Celebrating MusikFest
Kassie Hilgert
Although it’s likely the busiest time of the year for Kassie Hilgert, President and CEO of ArtsQuest, she graciously hosted and spoke at our Rotary Club meeting at the SteelStacks campus on Augusts 10th. A Bethlehem-based nonprofit, ArtsQuest is dedicated to presenting music, arts, festivals, cultural experiences and educational and outreach programs that heighten economic development, urban revitalization and community enrichment. ArtsQuest’s programs and events reach more than 1.5 million people annually and have a combined economic impact of more than $100 million annually in the region.
ArtsQuest is like no other arts organization in the country. Its focus is on providing access to the arts to our community, many of which are free to attend, while supporting regional artists and cultural traditions.
After its opening in 2011, the SteelStacks campus allowed MusikFest to expand into the Southside of Bethlehem. Home to the Levitt Pavilion, PBS39, and the Bethlehem Visitor Center and the SteelStacks Center, the arts campus was built on 10-acres of land donated by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation and has helped to solidify Bethlehem’s reputation as a center for arts and culture. Although there were concerns that the Main Street part of the annual festival might suffer with the new venues on the Southside, ArtsQuest leadership has made conscious effort to provide equally popular performances and offerings in both areas.
Now it its 32nd year, Musikfest has become the signature festival for the community and is attracting its third generation of families. It is the largest free music festival in the United States, Musikfest attracting between 850,000 and 1.1 million people annually. The festival features 10 outdoor stages, including the ticketed main stage, and five indoor stages, offering 500 live music performances by artists from across the country. The event has an annual economic impact estimated at $30 million.
Thanks to the vison and personal dedication of Jeff Parks, one of our own Rotarians, and other ArtsQuest leadership, our City has been transformed from a declining steel town to a vibrant and active place to live, work and visit.
Weekly Announcements
- President Gail Evans thanked Club members who volunteered to secure sponsorships, auction items or restaurants. She also encouraged members to register for our October 2nd Taste & Tunes event – our largest fundraising effort for the year that will benefit Second Harvest. Registration has been set-up on Club Runner through EventBrite, a secure online registration program. Or, checks can be made payable to Rotary Club Foundation and given to Thea Phalon, Bruce Palmer, or anyone on the Taste & Tunes Committee. Tickets are $100 per person and includes a wide variety of food tastings, desserts, wine and beer. No one will go home hungry or thirsty!
- Our Club has the honor of hosting District Governor, Linda Young, at our August 17th Club meeting. Let’s welcome Linda with a full room of Rotarians!
To commemorate Rotary Membership Month, President Gail Evans, reminded Club members that Rotary has “pushed polio to the brink of eradication, delivered clean water to those in need, improved their local communities, provided scholarships to the next generation of peacemakers, and continued to do good in the world.” Three Rotarians, Tip Mowrer, Dennis Morton, Bill Royer, in a 2-minute elevator speech, volunteered to describe what Rotary means to them – each one sharing some poignant stories about their own personal Rotary journey.
