Arts & Culture

It's in our coffee, our baked goods, our savory dishes, our beer... It's everywhere! Pumpkin spice season is in full swing, and we're here for the haters to hear why it's so awful.

The 13th Oktoberfest opened Friday night at SteelStacks in Bethlehem. The German-inspired festival will be held Friday, Oct. 6 through Sunday, Oct. 8, and Friday, Oct. 13 through Sunday, Oct. 15. It features polka and other music, a variety of beer, food and entertainment.

LehighValleyNews.com gathers a list of local Halloween events this year, ranging from ghost tours and parades to trick or treat.

NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet will hold auditions for children ages six to 17 this Friday, Oct. 6 at the Pennsylvania Classical Ballet Academy.

The Large Flowerheads will perform on a stage erected near home plate on the field at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7. General-admission seating will be in the stadium bowl, on blankets on the field or in lawn chairs in designated areas.

Easton's Garlic Fest is coming back for its 20th year, offering up savory and sweet garlic dishes, drinks, memorabilia and more.

Hip hop, widely believed to have started in the Bronx borough of New York City, quickly spread to the nearby Lehigh Valley, says organizer Michael A. Frassetto.

Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center is holding its first annual Ghouls & Glitter Pride Night at Dorney Park.

The East Penn area is getting a multitude of Halloween festivals in events in October. New festivals return and set off, while traditional events return.

The free tribute concert honoring two prominent members of the Lehigh Valley's music scene takes place at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 8 at Central Moravian Church.

Alan Doyle's music is heavily influenced by his Irish heritage and the Celtic sea shanties, filled with the sounds of accordions, whistles, fiddles and barons. He will perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 6, at Musikfest Café at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem.

Partnering with Moravian University, ArtsQuest will hold summer art camps on the south campus of the college.

Bethlehem’s Central Moravian Church will hold a free screening of the 2023 documentary on March 10 at Frank Banko Alehouse Theatre.

Cake, known for its 1996 double-platinum hit “The Distance” and platinum hit "Short Skirt/Long Jacket," will perform a paid-ticket show at the venue at 7 p.m. Sept. 28, ArtsQuest announced.

Heart, famed for hits including “Alone,” “Barracuda,” “Magic Man,” “Crazy on You,” will perform the fair's opening night, as it would have last year, at 7 p.m. Aug. 27, the fair announced.

A Lehigh Valley student has taken the top spot for a Pennsylvania poetry competition. In May, Isavel Mendoza will move on to the national finals in Washington, D.C., to represent Pennsylvania.

A week after Jahan Dotson's homecoming celebrations, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley will be recognized by the City of Allentown on Sunday, March 2, at the PPL Center. Ticket purchases will benefit his charity, the Michael Ann & Saquon Barkley Hope Foundation.

The Sam Houseal Band, Highest Bidder and Sakura Ryoko will perform at a previously announced preview night for the new venue at a previously announced paid-ticket preview night.

Third Eye Blind, best known for the hits “Semi-Charmed Life,” “Jumper,” “How It’s Going To Be,” “Jumper” and “Graduate,” will play the festival's main Steel Stage at 7 p.m. Aug. 9.

From his days as a Nazareth Blue Eagle to hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, Jahan Dotson never forget where he came from. On Saturday night, he was hailed a hometown hero at the Lehigh Valley Phantoms game.

At the Allentown Art Museum on Saturday, Dr. James Nangeroni was gifted a painting he entered into a Crayola children's arts contest when he was a third-grade student at Dodd Elementary in 1992.

Family Promise of Lehigh Valley invited community members to a screening of the film that stars Ashanti, William Baldwin, Beverly D'Angelo and Ty Pennington.