Arts & Culture

Welcome to LehighValleyNew.com's Fest in Show, a daily offering of some of the can't-miss acts on the free stages of Bethlehem's Musikfest festival.

In what it calls "a gastronomic spectacle," the fair will have its first Scrapple Eating Contest at 3 p.m. Aug. 31 in the fairground's Farmerama Theater.

The Puerto Rican reggaeton superstars, who came on the scene in the early 2000s, performed a medley of their hits like "Loco" "Bonita" at Musikfest on Aug. 4.

Musikfest organizers have already eliminated paper food and beverage tickets, and started using renewable energy sources to power tents, vendors and beer trucks – but the work continues to make the event more environmentally-friendly.

Welcome to LehighValleyNew.com's Fest in Show, a daily offering of some of the can't-miss acts on the free stages of Bethlehem's Musikfest festival.

Marlo Shankweiler, guitarist for Melt, talks about her homegrown roots before her performance at Musikfest on Sunday.

In a rain-delayed concert of 16 songs in 97 minutes, Shinedown put on a virtual master class on how to please fans, playing a breadth of hits from the band's 21 years, connecting with the crowd and putting on a display of staging, with explosions, fire and images on a big screen.

Thunderstorms that Musikfest called "pesky" closed the festival for more than 3 1/2 hours on what is typically one of its busiest days Saturday. The festival also was delayed on the SteelStacks campus as Bethlehem police discovered what they called "a commercial grade firework" at SteelStacks.

Welcome to LehighValleyNew.com's Fest in Show, a daily offering of some of the can't-miss acts on the free stages of Bethlehem's Musikfest festival.

After chatting through an online dating app, Lehigh Valley natives Stu Elsenbaumer and Jess Madzik had their first date at Musikfest 2021. Now, attending the festival will be a cherished tradition for the newlyweds for years to come.

Trevor Wallace and Michael Blaustein will take their "The Stiff Socks Podcast" on tour for the first time and will stop at Wind Creek at 8 p.m. Dec. 8.

The Nitro Circus tour will perform at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 17 at Allentown's PPL Center. Tickets, at $54-$204, go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 13 at PPLCenter.com.

On Thursday, Sept. 12, PPL Center turns 10, and since that opening show by The Eagles, the arena has offered more than 1,365 events and brought more than 4.58 million visitors to downtown Allentown for events.

In the decade since Allentown's PPL Center opened on Sept. 12, 2014, with a concert by The Eagles, the venue has presented 83 concerts, including comedy shows.

The Tom JeBran Collection features a dozen rare electric Martin Guitars and amps. It will be on display until September 2025.

A rainstorm didn't stop locals from pouring into the seventh annual Allentown Beer Fest on Saturday, Sept. 7.

As part of a broader mission to put up a “peace wall” in all 50 states, locals in the Bethlehem area, including over 200 grade-school students over a span of two years, worked together to bring a new mural to life at Bernie Fritz Playground.

It might feel early, but some local farms are gearing up to begin their fall festivities. Most pumpkin patches, corn mazes and hay rides open to the public this month. Find out when.

Pentatonix posted a 35-second video on its TikTok account Wednesday of it singing with David Archuleta at Allentown Fair with the comment, "You CRUSHED this😉 Allentown, you were amazing❤️."

Organizers of the beer festival have teamed up with Allentown Mural Arts for a day of craft beer tasting, mural unveilings, live music and local eats on Saturday, Sept. 7.

SteelStacks Smackdown, which presenter Lehigh Valley Apparel Creations described as its "biggest live show yet featuring the finest talent from across the independent wrestling scene and television," will be at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 5 in Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks.

Alan Parsons Project, which from 1976-84 had seven gold and platinum albums that collectively sold more than 5 million copies, will perform Friday, Nov. 15.