Arts & Culture

It's in our coffee, our baked goods, our savory dishes, our beer... It's everywhere! Pumpkin spice season is in full swing, and we're here for the haters to hear why it's so awful.

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.

Alvin Pettit’s statue design, “A Higher Power: The Call of a Freedom Fighter,” was selected from five finalists in a year-long process.

Dave & Buster's Lehigh Valley location doled out 200 passes for free games for a year Friday, drawing hundreds of people to the hybrid arcade/bar/restaurant.

Folks can volunteer or celebrate the legacy of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at these events happening in Allentown, Easton and Bethlehem.

The Allentown Art Museum has new immersive and interactive exhibition called Restoring Petals. The artwork — which includes framed poems, resin pieces and paper flowers — reflects on the isolation of the pandemic and honors those who died from Covid-19.

The Hooters, the Philadelphia band best known for hits 1980s hits "Day By Day" and "And We Danced," will return to Quakertown's Sounds of Summer concert series for the fourth year in a row.

Warm up with these indoor plays, photography exhibitions, comedy nights, swing dances, classical performances and pop music sing-a-longs.

Author Brad Meltzer came to Allentown to promote the newest iteration of the now 10-year-old Ordinary People Change the World series of children's books.

The series' shows, in which family shows featuring music, dance, puppetry, storytelling and other creative arts are held one Sunday afternoon each month, will kick off 2 p.m. Jan. 21.

For the second straight year, Brandon Marsh is scheduled to attend the Phillies Winter Caravan — this time on Thursday, January 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem.

Dave & Buster's Lehigh Valley location is reopening on Jan. 12 with fresh new features including specialized social bays for gamers to enjoy.

ArtsQuest's Three Kings Day celebration in Bethlehem Sunday brought crowds despite heavy snow the night before.

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