fingers for better weather. But we know we’re going to lose Saturday. It’s a washout.”
'Never really make up'
Because of the rainy weather affecting business, Grim's Orchard has added four Friday fall festival days in October, replete with all the "agritainment" activities — hayrides, corn maze, the food vendors — offered on Saturdays and Sundays.
Visitors can enjoy pumpkin patches, snacks, fall foods, hard cider and wine. Activities and exhibits include a corn maze, pick-your-own pumpkins and apples, hayride tours and more.
Other activities in the play corral for children include a ball toss, sand pit, spider web climb, ladder golf, corn bin and tricycle course.
Rain has caused Grim’s to extend its schedule for those events.
“But you never really make up what you lose on those Saturdays and Sundays in October.”Josh Grim, owner, Grim's Orchard & Family Farms in Breinigsville
“We also added the first weekend in November, which will be like a normal October Saturday and Sunday with all the agritainment,” Grim said.
“But you never really make up what you lose on those Saturdays and Sundays in October.”
Grim would not disclose in numbers or percentages for how the rainy weather has affected attendance or revenue. He would only say, “I actually expected our figures to be down more than they actually are.”
The inclement weather also has affected fall festival business at other such festivals at farms in the Lehigh Valley.
Others festivals affected
At Seiple Farms in Bath, rainy weekends have been responsible for low attendance at its fall festival, which runs from Saturday, Sept. 23 through Sunday, Oct. 29.
“We’ve lost five of 17 days to rain during our fall festival,” said Andrea Delong, Seiple Farms general manager and a fifth-generation farm operator.
“The activities like entertainment, music and food tables are all under four huge tents. Our big fear is lightning, not rain, as long as there’s no flooding.”ArtsQuest Chief Executive Officer Kassie Hilgert
“If we’re closed on the weekends due to rain, we just can’t make that money back. It also affects our food vendors.”
In Bethlehem, Oktoberfest at SteelStacks held the first weekend of its fall festival on Friday, Oct. 6. While that day was dry, the next two days were hit with rain.
To safeguard against rainy weather, event organizers began adding additional large tents.
“The activities like entertainment, music and food tables are all under four huge tents,” ArtsQuest Chief Executive Officer Kassie Hilgert said. “Our big fear is lightning, not rain, as long as there’s no flooding.”
Reduced revenue from food vendors is also a byproduct of fewer attendees due to bad weather.
Another Bethlehem fall festival, Harvest Fest, will be from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday. Sponsored by the Downtown Bethlehem Association, the 18th annual fair on Main Street includes wine-, beer- and soup-tasting trails, food and musical acts.
“Harvest Fest is a one-day event, so we hope the rain holds off,” Hilgert said. “There’s no other date planned to make up what’s lost if it rains.”
Unlike other outdoor events this fall, Harvest Fest has made accommodations in the event of rain. Musical entertainment would be moved indoors — at 515 Main Sports Club and Lost Tavern Brewing.
