Local Color

Drumming is Hard to Beat

Drumming is Hard to Beat

By Ann Wlazelek It starts with a beat, as simple as rum-pum-pum-pum.  It escalates as dozens of drummers, seated in a circle, pick up the rhythm and beat it over and over again. The sound builds. The rhythm resonates.  Before they know it, participants move to the music, mesmerized, transcended. “There’s a space in time where everybody gets together,” coordinator Moe Jeran... »

Allentown Freak Out Dance Festival

By Frederick Jerant “HUR-ry, HUR-ry, HUR-ry, ladies and gentlemen, and children of all ages! Step right this way and see the most a-STOUND-ing collection of exotic performers between Aquashicola and Kalamazoo! See belly-dancers…fire-eaters…sword-swallowers…and more! Much, MUCH more, ladies and gentlemen…” Sounds like an old-time barker for a circus sideshow, doesn’t it?  W... »

The Burning Hearts Fire and Light Theater

By Frederick Jerant Humorist Jean Shepherd (whose writings formed the basis of “A Christmas Story”) once mused that women apparently attend a special school before becoming mothers, where they’re all taught to say the same things. Stuff like: “Sit up straight.” “Eat your vegetables.” “One day your face will freeze like that.” “Don’t play with fire!” That’s (mostly) good ad... »

Easter Egg Artistry

By Mary Beth Schwartz Sixty thousand years ago, artists engraved hatched patterns on eggshells in South Africa. Decorated eggs have been discovered dating to Iron Age II. The House of Fabergé created thousands of elaborate precious metal and gemstone varieties for the Russian Court from 1885 to 1917. And forty years ago, a group of local women with a year-long passion for ... »

Tales of the Towpath

By J.F. Pirro Coming up with ways to spark interest and infuse fun in teaching history to fourth graders isn’t always easy. But, when it comes to one particular subject, Nikki Giannaras, a fourth grade teacher at Hanover Elementary School, Bethlehem. knows just where to turn for help. Through a curriculum offered free-of-charge by the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage ... »

Community Music School

By Sara Hodon The Lehigh Valley is alive with the sound of music thanks to the talents of the faculty, staff and students of the Community Music School (CMS). Since 1981, the CMS has offered lessons to both beginner and advanced musicians who have shared their gifts with others through recitals and public performances. “The school was founded for the purpose of providing h... »

Allentown Art Museum

By Carole Gorney It’s been just one year since the Allentown Art Museum completed a $15.4 million building expansion and it’s already seeing great benefits from the project. The additional space and enhanced facilities are helping to secure high quality traveling exhibits, increase community partnerships and provide the best possible experiences for its visitors. A traveli... »

Movies at the Mill

By Mary Beth Schwartz Photo courtesy of MME The fall night air is crisp with excitement. White tents dot the landscape. People are milling about on the red carpet—decked out to the nines. There is great conversation, a live jazz band, cocktails and fine cuisine from Easton’s top restaurants. Under starry skies, the crowd anticipates an eclectic mix of short films. It is ti... »

Sigal Museum

By Frederick Jerant For many people, “museum” and “historical society” evoke dry scholarship in a fusty atmosphere. But such images don’t apply to Easton’s Sigal Museum, nor to its progenitor, the Northampton County Historical and Genealogical Society (NCHGS). The museum is actually a stimulating trove of local information. True to its mission – “to preserve the past, serv... »

David Caserta

By Sara Hodon Building a career as a magician takes a little more work than a wave of the wand or pulling success out of a hat, as David Caserta can tell you. Caserta, the Nazareth resident who has been wowing audiences with his “Haunted Illusions” show, says it’s a challenge to continue to outdo himself, but it’s one that he welcomes. “It’s still very rewarding. I look fo... »

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