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Published August 06. 2024 02:55PM
by Nate Jastrzemski njastrzemski@tnonline.com
Musikfest opens without opening

Each year Musikfest begins Friday evening with a public ceremony to welcome the 10-day revel, but its thunder was stolen by a summer storm just an hour before the official event. ArtsQuest chose to hold its customary thanks to sponsors, vendors, volunteers and participants at the closing ceremony Sunday, Aug. 11 at 11:30 a.m. at Service Electric’s Festplatz.

ArtsQuest President and CEO Kassie Hilgert will open the ceremony, followed by the singing of the national anthem by Allentown native and ArtsQuest production crew member Payton Renee. An invocation will also be led by Pastor Jenel Rice of Central Moravian Church.

Additional speakers include Mayor J. William Reynolds and Orville Trout, chair of ArtsQuest’s board of trustees and Executive Vice President, Human Resources, Corporate Affairs and Administration at Crayola. Trout will present this year’s recipients of the Marcincin Awards. These awards recognize ArtsQuest partners that have played integral roles in helping Musikfest continue to grow over the years while remaining free f r-all to enjoy.

Following the ceremony, guests are invited to stay for a performance by DMC Duo on the Festplatz Stage.

PRESS PHOTOS BY LORI PATRICKMusikfest opens its 41st year with Preview Night on the Wind Creek Steel Stage, where rockers “Greta Van Fleet” performed to a sold out audience. The four-piece Michigan band is on their “Starcatcher” tour.
Hannah Wicklund is the first stage appearance for Musikfest 2024. Wicklund hails from Nashville and is a blues singer and guitarist.
Musikfest was met with thunderstorms on Saturday causing schedule and service disruptions for safety reasons. When the headliner “Shinedown” hit the stage, they made up for the wait with their energetic show to a sold out audience. They played many of the songs that brought roars every time and their interactions with the crowd make them a great performance band who cares about their ticket holders. They played favorites like “A Symptom of Being Human”, “Second Chance”,  “Monsters” and a cover of ‘Lynyrd Skynyrd’s’ “Simple Man” with the audience singing every word along with vocalist ‘Brent Smith’