I love Fall. There’s something about the changing of the leaves and the cooler temperatures that just does it for me. It also doesn’t hurt that Fall is officially the season of jeans, sweaters, and jackets. Now if only there was a festival to help us celebrate the end of Summer’s oppressive heat and humidity.

But wait! There is! The Bethlehem Harvest Festival is just what we’ve been looking for! Taking place on Main St. in Bethlehem, the Harvest Festival is a celebration of all things Autumn. Festival goers can sample beer and wine, enjoy live music, shop for arts and crafts, and, have I mentioned sample beer yet? Because really, to a 25 year old guy like me, that’s what Harvest Fest is all about. It’s about sampling delicious Oktoberfest, pumpkin ales, and other delicious seasonal brews from some awesome local and regional breweries.

According to the Harvest Fest website, the Festival is moving back to Main St. and the “passport” system they’ve used in previous years. Passports ordered online cost $20 and are good for 10 beer samples and a souvenir sampling glass. From a festival attendees stand point, it’s good to see them getting back to the system and location they’ve used in previous years. Last year, instead of having the festival along beautiful Main St. and using the passport system, they charged per beer and hosted the beer garden in the lower level where Musikfest happens. Maybe it’s just me, but having the beer garden under the Hill-to-hill Bridge was a huge step down from hosting it on Historic Main Street. I understand that they probably didn’t want a bunch of drunks running around on Main St., but this really killed the atmosphere and borderline ruined Harvest Fest last year. Plus, we all know Main St. in Bethlehem is ground zero for drunken festivals. If it can handle Musikfest, it can handle Harvest Fest.

But like I said, it cool to see them moving back to a system that should work better for both festival organizers and attendees. The beer tasting runs from 1-4PM, and the beer garden runs from 3-9PM. Other events and activities start and end throughout the day, for a full schedule, click here.