Arts & Culture

Allentown Fair’s main Grandstand stage is inarguably one of its biggest draws — offering top music, performances and other acts in the Lehigh Valley’s largest-capacity arena. Here's how we rank this year's headliners.

Starbucks' pumpkin spice latte and accompanying pumpkin-flavor coffee customizations are set to return Thursday. Local coffee shops plan to bring back — or already have — seasonal favorites, too.

The Hooters play Univest Performing Center in Quakertown at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 23. The group performed to a nearly sold-out crowd in Quakertown last year.

Characters from Disney’s "Moana," "Frozen," "Coco," "Beauty and the Beast" and more will perform with Disney On Ice at Allentown's PPL Center. There will be seven performances over four days.

The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts conducted a brainstorming seminar in Allentown on Monday to advance a statewide arts and culture plan.

The free exhibit, “America’s Beautiful,” at Lehigh Gap Nature Center runs from Aug. 21 to Aug. 29. It includes 50 watercolor paintings of Smokey Bear.

The 16th Lehigh River Blues Jam will be 2-10 p.m. Feb. 1 at The Charles A. Brown Ice House, 56 River St., Bethlehem.

The Museum of Indian Culture this weekend hosted its 44th annual Roasting Ears of Corn Festival, which celebrates the corn harvest.

Performances by tribute bands The Four Horsemen: A Celebration of Metallica on Aug. 30 and Strutter, a tribute to KISS, on Aug. 31 both will be free with fair admission. Maingate is adjacent to the fair and can be accessed from the fairgrounds at 17th and Liberty streets, Allentown.

The follow-up mural, a collaboration with airport authority and ArtsQuest, is in a tunnel leading into the airport and designed by local students and muralist Matt Halm.

J&J Demolition Derby, a Labor Day mainstay at Allentown Fairgrounds, will return to the fair for its closing-night grandstand entertainment offering on Sept. 2.

Blippi, whose energetic and educational antics have made him a global sensation, will bring his live show Blippi: The Wonderful World Tour to the fair on Aug. 29.

As the Pennsylvania Youth Theatre seeks a new home, the students will put on a rendition of "Wizard of Oz" at Zoellner Arts Center at Lehigh University later this week.

Easton Public Market will celebrate its eighth anniversary on Friday, May 17, with a special party featuring vendors, the band A Few Good Men, and a fundraiser benefiting Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital.

The rise of streaming platforms and labor unrest in Hollywood has forced Roxy Theatre in Northampton to change its business model. It started airing first-run films for the first time on Friday.

Christopher Sipos remembers his late-grandmother's love of birds but was pleasantly surprised to find her collection of antique baking soda trading cards that feature the feathered beauties.

Rockers Orgy, with opening act Cold, will play at 5:30 p.m. Friday, May 17, at Maingate Nightclub in Allentown. Tickets, at $25 in advance and $30 day of show, are available at maingatenightclub.com

Student groups fueled a good opening day for the park compared to typical rainy spring days

Kutztown University's jazz ensemble was recognized by DownBeat magazine for Outstanding Performance in its Student Music Awards. It's the 10th win for Kutztown's commercial music program but the first for the jazz ensemble.

The annual Freddy Awards will take place at the State Theatre in Easton on May 23. Bangor Area High School's "Mean Girls: the High School Version," leads in nominations this year. Find a full list of the nominees here.

Tickets for both shows will go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Friday, May 10, at ArtsQuest Center, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem, or at www.SteelStacks.org.

Months after the Da Vinci Science Center at PPL Pavilion opens with Dinos Alive, another interactive dinosaur event will move into Allentown as the Agri-Plex plays host to Jurassic Quest.