Your Weekend: 'All You Need Is Bugs'

Often seen as pests, many insects are actually important to our food supply and very survival.

You can learn all about that on Saturday afternoon when the Fox Environmental Center—inside the old Illick’s Mill—opens “All You is Need is Bugs;” an exhibit about critters who swim, fly, walk, and wiggle in our world.

·  Discover why pollinators are key to our survival;

·  See preserved insects from around the world;

·  Study water from Monocacy Creek to find bug species indicating good water quality;

·  Learn how to safely control pests that invade your home!

·  Play a Game of Bug Bingo;

·  Try your hand in the  “Make Your Own Bug” challenge.

·  Watch the feature presentation film, Big Bugs.

·  Make a butterfly note keeper, a cute caterpillar, or an ant made from spoons at Kit’s Corner Nature Arts and Crafts Area..

·  AND, make delicious edible dirt with gummy worms and other insects!

The Fox Environmental Center is open Thursday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

Also happening in Bethlehem this weekend:

• Fans of Celtic rock are going to want to spend Friday night outdoors at SteelStacks for a free double bill. The Mickey Finns are on stage at the Levitt Pavilion starting at 7 p.m. After that’s done, The Mighty Ploughboys take the TD Bank Community Stage across the street in front of the ArtsQuest Center.

• If the music of the 50s and 60s is what you love, Kenny Vance and The Planotones will be on stage at the Musikfest Café at 8 p.m. Friday. An original member of Jay and The Americans, and a former songwriter in New York’s famous Brill Building, Vance has been a participant or witness to much of the history of rock n’ roll. His signature song, “Looking for an Echo,” is an ode to New York street corner doo-wop groups of the 1950s who never quite made it. Tickets are $45 and $35.

• If you love the 80s, the Levitt Pavilion hosts Rubix Kube at 7 p.m. Saturday. They bill themselves as more than just a cover band but a “totally awesome, true 80s experience.”

• English-Irish boy band The Wanted make an American tour stop at the Sands Bethlehem Event Center at 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $35, $55 or four for $100.

• Gallery U Boutique, 314 E. Third St. premieres its new Indoor Boutique and Craft Market from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. The market will be open every Sunday and will feature a wide selection of boutique and specialty items including jewelry, handbags, artisan crafts, handcrafted gifts, artwork and clothing, all at significantly discounted prices. Light refreshments will be served. 

• Veteran award-winning journalist Walter Brasch will discuss fracking at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Moravian Bookshop. Brasch, author of the recently-released book, “Fracking Pennsylvania,” will discuss what fracking is—and what it is not, as well as the economic, political, health, and environmental impacts. He will also discuss fracking’s impact upon people who do not live in the Marcellus Shale.