Arts & Culture

A new event, Steel City Smokeout, will be held Saturday, July 20, on PNC Plaza on the SteelStacks campus in conjunction with Bethlehem restaurant Nick’s BBQ.

Moravian University students wrote and directed the productions as part of their Master of Fine Arts thesis projects. Their performances at Touchstone Theatre — spread out through April and starting this week — will explore disability, self-worth and creativity.

Heavyweight developer City Center plans to open its new music venue, The Archer, in the 900 block of Hamilton Street in Allentown later this fall. Construction is underway.

Edward Shaughnessy’s 'KSAT 2021: A Walkabout' documents 365 photographs of the Karl Stirner Arts Trail, detailing a picturesque scene a day. Proceeds from print sales will help benefit the trail.

“The Story Continues” was a program presented by the Rising Sun Initiative at Bethlehem Area Public Library. It celebrated Black history and Women's History Month.

Exactly 100 years ago, on March 30, Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom’s wooden roller coaster, Thunderhawk, opened to the public.

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.

In honor of the March 31 holiday, Crayola has committed to giving away 1 million crayons across their stores nationwide from March 29-31.

Brett Scallions, who fronted the band Fuel for more than 25 years, will perform July 13 at Signature Event Center, 137 Erin Lane, Brodheadsville.

Dorney Park on Friday announced new Preseason Preview Days to be held April 27-28 and May 4-5.

The free Blues, Brews & Barbecue festival will be Saturday, June 22, along Allentown's Hamilton Street from Fifth to Ninth streets, and on North and South Seventh Street.

Shanita Hubbard, the author of “Ride Or Die: A Feminist Manifesto for the Well-Being of Black Women," spoke at the 1869 Luckenbach Mill on Thursday in Bethlehem.

ArtsQuest said it will be a day filled with tacos from throughout the Lehigh Valley, along with music, game shows, Margarita Madness, the Chihuahua Beauty Contest, and food and drinks from a ton of vendors.

The Bethlehem festival, which organizers say barely muddled its way through a rainy event last year, got a $75,000 state grant announced Wednesday by state Sen. Lisa Boscola.

The Front Bottoms, the New Jersey-based band that had the Top 20 Alternative hit “Peace Sign” in 2018, will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, May 18, in the second paid Levitt Pavilion show announced for this season.

Gin Blossoms, Toad The Wet Sprocket and Vertical Horizon are on the bill for Aug. 15 at Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem. The show unites three acts that from 1991 to 2001 collectively produced 17 Top 20 alternative hits and five gold and platinum albums.

The Bach Choir of Bethlehem is the oldest American Bach Choir. As it closes its 125th anniversary celebration, it's about to do something it's never done before — release a live CD. The choir also has released details of its upcoming 116th Bethlehem Bach Festival.

Scott Bradlee’s Post Modern Jukebox, which reinterprets contemporary hit songs as jazz, ragtime and swing music, will perform at the theater at 7 p.m. July 21.

As Dorney Park begins testing and inches closer to the opening of Iron Menace, fans are heaping praise on Thunderhawk — a classic wooden coaster that turns 100 this year.

Slash, the guitarist for Guns 'N Roses, will bring his S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival, to the massive downtown and South Side Bethlehem music festival’s main Steel Stage on Aug. 5, it was announced Tuesday.

Pam Tillis and Lorrie Morgan's Grits and Glamour stories and songs stops at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 16, at Mount Airy Casino. Tickets, at $55 and $65, remain available at the Mount Airy website.

In February, Bell Hall joined a list of other downtown area restaurants that have come and gone in Allentown. Here's a rundown of those restaurants.