Eric Claypoole works aloft in the heavenly countryside of the Lehigh Valley and surrounding counties and sees constellations of stars all the time. Claypoole, a second-generation folk artist from Berks County, restores barn stars, bringing their distinct geometrical patterns back to life, and paints hex signs, both of them classic, colorful Pennsylvania German symbols that... »
Do you crave to jitterbug in a haven for hepcats? Maybe you’d rather polish up your winklepickers and hit the floor for some jive with your poodle-skirted honey? You can do both—and lots more—when you drop by the Gas House Dance Hall, one of the most hoppin’ joints in the Lehigh Valley. Swing dance enthusiasts Robynn and Keith Shannon founded the Gas House in 2013. “They t... »
Playing with glass—hot as lava and pliable as taffy—to create Christmas ornaments is the coolest experience at the beloved holiday market Christkindlmarkt in Bethlehem. With a limited amount of chances to secure a 20-minute time slot, it’s also one of the hottest tickets this season. Tucked into Pavilion 4 at the back of Christkindlmarkt, the Banana Factory’s “baby” furna... »
Your music collection probably holds several tracks that you think should’ve been hits. Most of your friends don’t recognize them and don’t know anything about the performer—but agree they’re worthy of rocketing up the charts. The difference between a hit and a miss is often just a matter of exposure. Without lavish promotional budgets and lots of airplay, even the most ta... »
If “haunting” is a theme for October, one Bethlehem artist and photographer shoots photographs that embody—or disembody—that feeling best. The work of Crystal Lee Lucas, a self-taught photographer at age 25, can be described as evocative, historical, elegant, and spooky. Influenced by the mourning rituals of the Victorian era (a time she notes was “incredibly problematic f... »
When Robin Porter started Connexions Gallery in 1990, he couldn’t have known how perfectly it would grow into its name. From its very beginning, the Northampton Street gallery has connected lovers of contemporary arts and crafts with a varied group of local and regional artists. But over the years, it’s played a continuing and key role in Easton’s artistic and retail renai... »
Organized in 2015, Bethlehem’s South Side Arts District is building on a resurgent business and cultural district anchored by the SteelStacks Arts and Cultural Campus and the unique shops, pubs, and restaurants that are creating a sustained buzz in the Lehigh Valley and beyond. The South Side Arts District, part of the nationally recognized Main Street program that seeks t... »
If Jeff Vaclavik had to recruit a cast, build a sound stage, and write a script for a movie about a film festival, he’d set it in South Bethlehem. “This is the perfect place for this festival, with all that’s going on here in this part of the city,” says Jeff, president of the Southside Film Institute, the organization that hosts the Southside Film Festival, which will ope... »
There’s always a moment of breathlessness when you meet someone and they tell you that they play music, as was the case when I met Pentley Holmes one summer outside of a now-defunct Easton music venue. You see, once they say that, you have no choice but to ask if you can hear something—and that first listen is like the moment you decide to take a leap into a lake th... »
Individually, they’re Dan Maher, Jon Lunger, Matt Candio, and Evan Stutts, but every Friday night at 10:30, the quartet moonlights as ManDudeBro, the longest running improv comedy group in the Lehigh Valley without any cast changes. For $6—if you get there early enough—you can have a front row seat to what they promise is the “cheapest and best date night in town.” Here’s ... »
