Saturday evening was steamy, but so was the delicious food and exciting live street acts as music echoed throughout the north and south sides of Bethlehem. Musikfest 2012 is in full swing!
The Lehigh Dialogue Center hosted an Iftar feast in a tent set up on Payrow Plaza in the Bethlehem City Center on Wednesday night. Iftar is celebrated at the end of Ramadan, the holiest month on the Muslim calendar during which the observant fast. A number of city officials, including Mayor John Callahan, were among those that participated in the celebration. The Lehigh Dialogue Center has been hosting Ramadan dinners for several years to share the communal Ramadan experience with neighbors. In existence since 2004, the Lehigh Dialogue Center is a non-profit that organizes various religious…
Hundreds of racks of ribs were consumed and more than 3,000 people stopped by as the first-ever Bethlehem Rib Cook Off was held on W. Broad Street between Main and Guetter streets last Saturday. There was live music and a competition among six local restaurants for which one makes the best ribs in Bethlehem. But the highlight of the day may have been Mayor John Callahan’s dip in the dunk tank. It’s not clear who did the deed, but he or she got the mayor wet with the first try. The dunk tank was a fundraiser that brought in more than $300 for the Bethlehem Police Department Explorer Post. …
The meteorologists say that summer officially arrived at 7:09 p.m. Wednesday. But the thermometers in Bethlehem and across the Lehigh Valley were saying that it really arrived several hours earlier – as the mercury climbed toward 90 degrees at noon and then kept going. Officially, the National Weather Service measured the high temperature at 95 degrees at Lehigh Valley International Airport and the temperature-humidity index – a measure of how hot it actually feels – hit a blistering 100. Some readings around Bethlehem read even hotter – like the Deiter Brothers clock on Stefko Boulevard, …
A crowd of about 200 gathered at the north end of the Fahy Bridge at the Bethlehem Police memorial monument Saturday evening to honor the service and sacrifices of Bethlehem police officers as National Police Week came to a conclusion. Numerous members of the Bethlehem Police Department were honored with letters of commendation and awards of merit for their work, along with members of the Lehigh University Police and Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim, announced by Deputy Chief Craig Finnerty. Chief of Police Jason Schiffer thanked all the members of the force for their dedication. “These are…
Jason Reyda of Bethlehem set out on a brief fishing expedition from the Sand Island boat launch in the city late Friday afternoon. He planned to head toward Allentown in a search for Lehigh River carp. It was a beautiful day to be out on the river with sunny skies, low humidity and a high temperature of 77 degrees. More of the same was expected today.
About 100 guests and members of the media looked on Wednesday evening as the ribbon was cut just outside the arena in Visions Bar, opening the new Sands Event Center just before its first concert. Set adjacent to the Sands casino and hotel on the former Bethlehem Steel site, the new venue boasts 3,500 seats, with all of them 137 feet or less from the stage. The space was created by Vision Entertainment Group, which was credited by center representatives with it being “a world class entertainment venue.” Mayor John Callahan praised the new concert space and the people responsible for it, …
The Historic District Bethlehem Farmers Market made its debut Tuesday under cloudy, threatening skies at the Sun Inn Courtyard, but Mayor John Callahan was still pleased with the turnout. "Urban farmers' markets have always been a goal of ours here in the city," the mayor said. "This is the third one. Giving people multiple days and multiple opportunities to buy fresh and buy local." A dozen vendors are participating in the Historic District market, offering a range of products including fresh produce and baked goods. Vendors include: Apple Ridge Farms (Saylorsburg, PA), Bobanona (Whitehall…
Down 9-2 after seven innings, the Moravian Greyhounds baseball team stormed back to tie the Landmark Conference championship game at 9 apiece in the top of the ninth inning at Gillespie Field in Bethlehem on Monday. But Moravian would only have its heart broken in the bottom of the ninth, when Drew designated hitter Tom Murray hit a walk-off home run to end the Greyhounds season, 10-9. Bethlehem Catholic High School graduate Dave Zubia was briefly the hero of the game for Moravian as his two-run single tied the game in the top of the final frame. Read a full account of the game on the …
A cast of nearly 100 performed playwright Alison Carey's “A Resting Place” Friday evening, the culmination of a nearly two year project commemorating the history of the Civil War from a local perspective. Taking historical facts and personal accounts from Bethlehem, the play brings to life one of the bloodiest and complicated wars in American history. The production is a collaboration between The Moravian College Theatre Company and Touchstone Theater, and was directed by Moravian's artistic director Christopher Shorr. Additional cast members are students at the Lehigh Valley Charter High …
Fourth graders at Thomas Jefferson School got a lesson in how laws are made and how elections work from Secretary of the Commonwealth Carol Aichele on Wednesday. Aichele visited the classes of Anita Hozza and Kim Grube, where students have been conducting a mock state legislature. With students acting as Pennsylvania Senators and Representatives, they passed a mock bill to modify the length of the school day while still keeping the number of hours of instruction as required by the state. Several amendments were added to the bill, including one that would require the serving of ice cream on …
Vying for a chance to wear proverbial blue ribbon on the outside of their kilts, 27 men strutted their stuff in the streets of Bethlehem on St. Patrick's Day Saturday to the delight of a crowd of mostly female onlookers. The “Best Legs in a Kilt Contest”, a bawdy Bethlehem tradition, did not fail to disappoint, as men shamelessly sashayed and danced, along with showing off as much skin as they dared in their quest for the title. Gigs, cartwheels, splits, along with some kisses and flirting were all part of the show as the men attempted to outdo each other and woo the panel of judges—four …
Thousands of people, clad in green, lined W. Broad and Main streets, Bethlehem, to watch the second annual Parade of Shamrocks march on St. Patrick’s Day. It could not have been a better afternoon for a parade in Bethlehem – sun-splashed, with clear blue skies and temperatures in the high 60s. Lehigh University students continued to celebrate their own kind of Irish luck during the parade. A small marching band representing Lehigh punctuated their musical march with an occasional shout of “We Beat Duke!” The marchers and hundreds of revelers were headed toward Hill-to-Hill Bridge underpass …
If you live in Bethlehem, you've probably driven over the Fahy Bridge. But have you ever been under it? Trails on Sand Island take you under the bridge along either the Lehigh Canal towpath and Monocacy Creek or along the Lehigh River. Also known as the New Street Bridge, the span's official name memorializes Officer Philip J. Fahy who was shot and killed while on patrol in 1969.
The "Get Out Lehigh Valley" program drew about 50 people to Bethlehem's Sand Island on Saturday for a nature hike guided by Tom Gettings of the Wildlands Conservancy. Get Out Lehigh Valley is a free program of Lehigh Valley Health Network designed to promote outdoor exercise and encourage residents to explore local parks, trails and gardens. Participants met at the Charles Brown Ice House and walked along the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor Trail across the Monocacy Creek, along the Lehigh Canal to the confluence of the Lehigh River and the Monocacy Creek. The next Get Out …
Emmaus beat Freedom 47-44 in a close Lehigh Valley Conference Championship game Friday night Allen High School's Milo Sewards Gym. Emmaus hasn't won a league championship in five years. This win makes the Green Hornets (21-3) the No. 1 seed in the District 11 Class 4A playoffs. Freedom finished the season 20-4.
People lined up for hours Sunday morning outside Pearly Baker's to sample chili from nearly two dozen local restaurants in the 17th annual Superbowl of Chili Cook-Off. The lines formed early and stayed steady through almost 4 p.m. Some guests waited as long as 2 hours to get a taste of best chili the Lehigh Valley has to offer. Bethlehem's Molly's Irish Grille & Sports Pub and Blue Grillhouse were among the competitors. The final vote went to Adam Walker of Porters Pub. His delicious chili topped with a Chive & Onion Sour Cream wowed the taste buds of the judges and public voters alike. …
More than 1,200 people from 21 different states participated in the 2011 Turkey Trot. Mark Jobes from Bethlehem was the first overall male finisher with a time of 17:00.3. Brianna Faust of Macungie finished first overall for the women with a time of 19:03.9.
