Entertainment News

Brought to life each year the day after Thanksgiving, the huge Christmas tree outside of City Hall and the public library, along with other trees along city roadways, are hard to miss among Bethlehem’s spread of holiday traditions.

Some great deals are being offered on tickets at the Lehigh Valley's entertainment venues. But all are for a limited time, and some already have started.

It’ll be a scenic route for walkers, joggers and runners through Historic Bethlehem and its renowned Moravian Church Settlements — Bethlehem's World Heritage site. And even a bit of fun for furry friends and their owners.

St. Nick is making more than a dozen stops across the region this season, joining communities for a season of cheer. Many events are also collecting food and unwrapped toys to support local families in need.

HomeToGo has ranked Bethlehem No. 1 in price, with a low median nightly rate of $55.39 per person, and No. 17 in overall travel demand, for festive U.S. holiday destinations.

Two Feet, which topped the Alternative chart, will perform Sunday, April 13. And Dayseeker, which this year had the Top 10 rock hits "Crawl Back to My Coffin" and "Bloodlust," will perform Tuesday, May 6.

Lights in the Parkway is scheduled to run from 5:30-10 p.m. daily from Nov. 28 through Jan. 6, though it will close for two days each around Christmas and New Year’s.

Doogie Horner, who had a successful run on "America's Got Talent," then wrote successful books, will perform Saturday, Dec. 6, at Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem. Horner will headline the fourth annual Winter WonderJam, presented by the "Your Next Favorite Band" podcast.

Comedians Daniel Tosh, Bill Engvall and Jim Breuer all have dates next year for shows at Wind Creek Event Center. Tickets for all three go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 21, at the event center website, or at the box office at 77 Wind Creek Blvd., Bethlehem.

Central Elementary STREAM Academy students premiered a teaser of “Passport to Puerto Rico” at the Univest Public Media Center, celebrating Puerto Rican culture with food, Bomba music and dance. The student-made film debuts on PBS39 Dec. 13.

The Bethlehem Running Festival half marathon and half marathon relay were Sunday. It was the second day of the festival, bringing thousands to the SteelStacks campus.

The inaugural Bethlehem Running Festival's first day brought a 5k and 10k race back to the Steelstacks campus and the City of Bethlehem. Runners embarked on a running tour of the city through fall foliage and braving the hills on the route. Organizers say they are happy with the event and excited for Sunday's half marathon.

This weekend, Book and Puppet Company will feature Drag Queen Story Hour with the Yippee Skippy Puppets as part of the Easton Book Festival.

The local rock band will celebrate their album, "Maybe This is It" at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 20.

Lehigh Valley Health Network held their annual Halloween party at the Children's Hospital. More than 100 children were expected to attend.

Dorney Park officials said the first piece of Iron Menace arrived Thursday, and represents the first truckload of what will be about 68 total.

A new playground is painted true to the original color scheme of the 1994 set it's replacing, and cost the school board $165,354.

The festival still drew a combined 38,500 people over its Oct. 6-8 an Oct. 13-15, ArtsQuest said.

Pierson has performed in various configurations, including bands, trios, duos and solos. Her Heather Pierson Acoustic Trio hit No. 2 on the Folk Radio Charts in 2015 with its song "Still She Will Fly" and No. 1 on the Folk Radio Albums chart with its 2017 full-length debut, "Singin’."

"Heart is the Hero" makes for the band's eighth studio album. The group will be sharing selections from that and more during the incoming fall tour, with shows throughout the Midwest, East Coast and Europe.

Take a look at stories that ran 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 entire movie — all 2 hours and 48 minutes of it (more about that later) — is footage of a performance of Swift's Eras Tour concert filmed at the tour's last U.S. dates at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles in early August.