Lehigh Valley InSite

Halloween fun in Lehigh Valley

It has been a tough 2 weeks for me to blog about experiences in Lehigh Valley. I have devoted much of my resources and energy into closing down the Spectrum in Philadelphia.

It started with Bruce last week and will conclude with Pearl Jam on Friday and Saturday. Saturday, I might actually be at the biggest Halloween party in the country. There is going to be tens of thousands of people tailgating for Pearl Jam and the Phillies game. There are going to be some great costumes in the parking lot. I think this is the 3rd consecutive week I have mentioned these Spectrum shows. Can you tell I am excited? This is like Christmas for me, not Halloween.

Since the Lehigh Valley experience well is dry. I have put together some Lehigh Valley Halloween activities that don’t involve a bar, a lame DJ, or cover band.

On Saturday, Easton has its 17th Annual Scarecrow Fest. I have never been to the Scarecrow Fest, but for 10 bucks you get all the basics to build a scarecrow. Sounds like a good family thing to me.

Another good family event is going on at the Lehigh Valley Zoo. It is called Boo at the Zoo. You can go trick-or-treating around the zoo Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Finally, Allentown has its Halloween Parade 2 p.m. Sunday.

Happy Halloween!

Rodale Institute holds its 1st organic apple festival

I'm so mad at myself. My goal this past weekend was to check out the 1st Annual Organic Apple Festival at the Rodale Institute farm in Kutztown, Pa. It was going to be held on Saturday with a rain date of Sunday. Well, my weather radar said rain all day, so I thought the event would have taken place on the rain date. I was wrong! I guess the weather in Kutztown was better than it was in Allentown. Bottom line was that I missed it! 

Some of the events that were to take place during the festival were pick-your-own organic apples, horse-drawn wagon rides, crafts and games for the kids, farm tours, food, drinks, live music and raffles. They were even going to have one winner get to name an apple variety. The event sounds like it was a ton of fun.

Did you get to check it out? If so, how was it?

They did open the orchard for apple picking and the store on Sunday though (it is normally closed). I'm a big fan of their store. And throughout the year, they give regular tours of the farm, something I was looking forward to doing at the festival.

It's really pretty neat that we have such a great facility promoting improved health and well-being of people and the planet just right over Lehigh Valley's county lines, don't you think?

The Great Allentown Fair Part 2

Last Thursday I wrote about some of my favorite things about the midway at The Great Allentown Fair (which starts today, by the way, and runs till Labor Day). But there's more to the Fair than the rides, food and games.

Going to see the animals is always a treat. It smells a little bit down at that end of the fairgrounds, but it's neat to walk through the poultry building and then down through the stables. The animals are always a big hit with the younger kids.

My favorite part of the fair is Agri-Plex. Checking out all of the crafts, wood work, art work, and vegetables is amazing. The other thing to see there is the cooking demonstrations and cooking competitions where Lehigh Valley’s best chefs compete against each other.

Finally, the part of The Great Allentown Fair that gets the most attention: the Grandstand shows. Every year the Fair manages to get top notch entertainment on their stage. This year’s big act would have to be comedian Jeff Dunham - tonight's show is nearly sold out, while Sunday's show is completely sold out. Pretty crazy for a guy who goes on stage with puppets.

On a smaller scale of musical entertainment there's the music tent next to MainGate. There are usually some good bands there throughout the week. Friday night, The B Street Band is there! They're a Springsteen tribute band and a lot of fun to see.

Have fun at the Fair ... I know I will.

The Great Allentown Fair

Last year The Great Allentown Fair’s midway got a face lift. Powers Great American Midways came in with a brand new midway. I am a big fan of rides, and they were awesome - the rides now rival Dorney Park and Hershey Park. The straight rows of games, food stands and rides is now a zig-zagging path making sure you won’t miss a thing.

Must-hit spots for the Allentown Fair's midway:

Ride: Vortex - I can’t really explain it, but there is definitely a free fall sensation. You can’t miss this thing - you can probably see it from Bethlehem because it towers over the grandstand.

Food: Willow Street Pub’s lobster rolls. That’s right, you can get lobster at the Allentown Fair. Find a place that has a blooming onion and get one of those too. Vince’s cheesesteaks are outstanding; same goes for a wedgie from John the Greek. I don’t even know where to begin for a desert - I would go with an elephant ear or funnel cake.

Games: I have 3 words for you. I GOT IT!

Next week, I'll have part 2 of The Great Allentown Fair covering the heart of the fair: agriculture,the Agri-Plex, and the legendary grandstand.

The Allentown Fair has it all

In one week, The Great Allentown Fair begins. Hoo-ray!

I've been going to the Allentown Fair since I was a little kid growing up in Lehigh Valley, so I have lots of memories of this annual end-of-summer event.

• I've eaten lots of food there - Take A Taco is still my favorite.
• I've lost lots of money playing games there - my guilty pleasures are Skee-Ball and ... shhh, don't tell anyone ... Bingo.
• I've wandered through the livestock pens - even though they can be stinky, there's something about pigs that I simply adore.
• I've enjoyed witnessing the carnage of the J&J Demolition Derby 
• I've seen lots of concerts there - including, but not limited to, Reba McEntire, Destiny's Child, Blink-182, The Flaming Lips and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

A huge part of the Allentown Fair that I think is often forgotten is the Blue Ribbon competitions, most of which you'll find in Ag Hall (although I think it's official name is the Agri-Plex). Sure, it's always fun to gawk at the mammoth pumpkins and drool over the baked goods, but my favorite Blue Ribbon contest is the photography.

This year, I'm excited to say, I have entered two photos into the Arts & Photography category, which I have to take over to the Allentown Fairgrounds later this week for judging. I'm far from a being professional photographer, so I chose these photos more for being a) pretty and b) unique subject matter rather than good composition and perfect lighting. We'll see how I do!

What's your favorite part of The Great Allentown Fair?

My Musikfest "First"

Last Friday night I experienced a first: I attended my first paid concert at Lehigh Valley's famous Musikfest.

Don't get me wrong...I've been enjoying the 10-day festival since the first one in 1984 and I have the original plastic beer pitcher and a Franklin Hill Musikfest wine bottle to prove it. I just never felt the need to go to any of the big named acts, until this year.

Back in March when I heard two of my all time favorites, Pat Benatar and Blondie, were appearing together I just knew I had to go. I purchased our tickets online on March 27 and was like an anxious kid waiting four months for Christmas.

This show was worth every penny! If you had told me 30 years ago that these two powerhouses would still be belting out tunes in 2009, I wouldn't have believed you, but they both were as strong as ever. As soon as Pat hit the stage I was transformed back to a 20-something and that feeling continued when it was Deborah Harry's turn.

Both groups have about a zillion #1 hits between them so every song performed was like hearing from an old friend. I did find it interesting that Pat Benatar won't sing one famous line in "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" - I guess as a married mother of two she just prefers the crowd sing "before I put another notch in my lipstick case" and we were happy to do so.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Blondie closed the show with an unspoken tribute to the late Michael Jackson by singing a cover of "Don't Stop'Till You Get Enough". Keep singing, Debbie...I'll never get enough.

Did you see the show?

My End-Of-Summer Lehigh Valley To Do List

My blog well has run dry this week. Luckily I have a plan B. My plan B is probably the most typical back up for bloggers: The List Blog.

I've put together a list of things I'd like to do before the summer ends or the weather gets bad. I know it's August, but winter will be here before you know it with a cold slap to the face.

1. Twilight at Dorney Park. I haven't been to Dorney Park in 10 years. The $20 twilight ticket seems like a good opportunity to get on some coasters.

2. Bike the tow path along the Lehigh Canal. Casey and I usually do this a few times a year, but have yet to do it in '09.

3. Head over to Tap and Table. This is a fairly new pub in Emmaus. From what I've been told, it is a Belgian-style pub - no lights, just candles. Not that this needs to be done in nice weather. I just want to get there before all the yuppies start hanging out there.

4. Allentown Fair (pictured above), September 1 - 7,  is on the Must Do List, not the To Do List.

I am going to keep this list at 4 for now. Don’t want to get ambitious. If I do 3 out 4 I will consider the list an accomplishment. 

Surviving the crowds at Musikfest

It's been nearly 10 years since I've last set foot at Musikfest because I'm not a big fan of crowds. But this year, I gave it another shot by going with two Musikfest vets, Kate and Kelly.

My main reason for going to Musikfest was the food. Right away I got $20 worth of food tickets and headed to the nearest Aw Shucks stand (there's one in Handwerkplatz and one in Plaza Tropical) for a steaming roasted ear of corn with all the seasonings. Yum. 

Side note: I recently heard that Aw Shucks corn is now on the menu at Bethlehem Brew Works.

Corn in hand, we headed toward the nearest Take a Taco (the one in Volksplatz, but there's also one on Main Street). By the time we maneuvered through the crowd, I was finished with my corn and ready to plop down 12 tickets for a crispy-yet-soft tortilla shell filled with ground beef, lettuce and a fantastic shredded-cheese blend. Heaven!

We mostly wandered around after that, covering the majority of the platzes. I was so impressed by the variety of food available at Musikfest. Aside from traditional "fair" food, I found things like kielbasa sandwiches, potato pancakes and scrapple on a stick.

On our way up to Main Street, after getting a drafty Kutztown Soda Works birch beer at Handwerkplatz), some very dramatic music caught my ear. It was Cast in Bronze (pictured). Imagine a guy playing a four-ton pipe organ, but instead of pipes they're bells. Considering he's good enough to earn an audience with the Pope, I'd highly recommend catching this guy if you head to Musikfest - he performs every day on the hour from 5:30pm - 9:30pm.

It was a beautiful night, so the crowds grew to a size that I could no longer handle by 9pm, so we left. As we walked to the car, I sang along to the sounds of Puddle of Mudd playing at Sands River Place and thought to myself "I'm glad I went."

Anyone else wanna share a Musikfest experience? I'm all ears.

Monday Night at Musikfest

As I mentioned last week, I was looking forward to seeing Dr. Dog and Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam at Musikfest.

On Monday night, my brother, my friend John from Philly and I headed over to Bethlehem around 8. It was perfect timing; by the time we parked and grabbed a beer, Dr. Dog was hitting the stage.

John and I have heard of them and know a few of their songs. My brother had no idea who they were, but as soon as they started playing he was into it. They can be a very harmonizing Beach Boy-esque band on one song, then for the next song, keep the harmony but break into a thrashing jam with the bassist and two guitar players bouncing and jumping around the stage. The three of us had a great time watching them.

10:20 rolled around and we decided to try to catch the end of Back Door Slam. Unfortunately, John and I got side-tracked by The Melting Pot stand operated by Holy Infancy Church. (This is hard for me to admit, but they had better tacos than Take-a-Taco.)

So while we were wolfing down tacos, my brothercaught the end of BDS's set. He said they were better than Dr. Dog, but enjoyed them both. It really is unfortunate they had to play on the same night at the same time, but a Lehigh ValleyIndie Rock beggar can’t be choosy.

Indie Rock at Musikfest

Bethlehem’s 10-day-long Musikfest is made up of three essential things:

A. Music - They have around 200 performers from around world and most performances are free.
B. Food - Tons of different types of food. Take a Taco and Aw Shucks are fan favorites.
C. Beer– Grab a Musikfest souvenir mug and drink up.

In my experience, the Musikfest crowd is made up of a few different groups. There are people that go strictly for option A, a group that go strictly for option B and some folks who go strictly for C. I would say most of the crowd goes for a mix of at least two out of the three options. Personally, I go with option D, all of the above.

I have been going to Musikfest for roughly 10 years. This is the first year that the music is actually the driving force behind me attending.

On Monday night, August 3rd, two veteran’s of the summer music festival circuit will be playing: Philly’s own Dr. Dog and from across the pond, Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam. Between the two bands, they have Austin City Limits, Coachella, Bonnaroo, South by Southwest, and Lollapalooza under their belts. 

The only problem is they are playing at the same time. This is very upsetting. I don’t know what to do. Dr. Dog is at Americaplatz from 9 to 11 and Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam are at Plaza Tropical from 9:30 to 11. Looks like I am going to be double dipping.

I'll just give their styles of music and then I'll let the music videos posted below do the rest. Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam have a Blues, Indie and Alternative Rock sound. People say he is Clapton-esque. Dr. Dog are along the lines of Psychedelic Indie Rock. They are influenced by the Beach Boys and Beatles.

Dr. Dog

Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam

Are you going to Musikfest? Who do you plan to see?