Arts & Culture

Construction is set to begin after the former Banana Factory building is demolished in March. There, the new ArtsQuest Creative Factory will house a Martin Guitar recording studio, volunteer center, artist studios and a year-round comedy club.

Chicago, which is among the Top 30 bestselling music acts of all time, with more than 120 million copies of its 46 albums sold worldwide, will perform on Musikfest's main Steel Stage on Aug. 5.

The broad range of shows coming to Allentown's new Archer Music Hall includes an all-star revue of New Orleans musicians that headlined Musikfest's main stage, an iconic original punk band and an early 2000s teen chart-topper.

The new exhibits feature artwork by well-known creatives and former residents of the New Arts Program, plus pieces by local artists Rain Black and Mallory Zondag.

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers tribute band Damn the Torpedoes will perform Friday, Jan. 17, at Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem.

A top-priced $99 ticket for country star Darius Rucker at Musikfest on Aug. 3 normally would come with a $10 service fee, a $8.50 Musikfest venue fee and a $1 ticket vendor fee. So normally, you'd pay $19.50 in fees (a 19.7% upcharge) per ticket. But not today.

The fledgling cultural center on Church Road in Martins Creek is at the former Good Shepherd Church, built in 1864. The center offers monthly lunches for seniors, free classes for children, monthly movie nights, book clubs and gardening.

The 109th PA Farm Show is in full swing and continues through Saturday in Harrisburg. Find out how Lehigh Valley competitors placed in the Family Living and Commodities competitions.

Ahead of the Civic Theatre's staging of "Jesus Christ Superstar," Ted Neeley, star of the 1973 film, will visit Allentown for a special appearance.

The Lehigh Valley Arts and Culture Alliance is offering grants to individual artists and nonprofits to help revamp parts of downtown Allentown. LVACA also seeks artists to paint a mural on the Spiral parking garage on Linden St.

Drawing at least some inspiration for the piece from My Chemical Romance’s “Welcome to the Black Parade” and the jukebox musical “Rock of Ages,” playwright Barry Knoblach said emo and pop-punk don’t necessarily have to be your cup of tea to have a blast at the show.

This week Watching the Skies explores the ice giant, Uranus.

Hot temperatures and Jamaican-centric food teamed with cool music at the third annual OneEarth ReggaeFest at SteelStacks in Bethlehem on Saturday.

Scott Tournet will open for rock group The Record Company at Musikfest Cafe July 12.

Easton is set to extend the patriotic holiday season throughout the weekend with Heritage Day scheduled for Sunday, July 7, featuring historical reenactments, musical performances, food and fireworks.

Easton Farmers' Market will celebrate its 272nd birthday this month with plenty of history and community-oriented events.

Bethlehem native Ariel Torres became the first drag queen to perform at the Governor's Residence for its Pride Month Celebration Reception on June 26. Torres performed “I Was Here” by Beyoncé as his drag persona, Elektra Fierce St. James.

Duran Duran, which has 14 Top 25 hit songs including the No. 1 hits “Hungry Like the Wolf” in 1982, “The Reflex” in 1984 and “A View to a Kill” in 1985, on its Facebook page lists Allentown among seven cities in which it will announce shows "early next week."

One Earth ReggaeFest will take place at ArtsQuest's SteelStacks beginning at noon on Saturday, July 6.

The approximately 120-foot mural, which went up during Independence Day brings together many kids' art contributions.

Shankweiler’s Drive-In Theatre in North Whitehall now has two party spaces available to rent for groups attending the theater.

The new docudrama "The Fries Rebellion" is a unique project. Spearheaded by Lower Macungie Historical Society and its president Sarajane Williams, who wrote the script, the 30-minute film spotlights local history without being either a documentary or historical fiction.