Penguins, Sled Dogs and More at PeepsFest

Penguins, sled dogs and mascots will all be a part of the festivities as PeepsFest celebrates its fifth anniversary on Monday and Tuesday at SteelStacks.

The annual kid-friendly festival that leads up to New Year’s Eve will be the largest ever presented by ArtsQuest and Just Born, the makers of that yellow marshmallow confection known as the Peep chick.

Highlights of PeepsFest 2013 include the announcement of the winners of Peeps Diorama Competition featuring nearly 100 dioramas created by area school children, PBS39 TV Studio Tours, a life size Coca-Cola Ski Chalet at the ArtsQuest Center made out of Coca-Cola can 12-packs with a Peepsified Roof and Lehigh Valley Zoo animals including African Penguins

It all culminates at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday—New Year’s Eve—with the dropping of the Peep—a 4½-foot tall, 85-pound, lit, fiberglass model of the marshmallow candy chick—and a fireworks display.

Throughout both days of the festival, kids can meet and learn about the Dutch Springs champion sled dog team.

Kari Hunyadi, Director of Youth Programs at NorthStar Adventure and a 10-year professional dog musher will engage participants in the exciting program several times over the two days. The 20-minute program will reveal little known secrets about dog sledding.  

Kids will increase their dog sledding IQ with fun facts about which dogs are the best for each type of mushing, what dog personality best suits the lead dog position, what mushers wear, and what equipment is used. 

The program will run on both days beginning at 11 a.m. and be part of the Dutch Springs activities located in the Fowler Blast Furnace Room in the ArtsQuest Building.  Kids can make a leaning tower of Peeps-a sing and dance with the Dutch Springs Peep, spin the prize wheel to win Aqua Park tickets for the summer, and do virtual kayaking and SCUBA diving on a Nintendo Wii. 

Other festival highlights on Tuesday include the Mascot Dash & Kids Fun Run at noon, the 1 p.m. PeepsFest 5K, which last year had more than 600 running participants, and the New Year’s Eve Party on the Levitt Pavilion lawn, featuring kids rock band StarFish, at 4 p.m.

Festival hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday. Admission is free.