As the signs of spring start to peek out through the winter snow, Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites (HBMS) is ready to get back outdoors and encourages the community to do the same with new program, Saturdays at Burnside.

Saturdays at Burnside is a weekly program showcasing the historic Burnside Plantation each Saturday from April through November. With activities for the whole family, visitors can enjoy the open outdoor space while learning more about the barns, buildings and gardens that have been a part of the Moravian community since 1748. Activities run from 10 a.m. to noon and are free to attend. Feel free to bring your furry friends along for a walk too; Burnside Plantation is dog-friendly.

Each weekend the Farmhouse and Summer Kitchen will be open for visitors to catch a glimpse inside these historic spaces and see cooking demonstrations. Take a tour of the barns on the property and learn more about their significance: the Haas Barn, the Johnson Barn that houses one of the only remaining High Horse-Powered wheels in the U.S., the Corn Crib, and the Wagon Shed. For those who wish to tour and learn on their own, the Burnside Plantation link of the HBMS Heritage Trail will be available too.

Come watch the garden grow and Meet the Gardeners each Saturday morning.

This dedicated group of volunteers maintains the award-winning Louise W. Dimmick Memorial Garden each season, planting and harvesting several crops of herbs, vegetables and fruits each year. This is your chance for a first-hand look at what these gardeners do and to learn more about the history of the Kitchen Garden and its continued use since the late 1700s.

Visit often and watch the garden evolve from the planting stage, to seedlings, to fully grown plants with ripe produce. For the kids, a selection of fun crafts will be available to complete and take home. Every month there will be a craft available each weekend, with extra activities on certain weekends.

April’s monthly craft offers littlest visitors the chance to learn about what the gardeners do and plant their own seed to take home. Additional weekend activities include an Easter-themed craft April 3, a popsicle stick photo frame April 10, and a nature walk and project April 24.

Burnside Plantation is located at 1461 Schoenersville Road. Parking is available onsite. For more information and how to visitm please visit the HBMS website. Your help is needed to open Burnside Plantation for the public. Volunteer efforts are a fantastic way to help share their history with the public. A variety of positions are available, including docents, greeters, shop and kids’ activity helpers, and Summer Kitchen demonstrators. If you are interested, please reach out to Keith Sten, ksten@historicbethlehem.org, or Molly Breitbach, mbreitbach@historicbethlehem.org, for more information.

Burnside Plantation is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Louise W. Dimmick Memorial Garden at Burnside Plantation won a Blue Ribbon in the 2020 Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Gardening Contest and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Community Greening Award in 2008.

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