Arts & Culture

Ruben Studdard, who won the second season of “American Idol” in 2003 and followed up with two chart-topping albums that went gold and platinum, will perform at Symphony Hall as the “Special Guest Star” of singer/pianist Jim Brickman’s Comfort and Joy Holiday Celebration, at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 23.

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

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.

More than 350 young students throughout the Greater Lehigh Valley participated in a mural painting event at Lehigh Valley Children's Center in Allentown on Thursday.The completed mural will appear on an exterior wall of the new Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. The center is slated for a May 22 opening.

Mayfair Festival of the Arts, the Memorial Day weekend festival, will return to Cedar Crest College for a sixth year May 24-26.

Lehigh University's Dr. Larry Snyder has taken a lifelong love of word puzzles to the next level by becoming a New York Times-grade crossword constructor.

“Corteo,” which premiered in Montreal in April 2005, has performed before 10 million spectators in 20 countries on four continents. It will perform six shows March 28-31 at the PPL Center in Allentown.

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.

Coca-Cola Park has implemented new safety features for fans, requiring them to pass through a metal detector prior to entering the facility.

Plush, which has had the Top 40 Mainstream Rock chart hits “Hate” and “Left Behind,” will perform at Maingate nightclub, it was announced.

Local nonprofit Lehigh Valley Girls Rock's adult camp is set to return this year, finally returning the full slate of programming since the pandemic began.

Devon Koch, a 2022 Liberty High School graduate, is a sophomore at Kutztown University and helped student broadcasters win gold for an on-air pledge drive.

The event, which will feature at least 17 local, national and international distillers and distributors, will be 1-4 p.m. (11 a.m. for premium access) June 9 in Musikfest Café at the ArtsQuest Center.

An art show centered around mental health and disabilities is opening in an unlikely place. Midnight Gallery is in the showroom of Vollux Autowerks, a car repair and diagnostics shop in Lehigh County.

Iron Menace made its first successful test run on Wednesday at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, making a slow ascent before the ride plummeted 95-degrees from 160 feet.