Arts & Culture

The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts conducted a brainstorming seminar in Allentown on Monday to advance a statewide arts and culture plan.

The free exhibit, “America’s Beautiful,” at Lehigh Gap Nature Center runs from Aug. 21 to Aug. 29. It includes 50 watercolor paintings of Smokey Bear.

The 16th Lehigh River Blues Jam will be 2-10 p.m. Feb. 1 at The Charles A. Brown Ice House, 56 River St., Bethlehem.

The Museum of Indian Culture this weekend hosted its 44th annual Roasting Ears of Corn Festival, which celebrates the corn harvest.

Performances by tribute bands The Four Horsemen: A Celebration of Metallica on Aug. 30 and Strutter, a tribute to KISS, on Aug. 31 both will be free with fair admission. Maingate is adjacent to the fair and can be accessed from the fairgrounds at 17th and Liberty streets, Allentown.

The follow-up mural, a collaboration with airport authority and ArtsQuest, is in a tunnel leading into the airport and designed by local students and muralist Matt Halm.

The 44th Roasting Ears of Corn festival in Allentown will feature a performance by an Andean flutist, Aztec dancers, ceremonial dances and family activities.

Mutual aid network Queer & Trans Lehigh Valley is hosting its first event: a Western-themed party called ‘Fruits in Boots’ at the Ice House in Bethlehem at 6 p.m. on September 13th.

For the 172nd fair, which kicks off Aug. 28 and runs through Labor Day, Sept. 2, fair President Daryl Urmy has challenged concessionaires to come up with new treats at their stands. Eighteen concessions have responded, hoping fair-goers will belly up to their counters and try something new.

The Allentown Repertory Dance Theatre and Allentown Symphony Orchestra are seeking dancers for its celebrated annual production of The Nutcracker. Auditions for the performance are scheduled for Aug. 25 at Repertory Ballet Academy, 6426 Memorial Road, Allentown.

Blast Furnace Blues Festival will celebrate its 10th year when it returns to ArtsQuest’s SteelStacks campus July 21-23, it was announced Friday.

Salsa bands and Latin Rock will take over for the festival that celebrates Hispanic culture June 23 - 25 at SteelStacks.

The “Traitors” and “Schmigadoon!” star performs at ArtsQuest on Thursday, April 20.

The festival features free outdoor concerts on Fridays and a special presentation of Bach's Mass in B Minor on Saturdays.

Lehigh Valley Phantoms fans painted the ice Tuesday night at the PPL Center in Allentown, leaving good luck messages for the team ahead of its first playoff game.

Joshua Rifkin will be in residence at Lafayette College for the 2023-24 academic year to help mark the 40th anniversary of Williams Center for the Arts.

The brand-new Strawberry Festival joins The Peach Festival and Harvest Festival that began last year, and includes a ribbon cutting for the historical barn as an events center.

Phillies superstar Bryce Harper, who sent Allentown into a frenzy with a rehab appearance last summer, might skip a trip to the Lehigh Valley this time around as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.

'Steelwalker’ archive tours, led by former steelworkers, are back for the season.

ArtsQuest hosted this year's first Cars and Coffee car show Sunday, drawing thousands of automobile enthusiasts from across the region to see everything from new Lamborghinis and Ferraris to a vintage tractor.

The tour celebrates Jackson’s 50th anniversary in the music industry and will feature songs from her albums “The Velvet Rope” and “Janet.”

ArtsQuest and the Lehigh Valley Brewers' Guild teamed up to launch the Spring Beer Fest in Bethlehem Saturday. With more than 850 tickets sold, the festival is likely to make a return, organizers said.