Arts & Culture

The 13th Oktoberfest opened Friday night at SteelStacks in Bethlehem. The German-inspired festival will be held Friday, Oct. 6 through Sunday, Oct. 8, and Friday, Oct. 13 through Sunday, Oct. 15. It features polka and other music, a variety of beer, food and entertainment.

LehighValleyNews.com gathers a list of local Halloween events this year, ranging from ghost tours and parades to trick or treat.

NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet will hold auditions for children ages six to 17 this Friday, Oct. 6 at the Pennsylvania Classical Ballet Academy.

The Large Flowerheads will perform on a stage erected near home plate on the field at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7. General-admission seating will be in the stadium bowl, on blankets on the field or in lawn chairs in designated areas.

Easton's Garlic Fest is coming back for its 20th year, offering up savory and sweet garlic dishes, drinks, memorabilia and more.

Hip hop, widely believed to have started in the Bronx borough of New York City, quickly spread to the nearby Lehigh Valley, says organizer Michael A. Frassetto.

Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center is holding its first annual Ghouls & Glitter Pride Night at Dorney Park.

The East Penn area is getting a multitude of Halloween festivals in events in October. New festivals return and set off, while traditional events return.

The free tribute concert honoring two prominent members of the Lehigh Valley's music scene takes place at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 8 at Central Moravian Church.

The Celtic Cultural Alliance, presenter of the Celtic Classic Highland Games & Festival, vows to do "everything possible" to continue the event. Rainy weather severely impacted attendance and revenues during last month's event, casting uncertainty over its future.

For the first time, Robbie Furman will showcase his work at the Allentown Fair.

The oppressive heat did not deter folks from making their way to the 172nd Great Allentown Fair at the Allentown Fairgrounds on Wednesday. Great food and drinks, amusement park rides and a variety of events will take place at the fair through Monday, Sept. 2.

The Lehigh Valley's newest bagel shop is officially in full swing, holding its grand opening Wednesday Aug. 28. Customers have continuously raved about the bagel spot since its soft opening mid-July.

Blippi: The Wonderful World Tour hits the grandstand stage at Allentown Fair at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29. Tickets, at $30 each, remain available at the fair website.

Nearly 50 years later, Blue Öyster Cult still is performing, and this year even released "Ghost Stories," its first album of new material in four years and only second in 23 years. The group also will open for fellow 1970s rockers Cheap Trick as the grandstand feature for opening night at Allentown Fair at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 28.

The wartime lost portrait by German artist Lucas Cranach the Elder, entitled "Portrait of George the Bearded, Duke of Saxony," has hung at the Allentown Art Museum since 1961.

Bethlehem's SouthSide Arts District has joined with the city and Wawa stores to create what it calls a "Gateway sign" — "a vibrant public art piece that enhances the entrance between Route 412 and SouthSide downtown."

The Allentown Fair is back, with all the community’s beloved traditions, including the Allentown Fair Queen Contest and Coronation. Here are the finalists, and what we know about them.

The 10th anniversary of Clam Jam, the Easton festival held by Third and Ferry Fish Market, brought hundreds of seafood devotees to the city Sunday and crowned new chowder and homebrew champions.

The 2024 Great Allentown Fair runs Wednesday, Aug. 28 through Monday, Sept. 2. We've got a rundown on what you can expect, from the grandstand headliners to the Iron Chef competition and more.

The Lehigh Valley Zoo is hosting its annual Brew at the Zoo again in 2024. This year, it falls on Saturday, Sept. 14, and will feature more than three dozen craft beers and ciders.

Jayna Elise, who auditioned on "Idol" in both Season 21 in 2023 and Season 22 the past spring, recently was chosen for the role of Turner in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, which performs at Easton's State Theatre on Oct. 1-2.