Runners Take Over at SteelStacks: Your Weekend

Runners and fitness buffs take over the SteelStacks campus this weekend as Runner’s World magazine hosts its second annual Half-Marathon & Festival beginning Friday night.

It will be a weekend featuring seminars, live music, a health and fitness expo and, of course, running.

Bring children 12 and under to run a race of their own on Friday night.

On Saturday morning, you can run a 5-K race, a 10-K race or bring your dog to run a mile with you on Saturday afternoon.

The half-marathon winds its way through Bethlehem’s streets on Sunday. But prepare on Saturday night by loading up on carbs with the editors of Runner’s World. Then get inspired by listening to the festival’s keynote speech, which will be delivered longtime race director Dave McGillivray.

Here is what else is going on in and around Bethlehem this weekend:

• The Lehigh University Philharmonic performs a program that is both "Romantic and Modern" at Baker Hall in the Zoellner Arts Center at 8 p.m. both Friday and Saturday. Guest soloist Cynthia Phelps of the New York Philharmonic performs Walton’s Viola Concerto. The orchestra continues then with Ravel's "Bolero" and Brahms' Symphony No. 1. Tickets are $18.

• Indie rock/pop band Barenaked Ladies is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a top-ten album, “Grinning Streak,” and a gig with the “Last Summer on Earth Tour” with the Ben Folds Five. They bring their comedy-tinged act to the Sands Bethlehem Event Center at 8 p.m. Friday. Tickets are from $39.50 to $65.

• It will be an evening of folk and Americana music at Godfrey Daniels Friday night when The Vulcans and then After the Rodeo take the stage at 8 p.m. Admission is $17.50.

• Join over 1,000 people with ALS, family members, friends, caregivers and supporters at the Lehigh Valley Walk to Defeat ALS at 9 a.m. Saturday at Coca Cola Park in Allentown. Mayor Ed Pawlowski is planning to stop by to greet teams as they look to raise more than $160,000 for ALS research and patient care services.

• Enjoy some wine, Godiva chocolates and music at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Spa at Westgate (inside the Westgate Mall) in an elegant soiree and education session to learn about the Beginning Over Foundation, which helps victims of domestic abuse and violence.

• Boolesque is a Halloween extravaganza, featuring the sexy ladies of Jim Thorpe Burlesque and some of their friends at the Pennsylvania Playhouse on Illicks Mill Road at 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $30 for general admission and are available at www.paplayhouse.org. Advance purchase is suggested but not required.

• Local folk music favorite Anne Hills plays a birthday concert at Godfrey Daniels at 8 p.m. Saturday. The opening act will be an unusual one. Local author and Bethlehem Patch friend Geoff Gehman reads a selection from his new book The Kingdom of the Kid. Admission is $19.50.

• "Blue Velvet," "Roses are Red" and "Mr. Lonely" are just a few of the songs that have made Bobby Vinton a popular singer for decades. He brings a full-stage musical gala, including an orchestra, to perform at the Sands Bethlehem Event Center at 8 p.m. Saturday night. Tickets are from $49.50 to $59.50.

• Penn State Extension’s annual Lehigh County Open Gate Farm Tour is Sunday. Take advantage of this once-a-year opportunity to learn about local agriculture in Lehigh County. There is no charge to visit any of the participating farms between 1 and 5 p.m. It’s rain or shine! Dress casually and enjoy the day talking with local farmers and learning how your food is produced. 

• Bowl for a good cause at Town & Country Lanes on Stefko Boulevard from 2 to 4 p.m. as the Beginning Over Foundation hosts a fundraiser in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Tickets are $10 and include two hours of glow bowling and shoe rental.

• Local Monty Python aficionados will have a blast Sunday at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks as the Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas screens three classic Python movies in succession. That’s "Monty Python’s Meaning of Life," "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" and "Monty Python’s Life of Brian," all on the big screen, beginning at 2 p.m. Tickets are $18, less for students, seniors and ArtsQuest members.