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ARTSQUEST AND HISTORIC BETHLEHEM PARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCE EXPANDED TOURISM PARTNERSHIP

DATE: March 2, 2011
CONTACT: Mark Demko, ArtsQuest, 610-332-1300, ext. 342, or mdemko@artsquest.org

ARTSQUEST AND HISTORIC BETHLEHEM PARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCE EXPANDED TOURISM PARTNERSHIP

Walking Tours of Former Bethlehem Steel Plant Will Start in Spring

BETHLEHEM, PA - ArtsQuest and Historic Bethlehem Partnership today announced that they will expand their ongoing partnership to serve visitors to Bethlehem by offering guided individual and group tours of the former Bethlehem Steel plant.

When the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks opens this spring, guided tours of the former steel plant will be offered daily to individual visitors to SteelStacks, as well as charter groups visiting the SteelStacks campus throughout the year. Fees for the one-hour walking tours will be the same as the one-hour walking tours Historic Bethlehem Partnership currently offers in the Moravian Historic District. ArtsQuest and Historic Bethlehem Partnership are also developing one-day and two-day packages that will include one or both walking tours (Moravian Historic District and SteelStacks), as well as a film at the ArtsQuest Center and admission to one or more of Historic Bethlehem Partnership's museums - Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts, Moravian Museum, Colonial Industrial Quarter and Burnside Plantation.

"When SteelStacks opens, there is going to be a great deal of interest in the former Bethlehem Steel plant, as well as the history of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation," said ArtsQuest President Jeff Parks. "It is important to visitor services to offer tours by professional guides from an organization such as Historic Bethlehem Partnership, which has the capacity to train guides and make them available on a daily basis to best accommodate our guests."

Historic Bethlehem Partnership President Charlene Donchez-Mowers said, "The addition of tours at the SteelStacks site is a continuation of Historic Bethlehem Partnership's mission of preserving and interpreting the history of Bethlehem.

"Since we offer tours of the Moravian Historic District and SouthSide Bethlehem on a regular basis, we have extensive experience in providing historical tours to the public. All of our guides participate in a thorough training and certification program. During the tours at SteelStacks, which will take place on public streets on the campus, the guides will share the history of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, as well as how it integrates with the history of Bethlehem, a community that drew immigrants from dozens of countries to work at the steel plant."

ArtsQuest and Historic Bethlehem Partnership currently partner on Christmas tourism by attracting both charter tours and individual guests to Bethlehem for the holiday season. ArtsQuest's hospitality department offers group tour packages that include tours of Bethlehem, visits to Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem® and a variety of theatrical and musical programs. ArtsQuest's website, www.christmascity.org, and box office system are used by both ArtsQuest and Historic Bethlehem Partnership to market and sell tickets to Historic Bethlehem Partnership's museums, Moravian Historic District walking tours and horse-drawn carriage rides, as well as Christkindlmarkt and other events presented by ArtsQuest.

The ArtsQuest Center will open on Friday, April 15, with the balance of the campus opening throughout 2011. When complete, the SteelStacks campus is expected to attract more than 750,000 visitors annually to Bethlehem.