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Jeff Parks kicks off his last Musikfest as president [The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) :: ](Morning Call (Allentown, PA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 02--The crowd of onlookers toted their traditional Musikfest mugs. Outside the windows of the ArtsQuest Center in south Bethlehem, the sky was a gray soup that drizzled into puddles around the tables and stage -- also a tradition. But this time, when Musikfest's founder kicked off this year's 10-day festival with his usual greeting of "Happy Musikfest!" it wasn't the same. "It's probably the last time I'll say that to a crowd," Parks said moments after an opening ceremony that included Pennsylvania first lady Susan Corbett. Parks, who came up with the idea for Musikfest and watched it grow into a nationally known phenomenon that draws an estimated 1 million people to the streets of Bethlehem every year, will retire in January as ArtsQuest's founder, president and CEO. "I don't think it's really sunk in yet," he said. But most of the others on the dais during Friday's opening ceremony took the occasion to note how the slender, bespectacled man changed Bethlehem forever. Kassie Hilgert, who will succeed Parks as president and CEO, noted his role in transforming defunct Bethlehem Steel property into the ArtsQuest Center. "Instead of letting it fall silent forever, it is alive with music," she told the crowd in the ArtsQuest Center's lobby. She and the other members of ArtsQuest's staff presented Parks with a glass sculpture in the shape of a lyre, which was the original logo for the festival. Engraved on the sculpture are the words, "Thank you Jeff Parks, because we will always know you as Mr. Musikfest." The governor's wife, who last visited SteelStacks when ArtsQuest opened in 2011, said Parks' story is a model and an inspiration to the rest of the state. "I am always in awe of how the passion, commitment and vision of one person can transform communities and transform lives," she said. Three decades ago, Parks didn't anticipate the collapse of Bethlehem Steel, which had a transformative effect on Bethlehem's celebration of music, drink, food and entertainment. But as he embarks on his last Musikfest at the helm, the festival has become exactly what he intended. "We wanted it to be nationally known," he said. "If you look at old newspaper articles, that's what we said from the beginning.' It continues to evolve. About 4 p.m., as the crowd began to gather beneath ominous clouds billowing over the rusting blast furnaces, off-key, metallic renditions of "Jingle Bells" and the "Star Spangled Banner" blasted over the grounds' east end. The instrument, which will be stationed outside the future home of the National Museum of Industrial History for the duration of the festival, is a calliope. The music is steam-piped through train whistles. When someone plays something on an attached keyboard, the rack full of whistles belches plumes of white vapor and shrieks a tune. Kind of. "Jingle Bells," one of the songs that play automatically when you connect the instrument to a computer, sounds like it's being played by a first-year piano student still trying to figure out the right keys. But it's loud, and visitors are welcome to try playing the keyboard. "A well-tuned calliope is an oxymoron," explained Mike Piersa, one of the museum's historians. The instrument was popular aboard riverboats in the 19th century, Piersa said. The museum selected it because it's both musical and industrial. Piersa hopes it ropes in visitors to view displays of the Lehigh Valley's industrial past. The museum, envisioned for one of Bethlehem Steel's abandoned buildings, is still in the planning stages. The Musikfest display -- the museum's first at the festival in two years -- is meant to provide a small sample of what it will offer one day, Piersa said. Festers began filtering into the park at 4 p.m. to watch the band Swell Daze bang out songs like Duran Duran's "Rio." Signs advertised beer and bratwurst. The sound of the Allman Brothers Band's "Jessica" drifted from another stage as another band rehearsed. Then, just after 5 p.m., the rain came and a crowd wandered indoors and milled around the lobby of the ArtsQuest Center. Others huddled under umbrellas and raincoats and waited for it to subside. Parks smiled at a standing ovation as he cradled his sculpture while the rain streaked down the windows. In January, "I'm looking forward to going away for a while and not caring what the weather is," he said. [email protected] 610-820-6533 ___ (c)2014 The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) Visit The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) at www.mcall.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |