What's In Store For 2024 For Lower Bucks County

Editor's Note —This is Part 1 of a feature of some of the happenings slated for Bucks County for 2024. Part II will feature wineries, breweries, and restaurants.

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA —So what's in store for 2024?

There's plenty for Lower Bucks and the rest of the county, according to Visit Bucks County.

The county will welcome new lodging venues, attractions, restaurants, and exhibits in addition to the debut of several brand-new family-friendly festivals.

During a webinar on Jan. 31, Visit Bucks County's President and COO Paul Bencivengo shared updates on upcoming hospitality openings, and Adam Sacks, president of tourism economics touched on 2024 key performance indicators.

Visit Bucks County finished 2023 strong, reaching some major digital milestones. Its social channels grew rapidly in 2023 as more and more people heard and learned about Bucks County as a destination.

Video views increased more than 1,000 percent on Instagram, 250 percent on Tik Tok, and 40 percent on YouTube since 2022, with video reels creating the largest traction.

As a result of the digital and social media focus, page views were up 125 percent at visitbuckscounty.com over 2022.

According to Sacks, demand for overnight rooms in Bucks County in 2023 showed strength with recent performance in December nearing levels seen in 2019. In 2023, hotel room revenue performed ahead of 2019 with Q4 surpassing 2019 by 9.2 percent. (Source: STR, Inc.)

The positive trend is expected to continue into 2024 with hotel room revenue projected to increase by 2.6 percent.

The year ahead, Visit Bucks officials said, will see the addition of new lodging options, new events and festivals, and the opening of new restaurants, attractions, and businesses.

There's a lot on the horizon as 2024 moves ahead:

Hotels & B&Bs

• Bristol Borough’s new nine-room boutique hotel, The Radcliffe, expects to open in the fall.
• ·The Carversville Inn plans to reopen following renovations. The historic country inn located at 6205 Fleecy Dale Road is adding a first-floor 65-seat restaurant, eight inn rooms on the second and third floors, along with a 626-square-foot addition.

Entertainment

• Sesame Place Philadelphia will introduce the 123 Playground, a new, 3,000 square-foot play area this spring. The imaginative and colorful play area will be centrally located at the former site of the Sunny Day Carousel, which is currently being renovated and will reopen in the center of Sesame Plaza this spring.
• Hellerick’s Family Farm is adding on an 18-hole championship barnyard-themed Mini Golf course this spring. The county’s newest and premiere mini-golf course will feature animal displays, farm equipment, and education built into the ADA-compliant course.
• TreeTrails Trevose is expanding its Dual Racing Ziplines. The newest additions to TreeTrails Adventures Trevose include dual 1,000 foot racing ziplines and a new 15 element zip trail.
• Main Swing Golf, a new indoor golf lounge teed-up its grand opening just in time for 2024. Located on the second floor of the Main Street Marketplace in Doylestown Borough, the space features a lounge area with big screen TVs, four simulation bays, all of which are equipped with state-of-the-art technology. The lounge is BYOB and members are encouraged to pick up food and beverages at one of the vendors located on the first floor. Private parties and groups are welcome.
• Improvements next to the Dublin Town Center are underway. One of Nehemiah Development Company’s investor groups recently purchased the Dublin Town shopping center. Enhancing the façade and other improvements are underway. They look forward to welcoming tourism and hospitality additions to be announced later in the year.

Arts & Culture

• Starting in the spring, the Michener Art Museum will be offering free admission on the second Sunday of the month and will be open late for an “Art Night Out” on the first Thursday of the month. Art Nights Out will feature fun workshops, performances and speakers designed to engage art enthusiasts at all levels. The Michener Art Museum will be free of charge on the Second Sundays of the month and will include activities and performances for families.
• Pearl S. Buck International is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2024 by hosting events throughout the year to celebrate. The events kickoff with a special exhibit using the fashions of Pearl Buck to tell her story and the story of PSBI. "Hidden Gems: Fashioning A Legacy" will open March 15. A 60th anniversary gala is planned for May 16. A "Living the Legacy Breakfast: 60 Years" takes place on June 26 (Pearl Buck's birthday). And a Pearl S. Buck Symposium in the fall will feature international and university partnerships and research paper presentations.
• Moravian Pottery & Tile Works is gearing up for a busy year of events and experiential community tile classes at its working history museum in Doylestown. Their event calendar includes: TileFest, Bluegrass in the Courtyard, Pumpkin Fest, Renaissance Fair, and more. Join them this year for Tile Fest. For two days, the building and grounds at the TileWorks will become a marketplace of bespoke contemporary, vintage and antique tile displayed by makers and collectors from around the globe. In addition, there will be demonstrations and activities for the “Tile Curious”. Local food trucks will be available for visitors to enjoy.
• The Sounds of Summer Concert Series returns to the Univest Performance Center in Quakertown in 2024. Locash will be performing on July 19 and The Hooters will appear on Friday, August 23 as part of their “More Rocking, More Swing” tour.
• Andalusia Historic House, Gardens & Arboretum, is now an official Partner Garden of the Royal Horticultural Society of the United Kingdom, making it the only garden in the United States to earn this special distinction.

Events & Festivals

• In 2024 Washington Crossing Historic Park is adding a Thompson-Neely House Encampment Tour, an evening encampment before the First Crossing Event. The event will include twilight living history presentations by the 3rd NJ Grays Reenacting Unit. This immersive experience will show visitors what daily life was like for the soldiers, how they lived, what they ate, and most importantly how they survived the conditions before they went on to win at Trenton.
• Peddler's Village is adding two new event weekends to their calendar in 2024 including Village of Chocolate (Feb. 14 to 18). The event will feature chocolate drink and dining specials, culinary events, a village-wide chocolate game with prizes, and “Chocolate-Covered Workshops.” In addition, a Bucks Fever Talent Show and art exhibition will be presented June 22 and 23 in partnership with the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce. Brown Bag-It with the Arts performances on Fridays at noon from May through September.

Wedding & Event Venues

• Bristol Manor, a renovated 1879 Victorian estate, has opened in Bensalem. Immerse yourself with this one-of-a-kind experience perfect for private dinners and tasting events with a private chef.
• Café @ the Mill, a Sellersville restaurant, is growing its business into a small-batch craft beer brewery. Café @ the Mill hopes to have its brewery up and running by late spring or early summer. Once the brewery portion is in operation, they will focus their attention to the outside, where they plan to host public events, including live music and family movie nights out on the lawn and put up a tent to serve as a venue space for private events, such as weddings.
• Iconic Events, a 3,500 square foot event space for 100 people, has opened in Bensalem.