BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Bethlehem will mark its new status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a free community block party featuring music, food and cultural demonstrations on Saturday, Sept. 6.
The celebration runs from noon to 7 p.m. and will be centered around Central Moravian Church, City Hall and the West Church and Main streets area. It comes after Bethlehem’s historic Moravian settlements were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List on July 26, 2024, alongside international landmarks such as the Great Wall of China and the Pyramids of Giza.
Festivities will begin with an opening ceremony and the presentation of the official World Heritage recognition plaque in front of the Central Moravian Church Sanctuary on Main Street. The unveiling of a commemorative mural and a time capsule ceremony will also take place.
Visitors can explore nine World Heritage sites, including the 1741 Gemeinhaus and the 1748 Single Sisters’ House. Tours are available through Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites.
Music throughout the day will include performances by the Moravian Trombone Choir, Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Central Moravian Church Choir, Mainstreet Brass and SATORI. At 5 p.m., six Bethlehem Area Moravian Churches will host a traditional Community Lovefeast on the lower Church Green, followed by a free ice cream social.
The block party will also feature craft demonstrations by blacksmiths, Colonial brewers, tinsmiths and potters. Food trucks such as Hungry Hounds Express, Couchpota.doh!, Pat’s Pizza and K’Town Pub will be on site. A first-ever Moravian Sugar Cake Competition will be held in the Old Chapel Basement.
The event will also mark the first public appearance of Katherine Faull as Bethlehem’s new World Heritage Site manager. Faull, who begins her role Sept. 1, brings more than 30 years of expertise in Moravian studies. She previously taught at Bucknell University and is founding vice president and executive director of the Institute for Moravian History and World Heritage at Moravian University.
Faull’s position will help develop strategy, expand programming and strengthen partnerships with other Moravian heritage locations around the world.
“Katherine’s visionary leadership will deepen our understanding of Moravian heritage and make this history accessible to visitors worldwide,” Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds said in a statement.