Musikfest

City residents won't have to wait another 25 years for a Musikfest milestone.

Major changes are already in the works for the annual festival.

The headliners stage relocation in 2010 from Sand Island to a $53 million media and cultural center on former Bethlehem Steel Corp. land is expected to expand the festival's attendance, band-booking ability and South Side presence.

RiverPlace's relocation to a larger stage at what will be known as SteelStax will allow Musikfest to attract different artists, said Kim Plyler, spokeswoman for ArtsQuest, which runs the annual 10-day event that begins today -- its 25th anniversary.

Some musicians won't play at the 6,500-seat RiverPlace because they only play at larger venues, she said.

The new headliners stage at SteelStax will have 8,000 seats.

"The bigger the space and the more seats you have, the different types of artists you can bring in," Plyler said. "I wouldn't say bigger names but different names."

Musikfest experienced such a boost in 2000 when the headliners stage moved from a smaller stage in the Colonial Industrial Quarter to Sand Island, Plyler said.

The move to SteelStax will also add more South Side venues to Musikfest. Currently Zoellner Arts Center is the only festival stage south of the Lehigh River.

The headliners stage will be a second venue and ArtsQuest officials also plan to use another SteelStax site for Musikfest, Plyler said. Music Park, an outdoor music venue that will be built in remains of Steel's Iron Foundry Building, will be able to hold 2,500 people.

Whether more festival venues move to the South Side is undetermined, Plyler said.

"The community will decide that," she said.

The South Side would welcome a bigger part in Musikfest, said Roger Hudak, chairman of the mayor's South Side Task Force. Having more festival venues there would benefit neighborhood businesses, he said.

Also Musikfest is really at a maximum capacity at its Center City locations, Hudak said.

"It can't get any bigger there," he said.

Plyler agreed that the Center City venues can often be very packed.

"I think SteelStax will definitely expand the draw for the festival," she said.

Another future draw for Musikfest might be SteelStax's neighbor -- Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem that is scheduled to open in July 2009. ArtsQuest and city officials predict Musikfest and the casino will be mutually beneficial.

The casino is estimated to bring up to 5 million people to Bethlehem each year, Mayor John Callahan said. The major tourist draw will likely introduce more people to Musikfest, he said.

"And Musikfest will drive traffic to the casino," Callahan said.

Musikfest is a major tourist draw of its own, Plyler said.

"I think Musikfest will be an added benefit for the casino because we attract more than 1 million people each year," she said. "It would be nice if there could be some cross promotion to the casino's patrons to introduce them to Musikfest."