Arts & Culture

Check out a roundup of activities, places, and times to see the fireworks as the Lehigh Valley celebrates Independence Day.

Next year marks 250 years since the colonists produced a bold declaration of freedom and self-governance that still echoes today. It will be an occasion celebrated and recognized across the land — and we at Lehigh Valley Public Media are no exception.

In addition to live music, there will be more than a dozen local vendors, businesses and crafters, as well as trail and outdoor demonstrations, and group walks.

Steel Panther, which has had five albums top Billboard's Comedy chart, will perform at 8 p.m. Sept. 11 at Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, it was announced.

In the spirit of Shakespeare, Saturday's celebration will feature entertainment for all ages, including musical performances by the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, alpaca and ponies, and a student-led Latin band.

From 8 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. Friday, June 27, you'll be able to buy tickets for five of Musikfest's 11 headline shows, two paid-ticket Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks shows and nine Musikfest Cafe shows without paying any service fees.

Howie Mandel, who since 2010 has been a judge on “America’s Got Talent,” will perform with fellow comedian Brad Garrett at 8 p.m. Aug. 24. And Alan Parsons Live Project, which continues the work of Alan Parsons Project, will perform at 8 p.m. Oct. 2.

Now in its 14th year, the festival honors Puerto Rican culture in the city. The three-day celebration starts on Thursday with a documentary screening, a tribute to the women of salsa, and a flag-raising on Friday, and more Latin music and food on Saturday.

Lehigh Valley Dodgeball is building an inclusive, community-driven space for players of all skill levels in Easton. Open gyms are now underway every Monday night.

Shankweiler’s, renowned as the oldest continuously operating drive‑in theatre in the country since 1934, will soon be showcased to millions across the country on "Good Morning America."

Richard Thompson, who as a teenager played and sang with Fairport Convention — perhaps behind only Bob Dylan as seminal to the folk-rock genre — will perform at 8 p.m. May 17.

Lehigh University Professor Scott Gordon will give a presentation at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Sigal Museum in Easton. It will focus on a 1780 register of enslaved people in Northampton County.

Strut your stuff on the runway at the People’s Ball, a fashion exhibit and runway competition happening at the Banana Factory in May.

The Downtown Bethlehem Association is hosting a St. Patrick's Day-themed cocktail trail on Saturday, March 11.

If you're heading out the door a little early on Tuesday to find some donut deals, you’re likely to head to some familiar spots. Here's where fastnachts are likely to be flying off the shelves.

The city says by reducing the number of sponsored concerts at West Park, programmers will be able to include other bands in more neighborhoods.

Karen Britt is a professor of business at Northampton Community College and the founder of Juneteenth Lehigh Valley.

The proposed Archer Music Hall would be a 31,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art entertainment venue at 935-939 Hamilton St. in Center City Allentown.

In a community revitalization effort from a local community coalition, Fountain Hill is getting its very own restaurant week.

The annual Wine & Shine Lehigh Valley program by the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail will run for three weekends in April, allowing people to taste wine or spirits at each of seven locations.

$7.3 million in improvements were approved by a vote of members at Brookside Country Club Wednesday, heralding facility improvements including a redesign of all 18 holes on the golf course

About 900 people dipped into the Delaware River to raise money for the Lehigh Valley's chapter of the Special Olympics.