Arts & Culture

Chinese Lunar New Year on Sunday, Jan. 22, starts the year of the Rabbit.

Jerry Blavat was known as “The Geator” during an eight-decade career as one of the Philadelphia-area’s best known disc jockeys and who had strong ties to the Lehigh Valley.

This week, the LehighValleyNews.com digital desk handpicked three events for you to enjoy, including Disney On Ice, Drive-In Double Feature and Hellertown - Lower Saucon Restaurant Week.

The city's first major running festival since Runner's World's in 2019 will include a 5K, 10K and half-marathon.

Country music star Walker Hayes will perform at Musikfest on Aug. 7, it was announced.

Once a nationally touring musician, the alt-folk artist found a home and contentment here in the Lehigh Valley's original music scene, which he said supports him and other artists like no other outside major cities. His new show traces his path.

The Allentown Art Museum hosted performances celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Sunday, setting alongside its works by Black artists.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day has become a day of service each year, as people come together to take action and make their communities better. Here are volunteer opportunities and events taking place in the Lehigh Valley.

Celebrations are set to take place throughout the Lehigh Valley while volunteer efforts focus on forming an ongoing connection with the community.

Nkasso, a West African family-owned eatery, held a ribbon-cutting and grand opening on Friday at 44 N. 8th Street in Allentown. It offers bissap, a drink made out of the flowers of the Roselle plant (a variety of Hibiscus), along with other cultural staples.

"New Conversations: Renaissance and Baroque Art" opens on Saturday, Nov. 16 at the museum located at 31 N. Fifth Street.

The German-inspired holiday market opened on Friday, Nov. 16 at ArtsQuest's SteelStacks campus.

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs flipped the switch on Illumination during a preview event Thursday. Getting to Opening Day involved significant staff efforts, with 12-15 part-time staff and 30-40 people on peak days over a four-week period.

The announcements continue a trend at Musikfest Cafe to book tribute acts and cover bands. In June, ArtsQuest announced more than a dozen shows for the venue's lineup.

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs will host the Tri-City Chili Peppers, a college summer team from Colonial Heights, Virginia, that plays in the Coastal Plain League, on May 17 at Coca-Cola Park.

Aaron Lewis, who with Staind sold 10 million copies of the group's first five albums, three of which hit No. 1, will perform with his solo band The Stateliners, at 8 p.m. April 10.

The Symphony is looking for volunteers for its March performances of Vaughn Williams' "Dona Nobis Pacem."

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms Youth U8 Development Program will present free games Nov. 23 and Penguin Figure Skating Club will presents a holiday-themed skating show Nov. 24 at ArtsQuest's Ice Rink at SteelStacks.

Lewis Black, who is known for his angry-face comedic style and also is an author, playwright, social critic and actor, will bring his Goodbye Yeller Brick Road tour to the venue at 8 p.m. Oct. 10.

Roberts was coached by guest mentor Jennifer Hudson and Michael Bublé on "The Voice" Knockout Rounds on Tuesday, Nov. 12.

The 28th annual Lights in the Parkway, an Allentown holiday tradition, will be held on the Lehigh Parkway from Friday, Nov. 29 through Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. Visitors can drive through more than a mile of enchanting holiday displays featuring between 175,000-200,000 LED lights.

A sale is scheduled to close in the coming months to Wilkes-Barre-based D&D Realty Group, which has plans for the holiday lights to continue, albeit in a new fashion.