We are looking ahead to some exciting opportunities! First, mark your calendar for Thursday May 30. We will host Lehigh Valley Arts & Culture 2024, a convening that will bring together the artistic, business, government, education, and funding communities in a presentation of data, interactive conversation and the exchange of ideas!

On Saturday July 20, we will present the second annual Disability Pride Lehigh Valley. Read on to learn how to become a sponsor, submit your visual art for the juried exhibition, volunteer, or respond to the open call for performers.

Also, please check out the Event Spotlight below to see what our members are up to. Or, for days when you need to beat the heat and hide inside, check out what our staff has been watching.

As always, we couldn't do this work without your energy, enthusiasm, and support. Please feel free to respond directly to this message with comments or questions!

May Lunch & Learn

The First Thing About You

Chaz Hayden

May 15, 2024

12 - 1 pm

Zoom

Chaz Hayden is a debut author who, like his main character, was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy as an infant and spent his childhood in and out of hospitals. The First Thing About You, he says, is “not just about disability but about friendship and love and all the things that a young person hopes to experience.” Through his writing and his YouTube channel, he speaks with abundant positivity and encourages people to “Be different. Leave a trail.” Chaz Hayden grew up in New Jersey and now lives in Pennsylvania, where he spends too much time thinking about his next tattoo and what concerts to attend.

Register

Lehigh Valley Arts & Culture 2024

Thursday May 30

8:30 am – 12:00 pm

Williams Center for the Arts

Lafayette College, Easton

This convening will bring together the artistic, business, government, education, and funding communities in a presentation of data, interactive conversation and the exchange of ideas. Here, a concentrated program dedicated to creating a results-based initiative will lay the foundation to grow a vibrant and sustainable arts and culture sector for the residents and guests of the region.

Learn More

Disability Pride Lehigh Valley

Saturday July 20, 2024

11 am – 3 pm

Arts Park

24-32 N. Fifth Street

Allentown, PA

Disability Pride Lehigh Valley is a celebration of the disability community showcasing art, live music, special guests, resource tables, food trucks, and games for all ages. All are welcome to this free-admission event!

This year we are excited to partner with The Baum School of Art, Allentown Art Museum, Zoellner Arts Center, Allentown Symphony Orchestra, and Lehigh University Art Galleries to celebrate the Lehigh Valley’s diverse community. 

There are a number of ways to get involved with this year's event. Please consider becoming a sponsor (full sponsor prospectus here), submitting your visual art to the open call, responding to our call for performers, or volunteering.

MEMBER FOCUS

OCT 14 Entertainment (Michael B. Judkins) is an independent film, tv, web, and music entity that provides content (media), publishing (books/audiobooks/digital), project management, and producer services to the independent creative arts industry.?

OCT 14 Entertainment creates stories that reach, teach, and empower. ?

Michael boasts 10+ years of experience in the creative industry as an independent Creative Director, Screenwriter/Writer, Content Creator and Mental Health Advocate. Michael believes that art can change lives! He holds an Associate Of Science in Journalism, a Bachelor of Science in Human Services, and a Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling. In addition to Product Management Certification, Safe Set Certification, Michael is an Award Winning Director/Writer Producer (Lonely Girl- Short Film2022) Films Festivals. Michael was Signed to AOIS 21 Media Publishing House, which published his second poetry collection titled “ Interlude to Sentimental Me.” Later, Michael turned that poetry into a stage play with two sold-out nights in production in 2018.?

Become a Member

EVENT SPOTLIGHT

showcasing events hosted by our members

The Bach Choir of Bethlehem

116th Bethlehem Bach Festival

The 125th Anniversary Season Culmination

May 10-11 & 17-18, 2024

Artistic Director and Conductor, Christopher Jackson exclaims, “We are nearing the exciting grand finale of our celebration of The Bach Choir of Bethlehem’s historic 125th Season. It is with great anticipation and joy that I invite you to our unforgettable culminating event: the 116th Bethlehem Bach Festival! The world-class instrumentalists and soloists you have come to know and love, and of course our beloved Bach Choir, are all here in Bethlehem yet again to welcome you back. Bach Outdoors, Zimmermann’s Coffee House, and our Chorale Sings are here to lift your spirits and invite you take part in the full spirit of the Festival tradition. Every concert on this program has some incredible highlights.

Tickets and More Information

Darlene Love: Long Songs

Friday May 17

7:30 pm

Zoellner Arts Center

The legendary Darlene Love is returning to Zoellner to perform Love Songs. Through the years, Darlene Love continues to captivate audiences worldwide with her warm, gracious stage presence and superb performances. She has received Oscar and Grammy Awards, accumulated numerous Billboard hits, and been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone has proclaimed Darlene Love to be "one of the greatest singers of all time" and that certainly rings true, but perhaps Paul Shaffer says it even more concisely: "Darlene Love is Rock N' Roll!"

Purchase Tickets Here

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

SEAN

• Only Murders in the Building: Three strangers - who live in the same New York City apartment building and share an obsession with true crime - suddenly find themselves embroiled in a murder.

MEG

• Northern Exposure: A city doctor is forced to work in the remote Alaskan town of Cicely, where he encounters peculiar locals, including a former astronaut, as he adjusts to small-town life.

JACQUI

• Poor Things: An account of the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter.

SUSAN

• Columbo: Los Angeles homicide detective Lieutenant Columbo uses his humble ways and ingenuous demeanor to winkle out even the most well-concealed of crimes.