SANDS
Tuesday, May 21, 2013 by The Press in Focus
The Wailers, Bob Marley's band, presents a free concert, 5 p.m. May 27, Sands Bethlehem Event Center, in celebration of the venue's one-year anniversary.
The festival begins at noon with Flintface and A.D.D. in the Vision Bar.
The outdoor party is in the parking lot adjacent to Vision Bar and the Event Center Box Office. There's a pig roast by The Pig Pit and beer provided by Victory Brewing.
Diagnosing plant problems not easy
Tuesday, May 21, 2013 by The Press in Focus
Here are some questions to ask yourself when diagnosing plant problems in the landscape.
What is the name of the plant? It is important to know the normal appearance and growth habit of a plant before diagnosing problems. The perceived "problem" may be normal for this plant. Accurate plant identification is the first step in diagnosing plant problems.
Examples: Larch is a deciduous conifer and appears "dead" in winter. White pines shed inner needles profusely in autumn....
'Dream' for Pa. Youth Ballet
Tuesday, May 21, 2013 by JENNIFER McKEEVER Special to The Press in Focus
Late spring is here with rain and blooming trees and soon summer will be upon us with the "A Midsummer Night's Dream" production of the Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (PYB) of the Ballet Guild of the Lehigh Valley, 7 p.m. May 24, Baker Hall, Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University, Bethlehem.
As Shakespeare's King Oberon from "A Midsummer Night''s Dream puts it, "I know a bank where wild thyme blows, where oxlips and the nodding violet grows ... "
Here's your chance to glimpse...
'Gatsby': Good, not 'Great'
Tuesday, May 21, 2013 by PAUL WILLISTEIN in Focus
Most of us have read "The Great Gatsby," or are familiar with F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 book, esteemed by many literary experts as "The Great American Novel."
Several versions of "Gatsby" have made it to the big and small screen, including a 1926 silent film disparaged by none other than Zelda and F. Scott, and a 1974 movie starring Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby.
Transforming favorite books to the big screen is always a challenge, even for the best directors. Popular recent...
Veterans' honors, concerts May 25-27 at SteelStacks Memorial Day weekend
Tuesday, May 21, 2013 by The Press in Focus
A Memorial Day Celebration sponsored by Embassy Bank will be presented 3 - 8 p.m. May 25 - 27, SteelStacks, Bethlehem.
"Our Hometown Heroes" display features more than 280 images of local veterans and active military persons.
"A Time to Remember" memorial service, 6 p.m. May 27, includes a moment of silence; the National Anthem sung by Allie Santos, a graduate of Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts; and the reading of the names of local servicemen and women who died...
Creativity discovered anew in Young Playwrights' Lab
Tuesday, May 14, 2013 by PAUL WILLISTEIN in Focus
Instead of teaching to the test, the Young Playwrights' Festival reaches for the stage.
The creative process, the writing and the plays' staging are key to its success, says Mary Wright, Touchstone Theatre Ensemble Associate and Young Playwrights Lab Coordinator:
"With schools' budgets getting cut further and further, anytime the arts can get reintroduced to the schools is a big deal."
The eighth Young Playwrights' Festival, a showcase of plays written by local...
Emmaus Senior Citizens entertained
Wednesday, May 15, 2013 by The Press in Focus
PRESS PHOTO BY DON WENNER
Lehigh Valley Baptist Church members entertain the Emmaus Senior Citizens at their meeting May 10 at St. Matthew's E.C. Church in Emmaus. Chris Gable is conductor for the group, Nina Hall is pianist and Benjamin Hall is handbell director.
Art for all at Baum auction
Tuesday, May 14, 2013 by The Press in Focus
Good Food. Fun Company. Exquisite Art.
These three phrases describe the Annual Art Auction at The Baum School of Art, Fifth and Linden streets, Allentown.
If you have never attended, you will want to attend the 28th annual auction May 18 at The Baum School of Art, which always proves to be a fun and exciting evening.
The good food is provided by Catering by Karen Hunter.
The fun company is the group of art collectors, art enthusiasts and friends who gather from...
On their toes
Tuesday, May 14, 2013 by JENNIFER McKEEVER Special to The Press in Focus
How about stepping into my shoes for a moment?
I am a 43-year-old dancer back en pointe (the shoes with the hard box at the tip), performing excerpts of the ballet, "La Bayadere," in a small studio performance for family and friends at 7 p.m. May 20 in the Ballet Guild of the Lehigh Valley downtown Bethlehem studios, with one chance to get it right.
During rehearsal recently, I was breathless and gasping for air as Carolyn Sarik, the adult ballet teacher, reminds me, "Stamina...
Groucho returns for 'Evening' at Miller Symphony Hall
Tuesday, May 14, 2013 by PAUL WILLISTEIN in Focus
When Frank Ferrante performs "An Evening with Groucho," 8 p.m. May 18, Miller Symphony Hall, Allentown, the ghost of Groucho may be with him.
First, a personal aside. My father, Paul, once told me that when he was an usher at Miller Symphony Hall (then The Lyric), the Four Marx Brothers (Groucho, Chico, Harpo and, Zeppo) performed their musical-comedy, "The Cocoanuts," there before it was a Broadway hit (1925 - '26) and film (1929). Allentown was a "try-out town," where Broadway-bound...
