5 Things to Know Today

Good morning Bethlehem. Today is Friday, September 2, 2011. Here comes the weekend.

1. Hallelujah! At the end of work today, we start a three-day weekend. Monday is Labor Day, which, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, “constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.” We’ll drink to that.
2. Over at the , ArtsQuest premieres yet another new festival. SteelJam features the music of so-called jam bands, 50 improvisational musical acts in all, who will be performing at the Levitt Pavilion, the Air Products Town Square and inside at the Musikfest Café. It all starts at 5 p.m. this evening and runs through Monday. Tickets for tonight’s portion of the festival are $20 or $15 for members. Or buy a pass for the whole weekend for $75, $60 for members.
3. Tonight is also , the monthly celebration of arts and culture in South Bethlehem. Rigo Peralta and Bruce Ward are the featured artists at the . University City is the theme. Special events and attractions at many of the businesses and galleries up and down Third and Fourth streets. The fun gets started at 6 p.m.
4. The high school football season gets under way tonight. While the Hurricanes travel all the way down to Delaware County to play Glen Mills, the Patriots host East Stroudsburg South at the stadium at 7 p.m. The Crusaders of host Palmerton, also at 7 p.m. The Golden Hawks of open their season Saturday night at Pocono Mountain West.
5. Though they have lost eight of their last 11 games, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs remain very much in contention for the International League playoffs. With four games left in the season, which ends Monday, the Pigs are two games behind the Pawtucket Red Sox in the Northern Division and are tied with the Gwinnett Braves for the wild card. Tonight, the Pigs host the Buffalo Bison at 7 p.m. in their next-to-last home game of the season at Coca Cola Park.