The citizens in and around the Lehigh Valley might not be aware of how fortunate they are to have a Levitt Pavilion located here in this area. Levitt Pavilions provide the only national network of outdoor music venues and the largest free concert series in America.

There are presently six Levitt Pavilion sites across America. California has two; one in Pasadena and one in Los Angeles. The other four pavilions are located in Arlington, Texas, Memphis, Tenn., Westport, Conn. (the first Levitt Pavilion) and Bethlehem. The organization is looking for city sites to develop in the future. Bethlehem is the most recent one to open.

Each Levitt Pavilion location has its own unique atmosphere with each concert pavilion designed to embrace the distinct personality and culture of the host city. Every aspect of each Levitt Pavilion engages the city's particular character through the architecture, landscaping and music programming. Each pavilion is managed by a local Friends of Levitt Pavilion nonprofit organization.

The Lehigh Valley area is privileged to have one of the six Levitt Pavilions, which provides approximately 50 free concerts, located right here in Bethlehem. Bethlehem's Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks, which opened in 2011, was built with the Bethlehem Steel's blast furnaces as its backdrop. The pavilion's cantilevered steel band shell has also received multiple design awards. The Levitt Pavilion's South Bethlehem location adds to the goal of converting what was once the nation's biggest brown field into a growing and welcoming arts and cultural campus.

Scheduled concerts are varied enough to meet any tastes. Previous concerts have been performed by Ambosia, John Lee Hooker, Jr., Jump City Jazz Orchestra, Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole, Mambo Kaliente, Grammy-winning blues singer/pianist Marcia Ball and recently the 1950s and 1960s New Jersey Doo Wop group, The Duprees.

You might wonder how it's possible to present and fund 50 free concerts a year. The programs are funded by the Mortimer and Mimi Levitt Foundation. The private family foundation was created in 1963 to support the arts, culture and education. Today, the foundation's main focus is the philanthropy programs partnering with cities through the development and support of Levitt Pavilions across America.

The Levitt's daughter, Elizabeth Levitt Hirsch, attended and addressed the guests and media during the dedication ceremony for the Levitt Pavilion in 2010. The dedication was held on the first floor of the new ArtsQuest building in Bethlehem. The site of the future Levitt Pavilion and the Steel Stacks stood out behind the speakers as a symbol of the future concerts as Hirsch and other speakers discussed the possibilities afforded by the Levitt Family Foundation.

Hirsch described how her father had grown up in Brooklyn and would accompany his father to work. Mortimer's father was a street vendor at the elite Luna Park of Coney Island. The young Mortimer could not afford admission to Coney Island and its many activities and concerts, so he would stand against the fence daydreaming and listening to the music emanating from the park. Like most young boys and girls, he dreamed of becoming rich someday, but he also dreamed of making it possible for people like himself to enjoy free music at a concert venue without the need to listen from behind a fence.

Hirsch's father dropped out of school at age 16 and eventually took a job with a textile company. He quickly rose through the ranks to salesman. During the Great Depression, he started his own business, called the Custom Shop, making and selling made-to-order shirts. By 1942 he had made his first million dollars and owned nine Custom Shops throughout the Northeast.

Mortimer met Mimi in New York City. She had grown up in Vienna, Austria, where her childhood was filled with opera and other fine music. They married in 1948, and together, became philanthropists supporting youth music programs, performing arts organizations and educational institutions. The rest is history as Mortimer fulfilled his dream of providing free concerts for everyone who loves music through his Levitt Foundation.

Check the Levitt Pavilion's website at info@levittsteelstacks.org or call 610-332-1300 for concert schedules and more information.