Arts & Culture

ArtsQuest's expansion includes a newly renovated first-floor and a mixed-use space that will help plan events like Musikfest.

Across Pennsylvania, hundreds of students are representing their schools in gaming competitions. While not sanctioned by the PIAA, students are making a name for themselves, gaining college scholarships and acquiring skills beyond just hand-eye coordination.

A new workshop for protective hairstyles is coming to Allentown. It will be hosted by Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center on May 24 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.

The family-friendly festival will take place over Memoral Day weekend, Friday, May 26 to Sunday, May 28 at Cedar Crest College.

The festival, which runs May 31 - Aug. 6, features free performances of "A Midsummer's Night Dream" and ticketed classical and contemporary shows.

Looking for something to do to celebrate the unofficial kick off to summer? You can take advantage of these events happening right here in the Lehigh Valley.

Take a look at stories throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

The enchanted fairy tale will be performed by 100 cast members at the Zoeller Arts Center.

Bluesy rocker Boz Scaggs, best known for his 1970s hits "Lowdown" and "Ledo Shuffle," performs at 7 p.m. Sunday at Miller Symphony Hall in Allentown.

Greenway Pride will be held 1-4 p.m. Saturday, May 20, on the Greenway between Taylor and Adams streets.

Blue October, best known for the 2006 platinum hits “Hate Me” and “Into The Ocean,” will play the event center at 6:30 p.m. July 27. It will be joined by Switchfoot, best known for its hits “Meant to Live” and "Dare You to Move,” and singer Matt Nathanson, best known for his 2008 hit “Come On Get Higher.”

“Unspun: Stories of Silk,” which runs through April 28, explores the Lehigh Valley’s Moravian connection to silk production.

The Monster Jam truck show, which features trucks 12 feet tall and 12 feet wide, sitting atop 66-inch-tall tires and weighing at least 10,000 pounds, will have sessions at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. July 13 and 1 p.m. July 14.

Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors will perform at 8 p.m. Sunday at Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center in Bethlehem.

Old Crow Medicine Show has spent 25 years exploring the depths of classic folk, country, and Americana, all the while making tunes distinctly their own. On April 13, the band is coming to the State Theatre as part of the tour in support of their latest album, Jubilee.

Let’s Sing Taylor — A Live Band Experience Celebrating Taylor Swift, which calls itself “the ultimate tribute to the music of Taylor Swift,” will perform June 15 at the center, at 301 W. Mill St.

The Allentown Film Festival is now in its second year and will feature short films and Q&A sessions with filmmakers.

Actor/comedian Patrick Roach, who plays the character Randy on “Trailer Park Boys,” will bring Randy's Cheeseburger Picnic to Maingate Nightclub on Saturday, June 1.

Violinist Diane Monroe and New Jersey-based dance group Nimbus are among the scheduled performers set for April at Zoellner Arts Center at Lehigh University.

Megan Campbell and her son Finley have just released their first storybook, "Home is Where the Heart is," which features some of the young man's favorite spots in Easton.

Blues Traveler, which also in the 1990s had five gold and platinum albums and whose 1990 hit "Run-Around" spent 49 weeks on the Top 100, will perform Aug. 24. Also on the show will be Big Head Todd and The Monsters, who had the Top 15 hits “Bittersweet,” “Broken Hearted Savior” and “Resignation Superman.”

A $900,000 grant to ArtsQuest and the City of Bethlehem will improve pedestrian infrastructure around the nonprofit's Banana Factory complex on Third Street.