The Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) returned to the Musikfest lineup this year with a selfie station, mug charms, and other giveaways designed to celebrate what makes the Lehigh Valley a standout place to live and work. 

LVEDC’s booth at SteelStacks featured a selfie station with a map where guests could point to their favorite Lehigh Valley destinations. LVEDC also distributed swag featuring a new logo launched two years in partnership with Discover Lehigh Valley®.

Located at the SteelStacks campus during the festival’s first two days, LVEDC staff distributed the Lehigh Valley-branded merchandise on Aug. 1 and 2, which coincided with the days that two of the four headliner concerts that sold out.

Among the items distributed were “Made in the Lehigh Valley” charms designed to fit on Musikfest mugs but versatile enough to adorn purses and backpacks, too. There were also Made in the Lehigh Valley temporary tattoos, stickers, cooling towels, and cooling fans branded with Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania.

Musikfest, presented by the nonprofit ArtsQuest, was started in 1984 to help with the revitalization of Bethlehem’s Main Street. This year, the festival had a record-breaking year, drawing nearly 1.5 million people over 10 days to Bethlehem's North and South sides. At 60,800 headline tickets sold, the festival set a a new record for headliner ticket sales. Four concerts sold out: Megan Moroney, Riley Green, Darius Rucker, and Jordan Davis 

LVEDC’s booth at Musikfest is part of a larger initiative to raise brand awareness of the Lehigh Valley, one of the fastest-growing regions in Pennsylvania and the Northeast U.S., and one of the top mid-sized regions nationwide for economic development.

The region’s quality of life is critical in marketing the region to attract the talent that businesses need to grow and thrive.

Companies want to locate in vibrant communities with quality housing and schools, and plenty of cultural and entertainment options for their employees. Employees who find their communities to be engaging and interesting are more likely to put down roots and stay, which helps companies maintain their workforce.

Live entertainment and cultural events are playing critical roles in the Lehigh Valley’s economic renaissance, strengthening the growing, diversified $56 billion economy now supporting historic high employment.

Employment in the arts, spectator sports, and related industries grew from 932 jobs in 2001 to 2,214 today, according to an analysis of federal labor data by LVEDC Director of Research and Data Management Frank Alvarado. That’s a 138% jump or about 2.5 times the national growth rate. While the sector comprises just a sliver of the jobs in the Lehigh Valley, the notable growth underscores the importance of live entertainment in the Lehigh Valley and how deeply it is embedded in the region’s strategy for economic development and talent attraction.

In the last two decades, public-private partnerships have invested billions of dollars into venues like the PPL Center, Coca-Cola Park, Archer Music Hall, SteelStacks, and Wind Creek Event Center along with the debut of popular celebrations such as “BaconFest” in Easton and “Martin on Main” in Nazareth. That investment has reshaped the Lehigh Valley’s industrial corners into destinations buzzing with concerts, games, and festivals.