Learn to Make a Chocolate Rose on Mother's Day

Chocolate-making demonstration Sunday on Main Street will show how chocolate was made during the Colonial Era.

  You can learn how to make chocolate roses like they did during the Colonial Era during a special Sweet Taste of History event Sunday at the 1810 Goundie House in Historic Downtown Bethlehem. The event at 505 Main St. from noon to 4 p.m., will include a hands-on chocolate demonstration, free treats and a special appearance by Mrs. Goundie, who will show how to make chocolate flowers. During the event, guests will uncover chocolate's bittersweet past and the delicious role it played in American history through an engaging workshop that highlights where chocolate originated and how it was made in colonial times. Activities include a hands-on chocolate-making demonstration using traditional kitchen equipment and the opportunity to enjoy a …

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Artists, Crafters Take Over Main Street This Weekend

48th annual Bethlehem Fine Art and Craft Show will feature work of more than 70 artists, crafters.

The work of more than 70 juried artists and crafters will be on display along Main Street in Historic Downtown Bethlehem this weekend for the 48th annual Bethlehem Fine Art and Craft Show. The free show, which runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday will include children’s art activities sponsored by Crayola and acoustic music by Lehigh Valley Harmonizers, Easton’s Earl the Accordionist and others. The 2013 Artist in Residence is Arianne Schnalzer, an artist at the Banana Factory. Her expertise is painting, and her passion is sharing this expertise with students. While Schnalzer paints on Main Street, on-lookers are encouraged to ask her questions or engage her in conversation. A sculpture created by Virginia …

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'Main Street Mayor' Gordon Mowrer Feted by City

City erects Main Street monument to Gordon Mowrer, who was mayor from 1974 to 1978 and credited with halting urban renewal that would have changed historic downtown's character.

  Mayor John Callahan led a tribute to one of his predecessors at a ceremony this afternoon dedicating a Main Street monument to Gordon Mowrer. Mowrer, who was mayor between 1974 and 1978 and again in 1987, is generally credited with putting a halt to planned urban renewal projects that would have put a wrecking ball to many buildings in Bethlehem’s historic downtown. Callahan unveiled a brick wall and plaque in front of the fountain at Main and W. Market streets proclaiming Mowrer the “Main Street Mayor.” The plaque features a portrait of the former mayor and testifies to Mowrer’s lasting contribution to Bethlehem’s charm and vitality: “As Mayor in the 1970s his vision saved Bethlehem’s historic downtown from the wrecking ball of ‘urban …

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Crime News

Homeless Woman Slept in Downtown Lobby

42-year-old woman charged with trespassing after police found her curled up and sleeping in the lobby of building just off of Main Street.

  A homeless woman who told police she has been sleeping in a Historic District office building to stay out of the cold has been charged with criminal trespass and for now will be sleeping inside Northampton County Prison. Elizabeth Jean Rivera, 42, was found early Thursday “curled up, covered with a blanket and sleeping in a small alcove on the bottom floor of the building” at 79 W. Market St., according to a criminal complaint filed by Bethlehem police Officer Michelle Dologite. The building, which is just west of Historic Main Street, houses CRB Properties, the complaint says. Dologite writes that she and another officer were assigned to check 79 W. Market St. for “homeless persons” sleeping in the building. A person connected to CRB …

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Inga Eula

8:00 pm on Sunday, January 27, 2013

Thank you. I couldn't remember the website   more ›

New Year's Eve Celebration Planned on Main St.

Live music, cash bar, free champagne toast planned for inaugural open air New Year's Eve Celebration on Main Street.

  The Downtown Bethlehem Association announced Thursday it will host the first ever Main Street New Year’s Eve celebration to ring in 2013. The open-air celebration in the Historic Downtown will feature live music with the Trouble City All-Stars and the Lehigh Valley Harmonizers, a cash bar, food vendors and a free champagne toast at midnight. In Bethlehem, we all know about the Peeps drop, but this event will culminate at midnight with a “Bethlehem Star rise.” “Our board of directors wanted to pull this together because there is nothing that happens anymore at midnight in Bethlehem,” said Samantha Schwartz, manager of the DBA. Until 2010, Bethlehem had First Night, a dry celebration staged at a number of venues that never really succeeded…

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Mutt Strut Halloween Parade Returns for 5th Year

Doggie Day in Bethlehem Sunday will mean a howling good time on Main Street for costumed pets and their owners.

  Bethlehem’s Main Street will go to the dogs on Sunday. Specifically, dogs wearing Halloween costumes. It is once again time for Doggie Day in the Historic Downtown. The fifth-annual event will be presented by the Downtown Bethlehem Association from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will once again feature the “Mutt Strut” Doggie Halloween Parade. Parade registration begins at 10:30 a.m. in the Sun Inn Courtyard, behind the Historic Sun Inn. The parade will begin at 12:30 p.m. The suggested registration fee is $10 and proceeds will be shared with the Center for Animal Health and Welfare. All registrants will receive a special goodie bag and raffle ticket to win more prizes. Local “celebrities” will judge five categories. The five parade categories …

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Main Street Reconstruction Resumes Today

Construction crews start to dig up surface of Main Street today; traffic will be reduced to one lane.

  If you are planning to drive to Historic Downtown Bethlehem in the next few weeks, prepare yourself for delays and consider some alternative routes around Main Street. The $3.2 million facelift for Main Street resumes this morning, city officials said. Construction crews will begin demolishing the pavement and roadway to prepare for replacement and the ultimate installation of a 50-by-30-foot inlaid granite star at the intersection with Market Street. Traffic on Main Street will be cut to one lane between Broad to Church streets. Traffic will be allowed to move in both directions as flagmen control the flow. Also, through traffic on Market Street will be closed from New Street west to Main Street. Signs will be placed at the corner of …

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Viewfinder

Musikfest 2012: Day Two in Pictures

Food, street entertainers and music draw thousands despite heat and humidity.

Saturday evening was steamy, but so was the delicious food and exciting live street acts as music echoed throughout the north and south sides of Bethlehem. Musikfest 2012 is in full swing!

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Main Street Reconstruction Schedule Revised

Reconstruction of sidewalks at Main and Market will continue through July 26 and be suspended until after Musikfest concludes.

  The first three phases of a five-phase project to rebuild the street and sidewalks around Main and Market streets in Historic Downtown Bethlehem are expected to be finished by July 26, a full week ahead of the start of Musikfest, according to a city engineer. On that day, work crews are expected to remove construction signs, equipment and clean the site, giving the city a full week to prepare for Musikfest’s opening night on August 3. Kiel Fortner, a city section engineer, sent an updated construction schedule to Downtown Bethlehem Association members early this week. To date, the work schedule has not gone exactly as planned. “As with most construction activities, there have been some unexpected conditions that have forced us to revise …

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Crime News

Store Clerk Pulls Out Gun in Response to Threat

Main Street store manager tells police he believes he was threatened with a knife outside his store on Thursday night. Police look for assailant and friends.

  UPDATE 4:50 p.m.: The store employee has been identified as store manager Matthew Bzura, 37, in media reports. Threatened with a knife to his throat just outside the Cigars International on Main Street, the store manager pulled out a handgun and chased off three men, one of which had just knocked over a store sign, on Thursday night, Bethlehem police said. Police are seeking the public’s help in getting the identities of the men involved in the confrontation on Main Street. Today, police released surveillance photos from their visit to the store at 535 Main St. The manager from Cigars International, Matthew Bzura, has a license to carry a concealed weapon in Northampton County, police said. The incident happened a little before 9 p.m. …

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