Arts & Culture

Allentown Fair’s main Grandstand stage is inarguably one of its biggest draws — offering top music, performances and other acts in the Lehigh Valley’s largest-capacity arena. Here's how we rank this year's headliners.

Starbucks' pumpkin spice latte and accompanying pumpkin-flavor coffee customizations are set to return Thursday. Local coffee shops plan to bring back — or already have — seasonal favorites, too.

The Hooters play Univest Performing Center in Quakertown at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 23. The group performed to a nearly sold-out crowd in Quakertown last year.

Characters from Disney’s "Moana," "Frozen," "Coco," "Beauty and the Beast" and more will perform with Disney On Ice at Allentown's PPL Center. There will be seven performances over four days.

The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts conducted a brainstorming seminar in Allentown on Monday to advance a statewide arts and culture plan.

The free exhibit, “America’s Beautiful,” at Lehigh Gap Nature Center runs from Aug. 21 to Aug. 29. It includes 50 watercolor paintings of Smokey Bear.

The 16th Lehigh River Blues Jam will be 2-10 p.m. Feb. 1 at The Charles A. Brown Ice House, 56 River St., Bethlehem.

The Museum of Indian Culture this weekend hosted its 44th annual Roasting Ears of Corn Festival, which celebrates the corn harvest.

Performances by tribute bands The Four Horsemen: A Celebration of Metallica on Aug. 30 and Strutter, a tribute to KISS, on Aug. 31 both will be free with fair admission. Maingate is adjacent to the fair and can be accessed from the fairgrounds at 17th and Liberty streets, Allentown.

The follow-up mural, a collaboration with airport authority and ArtsQuest, is in a tunnel leading into the airport and designed by local students and muralist Matt Halm.

Easton's Frank Pintabone announced Wednesday that a Hispanic Resource Day, catering to the needs of the city's Hispanic population, will be hosted at the Easton Area Community Center in November.

About 48,000 people attended the two-weekend Oktoberfest festival Oct. 4-6 and 11-13, ArtsQuest said.

The book festival will feature workshops, poetry, lectures by authors and discussions on the environment, LGBTQ rights, diversity and the steel industry. It runs through Sunday at various locations in the city.

Tribute shows to the music of Taylor Swift, Whitney Houston and Michael Bublé have been announced for the event center. So is rising comedian Sam Morril.

"Monster Mini Golf" is set to come to the Lehigh Valley, with construction started according to an announcement by the company's Facebook page.

The Buckinghams, best known for its No. 1 hit “Kind of a Drag,” will join with The Lovin’s Spoonful, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group that had the hits “Do You Believe in Magic?” and “Summer in the City” at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 28.

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs, which in July announced a holiday lights experience coming to Coca-Cola Park, on Monday detailed more than two-dozen special nights during the display’s two-month run.

The star-studded awards ceremony was held inside Miller Symphony Hall on Saturday, Oct. 12. Young actors and a Grammy-winning hip-hop artist shared the stage.

Chart-topping singer Sabrina Carpenter, a Lehigh Valley native, performed her Short n' Sweet Tour show at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday, Oct. 8, in what she called a "hometown show."

Halloween festivities begin Oct. 13 with more parades following suit. The earliest trick-or-treat night begins Oct. 18, and most take place on Halloween.

The Lehigh Valley Vegan s’MAC Down, which is designed to determine who has the best vegan mac and cheese in the region, will return to Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center at 2 p.m. Nov. 10.

The Allentown Symphony Association's El Sistema program is expanding to a new school to offer more student opportunities.