Arts & Culture

Recently retired linebacker Brandon Graham was the star turn at Dorney Park's tailgate party, where more than 100 fans celebrated the NFL season’s imminent start.

ArtsQuest's Cold Brew Hullabaloo, a cold coffee convention that debuted at Musikfest Café at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks last year, will return Sept. 14, it was announced.

This year's honorees are abstract artist Michael Freeman, Lehigh University producer Steven Lichak, museum accessibility advocate Elise Schaffer, and members of the IceHouse Performing Arts Collaborative. The group will be honored at an awards ceremony in September.

The Struts performed Wednesday night at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks. The focus of the concert was a celebration of the 10th anniversary U.S. release of their debut album, "Everybody Wants."

To CEO Russell Fletcher, starting out as a small hyper-local business gave Mishka Premium Vodka a leg up to evolve at the rate it is right now. Soon, the vodka, which is distilled in Allentown, will be carried by yet another national chain.

Cheap Trick, which had its first hit with “Surrender” in 1978 and 10 years later had its biggest hit with “The Flame,” will perform Oct. 22. And Jason Bonham, son of the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, with his Led Zeppelin Evening will perform Nov. 15.

The Struts stop at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20, at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks for a paid-ticket show in which it will play the entire album, as well as other songs.

St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church held a festival for the community to raise money for families and victims of the deadly attack at Prophet Elias Church (Mar Elisa) in Damascus, Syria.

The Route 22 Filmworks Film Festival returns to Bethlehem’s Charles A. Brown Ice House for its third year on Saturday. The nine-hour event will feature 39 short films, including student work from several Pennsylvania universities.

A new documentary focusing on income and wealth disparity in America will premiere at Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas at the ArtsQuest Center in Bethlehem. It was produced by Richard Master, founder and CEO of MCS Industries in Palmer Township.

June 20 will not only mark the first AEW event in the area, it’s been a date circled on the calendar for months for Allentown native Ian Riccaboni, who’s had a front-row seat to the biggest boom the wrestling industry has experienced in a generation.

LehighValleyNews.com catches up with Ian Riccaboni to talk about Ring of Honor and AEW coming to the PPL Center in Allentown. It could bring the largest crowd for pro wrestling the area has seen in years.

Fifty-five years after his signature victory at the 1969 Indianapolis 500, Nazareth's Mario Andretti, now 84, reflects on his triumphs, his life and the people who have made an impact on his illustrious career. The 108th Indianapolis 500 will be held Sunday.

The popular B-29 Doc plane rides are returning in the Lehigh Valley for two more days this week, starting tomorrow.

The second annual Greenway Pride event in Bethlehem drew a warm crowd despite the damp weather. Attendees said the Lehigh Valley needs more events and places that cater to the region's LGBT community.

The Young Playwrights' Festival features scripts written by 13 elementary and middle school students from Bethlehem. The show will take place on Sunday at Northeast Middle School.

Mi Casa Restaurante in Easton serves traditional dishes from Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico.

The Coopersburg Farmer Market will be open on Sundays starting June 2 through Oct. 27.

J&J Demolition Derby, a Labor Day mainstay at Allentown Fairgrounds, will return to the fair for its closing-night grandstand entertainment offering on Sept. 2.

Blippi, whose energetic and educational antics have made him a global sensation, will bring his live show Blippi: The Wonderful World Tour to the fair on Aug. 29.

As the Pennsylvania Youth Theatre seeks a new home, the students will put on a rendition of "Wizard of Oz" at Zoellner Arts Center at Lehigh University later this week.

Easton Public Market will celebrate its eighth anniversary on Friday, May 17, with a special party featuring vendors, the band A Few Good Men, and a fundraiser benefiting Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital.