Mayfair Festival of the Arts, which returns to Cedar Crest College in Allentown during Memorial Day Weekend for its eighth year on the school’s campus, will offer visitors a bigger and better drone show finale this year.

The free family festival, with food, crafts and music, runs 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. May 22 and noon to 10 p.m.. May 23 and May 24 on Cedar Crest’s tree-lined campus.

Catherine Stroh, Cedar Crest College Communication and Content Manager, says organizers are very excited about the festival’s larger drone show, being presented at 9 p.m. May 24 by Star Flight Drone Shows of Celebration Fireworks Inc., Slatington.

This year, the company’s performance has 200 drones flying in formation and creating patterns in the sky synchronized to music. This is twice as many drones as in last year’s Mayfair show, which Stroh says was well-received.

“The drones will be flying higher and have better animation,” Stroh says. “We are really looking forward to it.”

Stroh says organizers also have made it easier for parents by having a day pass for the children’s amusements at Franki’s Fun Zone, located in the Quad. Parents can buy $10 bracelets at the information table and their children can enjoy unlimited time in the bounce house and slide, inflatable obstacle course, gaming trailer and kiddie train ride.

There also will be a Crayola craft table.

LV Rocks will offer a rock-climbing wall and bungee trampoline for additional charges.

The festival continues cashless this year, a change implemented last year. In previous years, visitors needed to purchase tickets to buy food and beverages. This year, visitors can use credit and debit cards or other cashless systems to buy food or drink directly from vendors. Vendors will not accept cash.

The layout of the festival is the same as last year, with the Main Stage returning to the Quad, and the Artist Market Stage which features solo acts and duos, in front of Blaney Hall.

The Artist Market is back with more than 40 artists and vendors inside Tompkins College Center in the dining hall and outside lining the Quad.

Stroh says many of the fan favorite bands, such as The Large Flowerheads, Go Go Gadjet, Philadelphia Funk Authority and The Wonton Soups, will be back at the Main Stage. New this year on the Main Stage, are regional bands Steal The Sky and Class of ‘84.

Steal The Sky is a Philadelphia band mixing pop, rock and dance music. It is made up of Amanda O’Donnell, vocals and keyboards; Stephen McKnight, vocals and guitar; Matt Fearon, vocals and bass, and Noah Adams, drums.

Class of ‘84 is a Philadelphia-South Jersey 1980s’ tribute music band. It includes vocalists Amanda Bee and Kim Graf-Offner; Mike Wessner, guitar; Adam Martin, keyboards; Mike O’Neill, bass, and Doug Eagar, drums.

A newcomer to the Artist Market Stage is 15-year-old singer-songwriter Adeline Csontos, an emerging local artist who was the winner of “ABE Idol 2025.”

The Artist Market has a variety of handmade items, including jewelry, home décor, fine art, photography, fabric art, wood-carving and candles.

Stroh says new artists include Muni Muni Bakery, specializing in small-batch Filipino-inspired macaroons; Whistling Studios, a paper-making studio; Hoffman Bread, with artisan-crafted bread and pastries, and LK Artistry, with hand-crafted skincare and body products.

Highlights include paintings and drawings by students from the Allentown School District; knitted toys, sweaters and keychains by Hello Fluff; spoons, cutting boards and spatulas made from Pennsylvania black cherry wood by Chester P. Basil; artisan soap and body-care products by Noraa Body Love; gourmet wine slushy mixes by Nectar of the Vine, and scented candles by LilyBean Cottage Scents.

There will be 15 food stands, including returning favorites such as Heaven On A Bun, Take a Taco, Puerto Rican Culture Association, Greek Street, JR’s London Broil and E-Z Concessions.

A new food vendor is Mon and Mel’s Sweet Scoops Ice Cream Truck. Started by a pair of Lehigh Valley cousins who retrofitted a school bus, the truck serves 11 flavors of hand-dipped ice cream, milkshakes, sundaes, floats, banana splits, parfaits, smoothies, Italian ice and cookie sandwiches.

Other sweet treats will be available from Bananarama and Portia’s Donuts & Bobas.

There will be a selection of beer, as well as wine from Franklin Hill Vineyards, for purchase by those over 21.

In 2018, Cedar Crest College took over Mayfair as a way to support the community and introduce people to the college’s campus, a nationally-registered arboretum with more than 150 varieties of trees.

The festival took a year off in 2020 because of the pandemic and returned in 2021.

This year marks Mayfair’s eighth year at Cedar Crest College. Stroh says the college is committed to continuing the long-standing event.

Proceeds from the festival go toward student scholarships at Cedar Crest.

Free parking is available on Cedar Crest College’s campus.

Information: https://mayfair.cedarcrest.edu/