Arts & Culture

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.

The 4th Annual International Cultural Festival on Saturday, Sept. 16, will feature handcrafts, performances and food from a diverse range of cultures around the globe.

Starting Friday, Sept. 15 is Halloween Haunt, a nighttime event meant to thrill and terrify in equal measure, running select nights through October 28.

The show, at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2, will be topped by Two-time WWE World Champion A.J. Styles, considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, and four-time World Champion Sheamus, the first Irish world champion in WWE history.

Saturday's festival will feature cooking and beauty demos, live music and guest lectures by authors.

The eighth Martin's Guitar Wood Summit was held Thursday at Martin & Co. in Nazareth. The main topic centered on sustainability of forests that provide wood used for guitar construction.

A stage play based on music from the Saturday morning “Schoolhouse Rock” animated series – much of it written by late Lehigh Valley-area resident Bob Dorough – is set to open Friday.

The Bethlehem Running Festival has added a half-marathon relay to its inaugural event on Oct. 21-22.

Allentown's 19th Street Theatre has been nominated to be on the National Register of Historic Places.

Workers battled oppressive heat while breaking down venues at the recently concluded 171st Allentown Fair on Tuesday, Final attendance figure for the six-day festival is expected to be released by next week.

For the first time, Robbie Furman will showcase his work at the Allentown Fair.

The oppressive heat did not deter folks from making their way to the 172nd Great Allentown Fair at the Allentown Fairgrounds on Wednesday. Great food and drinks, amusement park rides and a variety of events will take place at the fair through Monday, Sept. 2.

The Lehigh Valley's newest bagel shop is officially in full swing, holding its grand opening Wednesday Aug. 28. Customers have continuously raved about the bagel spot since its soft opening mid-July.

Blippi: The Wonderful World Tour hits the grandstand stage at Allentown Fair at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29. Tickets, at $30 each, remain available at the fair website.

Nearly 50 years later, Blue Öyster Cult still is performing, and this year even released "Ghost Stories," its first album of new material in four years and only second in 23 years. The group also will open for fellow 1970s rockers Cheap Trick as the grandstand feature for opening night at Allentown Fair at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 28.

The wartime lost portrait by German artist Lucas Cranach the Elder, entitled "Portrait of George the Bearded, Duke of Saxony," has hung at the Allentown Art Museum since 1961.

Bethlehem's SouthSide Arts District has joined with the city and Wawa stores to create what it calls a "Gateway sign" — "a vibrant public art piece that enhances the entrance between Route 412 and SouthSide downtown."

The Allentown Fair is back, with all the community’s beloved traditions, including the Allentown Fair Queen Contest and Coronation. Here are the finalists, and what we know about them.

The 10th anniversary of Clam Jam, the Easton festival held by Third and Ferry Fish Market, brought hundreds of seafood devotees to the city Sunday and crowned new chowder and homebrew champions.

The 2024 Great Allentown Fair runs Wednesday, Aug. 28 through Monday, Sept. 2. We've got a rundown on what you can expect, from the grandstand headliners to the Iron Chef competition and more.

The Lehigh Valley Zoo is hosting its annual Brew at the Zoo again in 2024. This year, it falls on Saturday, Sept. 14, and will feature more than three dozen craft beers and ciders.

Jayna Elise, who auditioned on "Idol" in both Season 21 in 2023 and Season 22 the past spring, recently was chosen for the role of Turner in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, which performs at Easton's State Theatre on Oct. 1-2.