Arts & Culture

Total attendance figures won't be released until later in the week, but they likely were helped by a week of splendid weather. The six-day fair started last Wednesday and wrapped up, as usual, with the demolition derby at the grandstand on Labor Day.

Keith Urban at the Allentown Fair grandstand played an astounding 13 gold or platinum hits — or was it 16? — on a night that cooled off a "Long Hot Summer" day.

The Great Allentown Fair's final day is Monday. Sunday hosted the Barnyard Olympics, a homemade chocolate cake competition and a Keith Urban concert.

The team from LehighValleyNews.com lost — just barely — to a trash-talking team of 'movers and shakers' that included Mayor Matt Tuerk and County Executive Phillips J. Armstrong.

The rapper and social media sensation performed his hits "Mr. Clean" and "Betty (Get Money)" on Saturday night at the Allentown Fair grandstand.

Davenport's spin on Christmas pudding wowed the judges at the competition, which is part of the fair's farm-to-table series.

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.

Early-aught hip-hop hitmakers Nelly and Chingy performed Friday at third night of the Allentown Fair grandstand.

Yung Gravy on Saturday night brings his maddeningly catchy — but absurdist — raps about wooing your girlfriends ("Oops!") and your moms ("Betty (Get Money)" and "Mr. Clean") to Allentown Fair's grandstand.

Lehigh County 4-H Livestock Club members are the biggest winners at the Great Allentown Fair, which runs through Labor Day on Monday.

The Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley has been providing programs for the community since 1968. Wednesday, the group announced its new partnership with the Latino Leadership Alliance.

If Mother Nature has anything to say about it, this could be an abbreviated peak bloom for the cherry blossoms in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas.

Fiddler is among 50 finalists in the national dance fellowship that celebrates diversity and inclusion.

Lilly Moss, from Bethlehem, is among four country music artists performing at The Gin Mill and Grille in April. It's the first time an act in the country music genre is performing there.

The state-of-the-art St. Luke's SportsPlex, which offers everything from pickleball memberships to sports performance training, will soon offer something specifically for the 21-and-over crowd: beer.

Billy Corgan, who led The Smashing Pumpkin to chart-topping hits such as "1979," will bring his new band, Billy Corgan and The Machines of God, to The Archer on June 17.

Tom Segura, who has had five Netflix specials and co-hosts two popular podcasts, will perform his stand-up comedy tour "Tom Segura: Come Together" on Sept. 26 at Allentown's PPL Center.

A 20-something eighth-generation farmer a few states away bestows the Lehigh Valley with a meaningful, restored artifact.

Local actor and director Adam Newborn talks about the production of August Wilson's award-winning "Fences," a play about family, love, betrayal and self-acceptance. It will run through April 13 at the Pennsylvania Playhouse in Bethlehem.

The fifth annual Be My Neighbor Day was held Saturday at Univest Public Media Center in Bethlehem. Children participated in crafts and gardening activities, interactive musical performances, and meet-ups with Daniel Tiger.

TacoFest, the annual event that pays homage to that Mexican dish that fills a fried tortilla with fresh, flavorful ingredients, will return to SteelStacks from 1-6 p.m. June 1, ArtsQuest announced.

The free annual spring and summer events that monthly motors onto the SteelStacks campus to let cars be admired by thousands of auto enthusiasts will return for a 10th year, ArtsQuest said.