Arts & Culture

Workers battled oppressive heat while breaking down venues at the recently concluded 171st Allentown Fair on Tuesday, Final attendance figure for the six-day festival is expected to be released by next week.

Total attendance figures won't be released until later in the week, but they likely were helped by a week of splendid weather. The six-day fair started last Wednesday and wrapped up, as usual, with the demolition derby at the grandstand on Labor Day.

Keith Urban at the Allentown Fair grandstand played an astounding 13 gold or platinum hits — or was it 16? — on a night that cooled off a "Long Hot Summer" day.

The Great Allentown Fair's final day is Monday. Sunday hosted the Barnyard Olympics, a homemade chocolate cake competition and a Keith Urban concert.

The team from LehighValleyNews.com lost — just barely — to a trash-talking team of 'movers and shakers' that included Mayor Matt Tuerk and County Executive Phillips J. Armstrong.

The rapper and social media sensation performed his hits "Mr. Clean" and "Betty (Get Money)" on Saturday night at the Allentown Fair grandstand.

Davenport's spin on Christmas pudding wowed the judges at the competition, which is part of the fair's farm-to-table series.

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

Early-aught hip-hop hitmakers Nelly and Chingy performed Friday at third night of the Allentown Fair grandstand.

Yung Gravy on Saturday night brings his maddeningly catchy — but absurdist — raps about wooing your girlfriends ("Oops!") and your moms ("Betty (Get Money)" and "Mr. Clean") to Allentown Fair's grandstand.

Shankweiler's, the country's oldest drive-in theatre located in Orefield, is under new ownership. It will resume its 2022 season this month, with a grand reopening planned for the spring.

The very fate of the event – now in its 26th year – gave way to speculative fiction earlier this year. Rumors swirled, as they often do, following media reports and social media posts in September that Lights in the Parkway could end. Not so, says the City of Allentown.

This week, the LehighValleyNews.com digital desk has handpicked three events for you to enjoy, including the play "Odysseus" by Touchstone Theatre, Bacon Fest and "All Hands Hold" at the Bradbury-Sullivan Center.

The museum is set to use the funds towards key updates in the Kress Gallery, which houses the museum's renaissance works, and throughout the building.

The Bradbury-Sullivan LGBTQ Community Center is featuring a new exhibit, "All Hands Hold," by Philadelphia-based interdisciplinary artist Kara Mshinda. Mshinda said she came up with the idea of the exhibit while watching the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol unfold, and she was also inspired by the TV show "Pose."

Weekly neighborhood West Ward Market sees success and shares plans to return in 2023. Organizers value inclusivity with ideas for every age group from tots to seniors.

The Lehigh Valley ranked first in hotel occupancy rates across the state, according to 2021-2022 Smith Travel Research. The news was shared during Discover Lehigh Valley’s Board of Directors Breakfast and Annual Report on Tuesday.

Beer is a year-round reward but in the fall, special flavors make for heartier nectar at Shangy's in Emmaus.

State Senator Pat Browne has secured funding from PA's Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program for three local projects — including $1 million for the new downtown Allentown Da Vinci Science Center project.

The new work by Bill George tackles a work close and impactful to him takes stage Wednesday at the Bethlehem theatre.

Thousands gathered for Allentown’s revamped Halloween parade Saturday, and many said they liked the new format.

State Senator Pat Browne (R-Lehigh) has helped bring a $100,000 grant to the Lehigh County Historical Society in an effort to support historic property renovations and new programming.