Arts & Culture

It's in our coffee, our baked goods, our savory dishes, our beer... It's everywhere! Pumpkin spice season is in full swing, and we're here for the haters to hear why it's so awful.

The 13th Oktoberfest opened Friday night at SteelStacks in Bethlehem. The German-inspired festival will be held Friday, Oct. 6 through Sunday, Oct. 8, and Friday, Oct. 13 through Sunday, Oct. 15. It features polka and other music, a variety of beer, food and entertainment.

LehighValleyNews.com gathers a list of local Halloween events this year, ranging from ghost tours and parades to trick or treat.

NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet will hold auditions for children ages six to 17 this Friday, Oct. 6 at the Pennsylvania Classical Ballet Academy.

The Large Flowerheads will perform on a stage erected near home plate on the field at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7. General-admission seating will be in the stadium bowl, on blankets on the field or in lawn chairs in designated areas.

Easton's Garlic Fest is coming back for its 20th year, offering up savory and sweet garlic dishes, drinks, memorabilia and more.

Hip hop, widely believed to have started in the Bronx borough of New York City, quickly spread to the nearby Lehigh Valley, says organizer Michael A. Frassetto.

Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center is holding its first annual Ghouls & Glitter Pride Night at Dorney Park.

The East Penn area is getting a multitude of Halloween festivals in events in October. New festivals return and set off, while traditional events return.

The free tribute concert honoring two prominent members of the Lehigh Valley's music scene takes place at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 8 at Central Moravian Church.

Nominations for the Tribute of the Arts will be accepted through May 15, and winners will be notified in June.

Said Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites President LoriAnn Wukitsch, “We’re just starting with this preservation here in Bethlehem, and hopefully this is going to kickstart the importance of continuing this work today, tomorrow and for years to come."

'Summer of Tiffany' at the museum opens Saturday, April 26, and features two 14-foot Tiffany memorial windows and a collection of 10 botanical lamps created by the iconic designer. Admission is free.

More than 80 Dieruff High School 10th-graders worked together to create a mural, displayed on the wall of a second-floor hallway. This is the second student-led mural to be completed in the Allentown School District series funded by PA State GEAR UP.

Lukas Nelson, son of country music icon Willie Nelson and leader of the popular country-rock band Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real, will perform Friday, July 18.

Latino leaders who paved the way in the Lehigh Valley were celebrated at a free community panel discussion and celebration organized by Lehigh Valley Public Media.

The 1782/1834 Grist Miller’s House, after being closed to the public for a couple of decades, will open again for a free community showing from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Jefferson Health announced a five-year agreement to host a PGA TOUR Champions tournament — the pro golfers' senior circuit — at Lehigh Country Club starting in 2026.

Elvis Costello, whose career bridged punk and new wave music with mainstream, will perform with his band The Imposters at 8 p.m. Sept. 8 at Wind Creek Event Center, it was announced. Joining him onstage will be guitarist Charlie Sexton, who hit the Billboard chart with his own album in 1989, then toured with Bob Dylan and recorded with Lucinda Williams and Shawn Colvin.

The Allentown Parking Authority’s board of directors on Wednesday unanimously chose the museum’s relocation bid as its preferred project to reshape the property at the northwest corner of Tenth and Hamilton streets.

Eric Hutchinson's new Best Of tour stops at Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks at 7:30 p.m. tonight, April 23. Tickets for the show, at $40 (some areas are sold out) remain available at the SteelStacks website.

The long-running festival celebrates its 117th year with a new schedule and additions, including a flamenco and guitar concert and a lecture by Bach scholars. It will take place May 8 - 11 in Bethlehem.