Arts & Culture

Illumination is back at Coca-Cola Park for the holiday season with more experiences and more lights. For its second year, the seasonal event returned with about 1.5 million lights and more chances to warm up and embrace the holiday spirit.

Holiday lights will illuminate the Lehigh Valley Zoo and Coca-Cola Park while Christmas City decks the hall with Moravian traditions this holiday season.

Circle Jerks, whose 1980 album "Group Sex" is considered to be a landmark in hardcore punk, will perform at 7 p.m. March 31 at Allentown's Archer Music Hall. Gorilla Biscuits and Negative Approach, two other hardcore band from the 1980s, will open the show.

"The Vault" is Lehigh Valley Public Media’s collection of original PBS39 programming through the years, plus community content made in the Lehigh Valley. Several programs are in PBS39's Friday night lineup through the end of the year.

Sabrina Carpenter, a Lower Milford Township native, is nominated for six Grammys this year.

Celtic Woman, an all-female Irish musical ensemble that has released 28 albums and been nominated for a Grammy Award, will perform at the venue at 7:30 p.m. March 19, it was announced.

Ready for a retro racing game with a touch of local flair? Lightly-Salted Productions soon will release Route 22 Rampage, an Atari 2600 game set right in the Lehigh Valley.

The two-day event features a blend of local and regional talent—31 artists in all—ranging from first-time exhibitors to longtime favorites. The event will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, Sunday, Nov. 9, with a free art fair at the museum, where attendees can meet the artists and shop for new artwork and jewelry.

An opening reception will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, with a gallery talk on Wyso's Christmas collection by the exhibition's curator, Steven J. Lichak.

Hundreds of animated shorts from cartoons to Polish and Iranian stories will come alive onscreen at the historic movie theater through Sunday, Nov. 9.

The 2024-25 Pennsylvania State Budget introduced updates to the state's complex liquor laws, including extended happy hours and ready-to-drink cocktails. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board already received over a thousand RTDC applications and has begun permitting with the law effective Sept. 16.

”A Sousa Band Concert” with the Allentown Band playing the music of famed composer and conductor John Philip Sousa will be held Sunday, Oct. 13, at Miller Symphony Hall, 23 N. Sixth St., Allentown. At the show, the first Sousaphone — the large-belled instrument in the tuba family named after Sousa — will be displayed.

Cut the Scrap! opened in June on North 19th Street in the West End of Allentown. Crafters can trade in secondhand art supplies, shop for goods or take an art class.

The Karl Stirner Arts Trail will introduce their 2024-25 artist-in-residence Chakaia Booker with the premier of a piece built from recycled tires, No More Milk and Cookies, at the trail this Sunday.

Several events are in the works to celebrate Latino culture across the Lehigh Valley during Hispanic Heritage Month, which starts Sunday, Sept. 15.

"67 Women, 67 Counties: Facing Breast Cancer in Pennsylvania' will be on display at the Bethlehem Township campus through Sunday, Sept. 22.

Art In The Park, which will showcase the works of hundreds of local musicians, painters, photographers and sculptors, will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept 14, in West End Park.

Allentown Farmers Market, Brass Rail and food truck fare complement free local and regional musical talent through mid-October.

An Evening with Sherlock: BAPL Rare Book Auction, a fund-raising event, will be from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The library will hold a rare and vintage book sale in the Cohen Room at its main location, Main Library 11 W. Church St., Bethlehem.

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.