BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Dance the night away or shake off the blues this weekend in the Lehigh Valley.
From salsa performances to hip-hop concerts, these festivals offer fun for all.
- There's plenty of free fun happening in the Lehigh Valley this weekend
- The ¡Sabor! Latin Festival starts on Friday at SteelStacks, and Blues, Brews and Barbecue returns to Allentown on Saturday
- Due to an inclement weather forecast, check with the venues before you head out
Just make sure to check the forecast before heading out the door. Forecasters are warning of wet weather ahead.
Salseros, get ready!
Están listos salseros?
¡Sabor! Latin Festival, which celebrates Latin heritage and culture, will take place Friday and Saturday at SteelStacks in Bethlehem.
There will be performances by local groups such as Lehigh Valley Urban Latin Orquesta, Herenica Jibara and Hector Rosado y su Orquesta on Friday and Fabricio Orihuela,Kiltro, Little Johnny Rivero and His Salsa Band andPanchito Bongo y su Orquesta on Saturday.
The live music starts at 4 p.m. and ends at midnight on both days.
Also, check out the screening of "Los Reyes de la Salsa," a biopic about salsa duo Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz. The movie is slated for noon Saturday.
Additionally, Latin-inspired food will be served by Hogar Crea, offering shish kabobs; Holy Infancy Church will offer tacos, pastelillos, bacalaitos (fried cod fritters) and tostones; and Cubano Xpress will offer Cubano sandwiches, Cuban nachos, loaded Yucca fries and a Cubano Bowl (rice, beans, plantains and pork, chicken or veggies).
New this year is Brugal Lounge, a tasting spot that will include a variety of Brugal rums for sampling for the 21-and-over crowd.
New this year is Brugal Lounge, a tasting spot that will include a variety of Brugal rums for sampling for the 21-and-over crowd.
ArtsQuest’s Pallet Kitchen, Pour Bar, Central Tap and Mack Truck Stop will be open for walk-up service. Pallet Kitchen will be serving elotes (Mexican street corn topped with sriracha aioli), queso fresco, cilantro and fresh squeezed lime and chicken tinga served over arroz con gondules.
For a full schedule, go to steelstacks.org/festivals/sabor-latin-festival
Community Calendar: Lehigh Valley Happenings
Blues, Brews & Barbecue
It will be all about the blues and delicious eats on Hamilton Street in downtown Allentown.
The city will celebrate its annual Blues, Brews, and Barbecue — from Eighth Street to the ArtsWalk (65 N. Church St.) from noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday.
The headliner this year is Sugaray Rayford, a celebrated blues singer who has won numerous awards including the Blues Music Awards for B.B King Entertainer of the Year and Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year.
Warming up for Rayford is Annika Chambers, who in 2019 won a Blues Music Award for Soul Blues Female Artist of the Year, and Canadian blues-rocker Paul DesLauriers, who has won Entertainer of the Year and Guitarist of the Year from the Canadian Maple Blues Awards.
The lineup also includes The Gabe Stillman Band, Clarence Spady Band, The James Pace Band, The Blues Reincarnation Project,and The Groove Merchants.
If you didn't get the chance to see Rosado's performance at ¡Sabor! he is one of two non-blues acts that are participating in the festival this year (Mystic Fool is the other).
Also, Lehigh Valley favorites Tavern Tan, the Mississippi Pig Farmers, BC Blue,Bryant Brothers Band, Bluestime and Dustin Douglas & The Electric Gentleman will perform throughout the day.
Don't leave hungry: the free festival, organized by the City of Allentown, the Downtown Allentown Business Alliance and Allentown Chamber of Commerce, will offer all styles of barbecue from smoked pork to jerk chicken.
There will also be three tents that will sell alcoholic drinks from Allentown Brew Works, Fegley's Brew, Bru Daddy’s, plus cocktails and wines.
For the schedule, go to downtownallentown.com/blues-brews-barbecue
Firefighters, beauty pageant
A new ArtsQuest festival in partnership with Upper Macungie Townshipwill bring three days of family-friendly music, games, food and amusements.
The first Upper Mac Days will be Saturday in Grange Park, the township's 165-acre open space.
A highlight will be Firefighter Games, a three-game friendly competition presented by Upper Macungie Fire Departments (Fogelsville, Trexlertown, Breinigsville and Kuhnsville).
Firefighters will be dressed in full gear to compete in a bucket brigade, portable pump race and a barrel competition.
Musical performances will include The BriTles, Flirtin' with the Mob, The Wonton Soups, The Stray Seeds, James Supra & Sarah Ayers Band, The Lesson Center, Hunkajunk, Joyous, School of Rock and DJ Jamal Knight.
Additional activities and attractions include two dog beauty pageants, a shoofly pie-eating contest, apple bobbing, a Cyr Wheel performance, Macungie: The Game Show, cornhole and kong pong tournaments, The Flame Noveau Fire Dance Cabaret and a series of interactive exhibits geared toward kids.
