Arts & Culture

Rob Thomas, whose band matchbox twenty’s 1996 debut album “Yourself or Someone Like You” sold 12 million copies and produced four of the band’s dozen hits — “Push,” “3 a.m.,” “Real World” and “Back 2 Good” — will return to the center at 8 p.m. Jan. 16.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Presents the Greatest Show on Earth will have seven performances at Allentown's PPL Center: 7 p.m. May 21 and May 22; 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. May 23; and noon and 4 p.m. May 24, it was announced.

Culture Club and jazz singer Diana Krall are coming to the Wind Creek Event Center in separate shows in February.

The 15th annual German-themed festival, which ran Oct. 3-5 and Oct. 10-1 on the SteelStacks campus, had record-breaking attendance for the second straight year, ArtsQuest has announced.

Now in its fourth year, the awards ceremony recognized excellence across 17 categories, honoring everyone from seasoned entrepreneurs, actors, models, and filmmakers to emerging young talent. It was held at Archer Music Hall in Allentown.

Even after Hispanic Heritage Month ended, Northeast Middle School in Bethlehem was alive with the sound of salsa and the aroma of arroz con gandules during BASD’s annual Hispanic Heritage celebration.

Singer-songwriter Joshua Radin will perform at 8 p.m. Friday at Sellersville Theater 1894. Tickets, at $35 to $72, are available on the theater's website and are expected to be available at the door.

The annual holiday attraction is returning to Lehigh Parkway in Allentown for its 29th season with some new experiences.

Curt Mosel, ArtsQuest chief operating officer, called the occasion “another exciting milestone” for the incoming ArtsQuest Creative Factory powered by PPL, expected to open late next year at 25 W. Third St.

The production of "Macbeth" will take place at 8 p.m. Friday at the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts at DeSales University.

Organizers of the beer festival have teamed up with Allentown Mural Arts for a day of craft beer tasting, mural unveilings, live music and local eats on Saturday, Sept. 7.

SteelStacks Smackdown, which presenter Lehigh Valley Apparel Creations described as its "biggest live show yet featuring the finest talent from across the independent wrestling scene and television," will be at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 5 in Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks.

Alan Parsons Project, which from 1976-84 had seven gold and platinum albums that collectively sold more than 5 million copies, will perform Friday, Nov. 15.

Cirque du Soleil's "Crystal," which had a successful run at PPL Center in 2018, will return early in 2025 "due to popular demand," Cirque announced.

Labor Day marked the end of the 172nd annual Great Allentown Fair. From typical fair fare to live entertainment, what stood out to many was the optimal weather.

The ventriloquist and comedian brought his act to the second-to-last day of the Allentown Fair. It was his seventh headline show at the fair.

Chef Ryan Lukow of the Savory Grille unseated reigning champion Chef Courtney Davenport on Sunday to win the Allentown Fair’s annual Iron Chef cooking competition.

Local media faced off against politicians for the Allentown Fair's annual grape stomping competition. This year was different, though, with the media team winning for the first time in years.

Five-member vocal group Pentatonix returned Saturday to Allentown Fair for an audience about three-quarters of 7,500 and — this time on a lovely night — proved it wasn't just a one-note wonder.

The scrapple contest was held on Saturday, Aug. 31 at the Great Allentown Fair.

Baseball, food and fun family offerings are out there if firing up the grill is not your thing.

Easton has secured a $100,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, which will go toward public arts projects including new murals throughout the city.