Arts & Culture

Sophie Vandecasteele is hoping to open Sophistiqué before Thanksgiving, with a soft opening set for Friday, Nov. 22, at 924 Walnut St.

"Saint Nick of Bethlehem" is screening at the Frank Banko Alehouse Theatre and Shankweiler's Drive-In. Actor Danny Roebuck will also appear at ArtsQuest as Santa Claus on Sunday, Dec. 1.

The owner of Board to Death Games at 338 Main St., just off the Emmaus Triangle, said he wants to be a space for both classic board games and more hardcore hobbyist games. Just down the road, on the same side of the Triangle, Let's Go Coffee Co. is set to open at 358 Main St.

The warm weather, albeit part of a drought, gave more visitors more time to visit Lehigh Valley Zoo and learn about its purpose in 2024. Nearly 185,000 guests visited. The 11th annual Winter Light Spectacular opened this weekend.

"New Conversations: Renaissance and Baroque Art" opens on Saturday, Nov. 16 at the museum located at 31 N. Fifth Street.

The German-inspired holiday market opened on Friday, Nov. 16 at ArtsQuest's SteelStacks campus.

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs flipped the switch on Illumination during a preview event Thursday. Getting to Opening Day involved significant staff efforts, with 12-15 part-time staff and 30-40 people on peak days over a four-week period.

The announcements continue a trend at Musikfest Cafe to book tribute acts and cover bands. In June, ArtsQuest announced more than a dozen shows for the venue's lineup.

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs will host the Tri-City Chili Peppers, a college summer team from Colonial Heights, Virginia, that plays in the Coastal Plain League, on May 17 at Coca-Cola Park.

Aaron Lewis, who with Staind sold 10 million copies of the group's first five albums, three of which hit No. 1, will perform with his solo band The Stateliners, at 8 p.m. April 10.

The Celtic Classic returned to Bethlehem Sunday, overcoming financial strife organizers said last year could spell the end of the festival celebrating Celtic cultures and heritage.

The Doobie Brothers played Allentown's PPL Center on Saturday, Sept. 28. One of its biggest hits, the band tells everyone to "Listen to the Music." That song was sage suggestion for those who saw the band Saturday at PPL Center. The story of the show could be told in the song's lyrics.

Mike Darrell, haggis-eating runner-up who also placed third in the same event last year, had one word to describe Wagner, the back-to-back champion: “superhuman.”

Dorney Park has announced they will release a new horror short film "Tick Tick Tick" on October 1, just in time for Halloween and their beloved Halloween Haunt attraction.

The Doobie Brothers tour stops at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28 at Allentown's PPL Center. Tickets, at $39-$250, remain available at the PPL Center website.

A discussion was held at the Univest Public Media Center after a screening of "Repairing the World: Stories from the Tree of Life" — a documentary about the community response to the deadly Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27, 2018.

It was a packed house at the Emmaus Theatre for a special early screening of the documentary film "War Game" starring former government officials Wednesday.

Alan Doyle, a singer-guitarist for Great Big Sea, will perform at 7:30 p.m. March 6 — a week before St. Patrick's Day — at Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center. Tickets go on sale Friday.

An art exhibit and auction are set to raise funds for a program that teaches children and adults about mindfulness. The Shanthi Project aims to use the funds to expand their programming in Lehigh Valley schools.

College Hill PorchFest is back on Sunday, September 29, with its largest event yet, featuring around 70 performers across 35 porches, along with plenty of other community-based activities.

The Temptations, who from 1965-89 had 45 Top 10 R&B hits, will perform at 8 p.m. April 25. They will be joined by The Four Tops, who from 1965-72 had 15 Top 10 hits on the R&B chart.

The film "War Game," produced by an Emmaus High School graduate, simulates what it would be like if a full insurrection really came to pass.