Arts & Culture

The Allentown Film Festival is now in its second year and will feature short films and Q&A sessions with filmmakers.

The event's theme this year is "All Jazzed Up," and students shared what they're excited — or jazzed up — about in their own lives.

Actor/comedian Patrick Roach, who plays the character Randy on “Trailer Park Boys,” will bring Randy's Cheeseburger Picnic to Maingate Nightclub on Saturday, June 1.

Violinist Diane Monroe and New Jersey-based dance group Nimbus are among the scheduled performers set for April at Zoellner Arts Center at Lehigh University.

Megan Campbell and her son Finley have just released their first storybook, "Home is Where the Heart is," which features some of the young man's favorite spots in Easton.

Blues Traveler, which also in the 1990s had five gold and platinum albums and whose 1990 hit "Run-Around" spent 49 weeks on the Top 100, will perform Aug. 24. Also on the show will be Big Head Todd and The Monsters, who had the Top 15 hits “Bittersweet,” “Broken Hearted Savior” and “Resignation Superman.”

A $900,000 grant to ArtsQuest and the City of Bethlehem will improve pedestrian infrastructure around the nonprofit's Banana Factory complex on Third Street.

A new event, Steel City Smokeout, will be held Saturday, July 20, on PNC Plaza on the SteelStacks campus in conjunction with Bethlehem restaurant Nick’s BBQ.

Moravian University students wrote and directed the productions as part of their Master of Fine Arts thesis projects. Their performances at Touchstone Theatre — spread out through April and starting this week — will explore disability, self-worth and creativity.

Heavyweight developer City Center plans to open its new music venue, The Archer, in the 900 block of Hamilton Street in Allentown later this fall. Construction is underway.

The City of Bethlehem erected a 45-feet-high Christmas tree at Payrow Plaza on Wednesday. The annual tree-lighting ceremony will be Friday, Nov. 29.

The renovated 26,000-square-foot brick structure will have Lehigh Valley Hospital Network as its title sponsor, LVHN and ArtsQuest announced at a gala news conference.

The coffee chain has billed customers an extra charge for dairy replacements like soy and almond milk. That charge will cease in early November.

A Hallmark Network filming a year ago at Christkindlmarkt on the SteelStacks campus will air this winter as a segment of a new holiday show, ArtsQuest announced Monday.

So far, lots of art supplies, posters, and glassware are for sale — but organizers say that will expand as the sales continue until the end of the year.

Weeks after closing due to a concessions fire, the local independent theater and comedy venue is set to reopen this weekend.

"Saint Nick of Bethlehem" will be showing at local theaters starting Nov. 22. The cast of the holiday movie, filmed in the Lehigh Valley, stars homegrown actor Danny Roebuck and Cathy Moriarty.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus stops at Allentown's PPL Center on Friday, Nov. 1, through Sunday, Nov. 3. Its featured percussionist has ties to Allentown.

Residents at the Country Meadows Retirement Communities in Forks Township got to take a virtual tour of some spooky spots across the globe for Halloween this month.

The I Love the 90s Tour, which features Vanilla Ice, Rob Base, Tone Lōc and C+C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams, will perform at 8 p.m. March 15 at Wind Creek Event Center.

The Athena Awards were presented during a luncheon at ArtsQuest Center on Tuesday. The awards honor women who provide valuable service to improve the quality of life for others in the Lehigh Valley and who actively assist other women in realizing their full leadership potential.

Actor/comedian Patrick Roach, who plays the character Randy on “Trailer Park Boys,” will bring Randy's Cheeseburger Picnic to The Gin Mill and Grille in Northampton on Saturday, Nov. 2.