Arts & Culture

ArtsQuest's expansion includes a newly renovated first-floor and a mixed-use space that will help plan events like Musikfest.

Across Pennsylvania, hundreds of students are representing their schools in gaming competitions. While not sanctioned by the PIAA, students are making a name for themselves, gaining college scholarships and acquiring skills beyond just hand-eye coordination.

A new workshop for protective hairstyles is coming to Allentown. It will be hosted by Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center on May 24 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.

The family-friendly festival will take place over Memoral Day weekend, Friday, May 26 to Sunday, May 28 at Cedar Crest College.

The festival, which runs May 31 - Aug. 6, features free performances of "A Midsummer's Night Dream" and ticketed classical and contemporary shows.

Looking for something to do to celebrate the unofficial kick off to summer? You can take advantage of these events happening right here in the Lehigh Valley.

Take a look at stories throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

The enchanted fairy tale will be performed by 100 cast members at the Zoeller Arts Center.

Bluesy rocker Boz Scaggs, best known for his 1970s hits "Lowdown" and "Ledo Shuffle," performs at 7 p.m. Sunday at Miller Symphony Hall in Allentown.

Greenway Pride will be held 1-4 p.m. Saturday, May 20, on the Greenway between Taylor and Adams streets.

Ruben Studdard, who won the second season of “American Idol” in 2003 and followed up with two chart-topping albums that went gold and platinum, will perform at Symphony Hall as the “Special Guest Star” of singer/pianist Jim Brickman’s Comfort and Joy Holiday Celebration, at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 23.

The owner of Smartivities Showcase has opened a second location at the Promenade Saucon Valley.

The restaurant changed hands and its name around two years ago. Now, it's set to soon return to what the community last knew it as: Spiros Restaurant.

The event is organized by Interlace Cultural y Desarrollo Integral de Lehigh Valley in partnership with the Baum Art School and the City of Allentown.

Drake Bell, who is best known for his starring roles on Nickelodeon’s “The Amanda Show” with Amanda Bynes from 1999-02, and “Drake & Josh” from 2004-07, will perform at 7 p.m. Jan. 17 at Signature Event Center, 137 Erin Lane, Brodheadsville.

11Fest will be from 5-11 p.m. Nov. 11 (11/11) inside the Main Library at 11 W. Church St., Bethlehem.

A four-man crew has been making haste since Oct. 1 in putting up the decorations, with most of the wreaths, ribbons, light wraps, trees and stars currently hanging on light poles above streets in South Bethlehem and along the city’s bridges.

The Indoor Auto Racing Series, in which the cars compete on the concrete floor, will drive into the area Jan. 3-4 for the ninth running of the Ironton Global Allentown Indoor Races.

The festival, which features which retailers, artisans and food in heated tents on the SteelStacks campus, will open for its 32nd year on the weekend of Nov. 15.

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.