Every August, Bethlehem hosts Musikfest, a ten day music festival that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city. The headliners get the publicity. The stages get the Instagram posts. But ask any local what they look forward to most, and the answer is almost always the food.
With roughly forty nine vendors spread across multiple festival sites, Musikfest is essentially a ten day food fair with a really good soundtrack.
The Corn
No conversation about Musikfest food can begin anywhere other than Aw Shucks Roasted Corn. This Allentown family has been roasting corn at the festival since 1998, and their booth at Plaza Tropical draws lines that rival the headlining acts.
The concept is simple: super sweet corn, roasted over open flame, brushed with butter, and hit with a secret family blend of southwest spice and parmesan cheese. That's it. It shouldn't be as addictive as it is, but here we are. The corn is so popular that Musikfest hosts an Aw Shucks Corn Eating Competition, where contestants race to devour five ears for a hundred dollar prize.
If you go to Musikfest and don't eat the corn, did you even go to Musikfest?
The Classics
Musikfest's food lineup is a mix of beloved returning vendors and new additions. Theo's Gyros has been a staple for years, serving lamb and chicken gyros that are crispy, saucy, and exactly what you want after three hours of live music. Take a Taco keeps things simple with well executed Mexican street food. Island Noodles has a loyal following for its teriyaki stir fry served in heaping portions.
Then there's the halupki. If you didn't grow up in the Lehigh Valley, you might not know about stuffed cabbage rolls, but they're a tradition here, reflecting the region's deep Eastern European heritage. Finding halupki at a music festival is the most Lehigh Valley thing imaginable.
The New Wave
Musikfest keeps the lineup fresh by adding new vendors each year. Recent additions have included El Tlaloc from Philadelphia, bringing authentic tacos and burritos; Knot of This World from New York, serving German Bavarian pretzels in creative flavors; and La Pepa from Washington DC, with Spanish style pulled pork and pollo frito.
Local vendors hold their own against the out of towners. Meltdown Gourmet from Schnecksville brings Philly cheesesteak variations that would start arguments in South Philly. Wood Fired Pizza from Bethlehem serves margherita and calabrese pies that sell out before the evening acts even start.
How It Works
Musikfest went fully cashless a few years back. Everything runs on debit, credit, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or ArtsQuest CashCards, which you can load with cash at stations throughout the festival grounds. It took some getting used to, but the lines move faster now and nobody is fumbling for change while holding a plate of nachos.
The food vendors are spread across the festival's multiple sites, with the heaviest concentration at SteelStacks and downtown Bethlehem. A strategy that works well: eat early, drink often, and always grab the Aw Shucks corn before the line gets too long.
A Food Festival That Happens to Have Music
The beauty of Musikfest's food scene is that it reflects the Lehigh Valley's evolving palate. You can get traditional Pennsylvania Dutch funnel cake and bratwurst a hundred feet from a Thai noodle stand and a modern Mexican kitchen. The vendors range from family operations that have been coming for decades to first time participants bringing flavors from across the country.
Ten days, fifty vendors, zero bad decisions. That's the Musikfest food promise. Well, maybe one bad decision: trying to eat at every single vendor. But that's what ten days are for.
