The streets waft drafts of beer from Bethlehem Brew Works and nearby “keg stands.” The different cuisines from each plaza add a special mix to the yeasty air reeking through the historic district of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Just as the crowd grows antsy, a large ball of fire explodes in the sky shifting the people's attention to the final event of Musikfest 2015.

Attempting to walk through the herds of close to a million people, half of them inebriated while singing and dancing near one of the 14 performance stages, is nearly impossible. Every once in a while, the different genres of music begin to clash with one another creating an ear-piercing melody that’s oddly satisfying to the locals.

Several roads are closed off for this community block party extravaganza hosted by ArtsQuest, a nonprofit organization, for nearly three decades. Over the course of 10 days in August, 14 different stages undergo about 500 or more performances. All stages are free and open to the public, except for two: the Sands SteelStage and PNC Performing Arts Series. The proceeds from ticket sales of these two stages along with other parts of the festival go to a bunch of nonprofit groups in the area, like ArtsQuest and The Banana Factory.

These nonprofit groups support art education and inspire creativity in the community. They also believe in celebrating the Germanic culture found in early Bethlehem through music and other creative forms. In order to craft one of the nation’s largest free music festivals, ArtsQuest partners with different businesses and institutions to save the arts.

Along the streets there are people swaying to the syncopated rhythms of jazz ensembles, looking for some spare change. Circus acts gather crowds as fire breathers illuminate the night, and men display their balancing skills on unicycles while juggling bowling pins. Sometimes there are guest appearances from people like Forrest Gump, taking pictures with festivalgoers and just looking to make someone smile. Street acts seem to top themselves each year with something new, like the 18-foot dinosaurs on stilts roaming around the festival for several hours.

Lining inside the large area Musikfest occupies, there are individual booths showcasing whatever people have to offer. The variety is unfathomable and consists of food stands, decorative steel drums, handmade jewelry, and even glass blowing. Along with the different booths to gawk and spend money at, there are several plazas dedicated to live performances.

Most of the performances fit the name of their designated plaza. Some, like Leiderplatz and Lyrikplatz, host singer-songwriters because in German, leider translates to song, whereas lyrik means poetry. Some of these locations don’t follow the German rule and are more Americanized, so festivalgoers can easily locate the different stages. Some of their names are Americaplatz, Wells Fargo Festplatz, and Plaza Tropical.

Any type of music genre a person could imagine is featured somewhere in the festival. The diverse music consists of country, rap, oldies, Scottish, Indian, and rock. Although most of the festival’s live performances are free, some shows featuring famous artists have a price range of about $40-$60. Past singers and bands include Keith Urban, Weezer, Jason Derulo, Ke$ha, and Avenged Sevenfold.

The Wells Fargo Festplatz features Musikfest’s only dance floor where polka music plays during the day, and party bands take the stage in the later hours. Older crowds gather to enjoy themselves by swinging a partner around to the beat of polka music. When the sun sets, the free souls of the younger generation flock to the dance floor head banging to rock music.

Plaza Tropical doesn’t have such a large stage, but it does attract a horde of people with the hundreds of seats under a cool grand tent. Most people can be found jamming out in their seats, while some others are dancing on the grassy area outside the tent with a frozen beverage in hand. Plaza Tropical transports people to a cool island paradise through the fast beats of Latin music and Caribbean food sizzling in the distance. Decadent coconut shrimp is served with a side of tangy mango rice at some food stands, while others offer something sweet, like fried bananas.

Food and drink are one of the biggest components to the festival. Vendors come to bring new flavorsome dishes into the limelight; Musikfest is a great way for vendors of any kind to become recognized by the right people and turn their small stand into a restaurant or store. Merchants genuinely want people to experience their creations and casually ask if people would like to try what they have to offer. Over the years, foods like spreadable bacon from The Bacon Jams have emerged for those who just can’t get enough of that savory taste. Other odd delicacies include the pulled pork parfait, or as some like to call it, the porkfait. Layers of mashed potatoes and sweet pulled pork topped with chives all in a convenient cup make this creation nearly impossible to resist.

Of course, there are the classics that keep people coming year after year from all over the Lehigh Valley. Aw Shucks Roasted Corn holds a booth every year in the same location, so their regulars know just where to find them. People come to get their annual Aw Shucks corn because of how sweet the cob is, topped with butter, Parmesan cheese, and several mild Southwestern spices.

No dish is complete without a cold brew in hand. It’s only tradition to grab a 24-ounce Musikfest mug at the festival for cheaper beer refills. Every year the mugs come out with new designs featuring aspects of Musikfest and its roots through the Lehigh Valley. The mugs are available for purchase at any of the many souvenir shops in the festival or online. Musikfest is known for the their variety of beer with tents at each stage. Food and drink go by a ticket system to make things a little easier and quicker considering the large quantities of people at the festival. Ticket booths are scattered throughout Musikfest and around every corner.

Although it seems like more of an adult festival, it actually attracts many families in the area. Kids can enjoy the Spark Orthodontics Kinderplatz, where there are rides, activities, arts and crafts, and free samples for children of any age. This section is located right by the Plaza Tropical, so people tend to enter the festival through this plaza, making it the one of the more popular areas.

Musikfest is unlike any festival around the Lehigh Valley. Their wide variety of music, food and drink, vendor booths, and live performances attracts close to 1 million people each year. This is something locals look forward to as one last summer fling before fall sets in. ArtsQuest bids adieu to Musikfest by compiling a fireworks phenomenon on the last day of the festival. The spot to be is near Moravian University’s library, where the courtyard balcony overlooks the outskirts of Musikfest but gives a front-row seat to the show in the sky.