Arts & Culture

With the new year comes a new season of high school musicals, as hundreds of student performers begin rehearsals, hoping for a nomination at the 24th annual Freddy Awards.

Tickets to PeepsFest, the Peeps-themed New Year’s celebration at SteelStacks with its family-friendly party Dec. 30-31, are sold out, according to the ArtsQuest website.

A look back at some of our favorite arts, culture, and entertainment stories of the year, including Allentown Art Museum's must-see windows, Musikfest, Super Bowl bling, and a rock legend's last performance in Allentown.

Seph Schlueter, whose song "Counting My Blessings" topped both Billboard's Christian Airplay and Christian Adult Contemporary charts, will play at 7 p.m. Feb. 28 at Calvary Baptist Church at 5300 Green Pond Road.

Pink Talking Fish, a tribute to Pink Floyd, Talking Heads and Phish, will perform at 7:30 p.m. April 10, it was announced.

The event center has announced it's offering 25% off tickets to seven select shows, including matchbox twenty singer Rob Thomas, jazz singer Diana Krall and alternative rockers Bush.

Dan Kelly, who has fronted the band Fortunate Youth since its 2009 start, will perform a solo acoustic show at 6:30 p.m. March 19 at Rising River Brewing, 1955 Willow Lane.

Christkindlmarkt saw 145,552 holiday shoppers this year — an increase of 17,168 or 13.4% compared with the 128,384 who attended in 2024, according to a release.

Wind Creek Event Center was the No. 2 highest-grossing club in the world, according to Pollstar magazine's annual industry calculations.

Historic Hotel Bethlehem on Main Street again will only partially illuminate its rooftop sign from Christmas Eve to Christmas night — a tradition that goes back decades and was forgotten, until its revival a few years ago.

The owner of Smartivities Showcase has opened a second location at the Promenade Saucon Valley.

The restaurant changed hands and its name around two years ago. Now, it's set to soon return to what the community last knew it as: Spiros Restaurant.

The event is organized by Interlace Cultural y Desarrollo Integral de Lehigh Valley in partnership with the Baum Art School and the City of Allentown.

Drake Bell, who is best known for his starring roles on Nickelodeon’s “The Amanda Show” with Amanda Bynes from 1999-02, and “Drake & Josh” from 2004-07, will perform at 7 p.m. Jan. 17 at Signature Event Center, 137 Erin Lane, Brodheadsville.

11Fest will be from 5-11 p.m. Nov. 11 (11/11) inside the Main Library at 11 W. Church St., Bethlehem.

A four-man crew has been making haste since Oct. 1 in putting up the decorations, with most of the wreaths, ribbons, light wraps, trees and stars currently hanging on light poles above streets in South Bethlehem and along the city’s bridges.

The Indoor Auto Racing Series, in which the cars compete on the concrete floor, will drive into the area Jan. 3-4 for the ninth running of the Ironton Global Allentown Indoor Races.

The festival, which features which retailers, artisans and food in heated tents on the SteelStacks campus, will open for its 32nd year on the weekend of Nov. 15.

Easton's Frank Pintabone announced Wednesday that a Hispanic Resource Day, catering to the needs of the city's Hispanic population, will be hosted at the Easton Area Community Center in November.

About 48,000 people attended the two-weekend Oktoberfest festival Oct. 4-6 and 11-13, ArtsQuest said.

The book festival will feature workshops, poetry, lectures by authors and discussions on the environment, LGBTQ rights, diversity and the steel industry. It runs through Sunday at various locations in the city.

Tribute shows to the music of Taylor Swift, Whitney Houston and Michael Bublé have been announced for the event center. So is rising comedian Sam Morril.