Arts & Culture

At the Allentown Fair grandstand on Thursday, the hyperactivity was dialed back a measure for Blippi: The Wonderful World Tour, and the kids — who made up about half the audience of perhaps 3,000 — were at least exposed to learning.

The crowd at Allentown Fair for Cheap Trick and Blue Oyster Cult was there to hear the hits of their youth and — for the most part — got what they wanted.

For the first time, Robbie Furman will showcase his work at the Allentown Fair.

The oppressive heat did not deter folks from making their way to the 172nd Great Allentown Fair at the Allentown Fairgrounds on Wednesday. Great food and drinks, amusement park rides and a variety of events will take place at the fair through Monday, Sept. 2.

Blippi: The Wonderful World Tour hits the grandstand stage at Allentown Fair at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29. Tickets, at $30 each, remain available at the fair website.

Nearly 50 years later, Blue Öyster Cult still is performing, and this year even released "Ghost Stories," its first album of new material in four years and only second in 23 years. The group also will open for fellow 1970s rockers Cheap Trick as the grandstand feature for opening night at Allentown Fair at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 28.

The wartime lost portrait by German artist Lucas Cranach the Elder, entitled "Portrait of George the Bearded, Duke of Saxony," has hung at the Allentown Art Museum since 1961.

Bethlehem's SouthSide Arts District has joined with the city and Wawa stores to create what it calls a "Gateway sign" — "a vibrant public art piece that enhances the entrance between Route 412 and SouthSide downtown."

The 2024 Great Allentown Fair runs Wednesday, Aug. 28 through Monday, Sept. 2. We've got a rundown on what you can expect, from the grandstand headliners to the Iron Chef competition and more.

The Lehigh Valley Zoo is hosting its annual Brew at the Zoo again in 2024. This year, it falls on Saturday, Sept. 14, and will feature more than three dozen craft beers and ciders.

Veganuary, a challenge in which people give up animal-based products for the month of January, might seem hard, but it's easier than ever thanks to resources in the Lehigh Valley.

The Easton-based artist will show her work and participate in a discussion at the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center in Allentown on Saturday, Jan. 27.

Orgy, known best for its 1998 hit cover of the New Order song “Blue Monday,” will perform at 5:30 p.m. May 17 at MainGate Night Club as part of a tour to mark the anniversary of its album “Candyass,” which included “Blue Monday.”

This year, the touring show features dozens of professional skaters, acrobats and high-tech performance tricks.

Here's a chance to mingle with Latino artists and musicians at an event at the IceHouse in Bethlehem.

Joshua Nathaniel Colon, 22, of Bethlehem, is charged with first degree aggravated assault in the Aug. 2022 non-fatal shooting of Jathaniel Lopez at Musikfest in Bethlehem.

Listen to the Dissonance: Songs & Conversations About Mental Health will be at 2 p.m. Feb. 4 (doors and vendors open at 1:30) in the Charles Brown Icehouse, 56 River St., Bethlehem. Offered by Your Next Favorite Band podcast, the show will offer interviews and solo performances by five regional performers, then a songwriter roundtable with all the participating artists.

Season 32 winners Xochitl Gomez and Val Chmerkovskiy will appear at the "Dancing with the Stars Live!" tour at the Wind Creek Event Center.

ArtsQuest’s Concerts on the Grange, which kicked off last year as a two-day music festival featuring tribute acts to Upper Macungie Township’s Grange Park, this year will expand to four nights of music throughout spring and summer.

Allentown Art Museum hosted a reception for its new immersive and interactive exhibition ‘Restoring Petals,’ which reflects on the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic and honors those who died.

The series, at the Frank Banko Alehouse Cinema in the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, "promises to immerse audiences in the magic of 1999, a year celebrated for its groundbreaking and iconic films," an ArtsQuest release said.

The ice skating rink at SteekStacks, put on by ArtsQuest, will cap off its second winter in operation Monday. The nonprofit took a loss on ice skating there for a second year, according to the organizers.