Bethlehem, Lehigh Valley, PA., January 27, 2025 – This Valentine’s Day, go beyond the traditional box of chocolates and give the gift of lifelong memories! The best way to celebrate love is by experiencing something special together. ArtsQuest has the perfect variety of upcoming events and activities that promise unforgettable moments for couples, friends and families alike.
From special events and comedic performances to exciting concerts and immersive art experiences, there’s something for everyone in our handpicked Valentine’s Day Gift Guide.
Events:
- Winter Winefest & Market – February 16
- The Winter Winefest & Market is a wine lovers’ dream – an event that features sampling and the chance to buy glasses and bottles of wine directly from some of Pennsylvania’s best wineries! But it’s not just wine – the event will also feature vendors and other retailers selling wine-adjacent goods.
- Spring BeerFest III – March 29
- Join ArtsQuest and the Lehigh Valley Brewer’s Guild (LVBG) for an unforgettable beer-tasting experience at Spring Beerfest III! Sample your way through incredible selections from over 25 local breweries, plus score exclusive swag in our raffle, where a portion of proceeds will benefit Habitat for Humanity courtesy of LVBG.
Musikfest Cafe:
- Face 2 Face – A Tribute to Billy Joel & Elton John – February 14 and 15
- Introducing the USA’s 1st and longest-running tribute to Billy Joel and Elton John. Taking turns at an onstage piano, the dual tribute artists of the Billy Joel/Elton John Face-2-Face Tribute Show conjure the beloved songsters in both sound and image.
- Life After Dead: Grateful Dead Tribute – February 15
- Life After Dead is a tribute to the improvisational, indescribable music of The Grateful Dead. Together, they create a sound which, while reminiscent of their collective musical influences, reflects a desire to create exciting new music which stretches the boundaries of imagination, while inspiring their audiences to dance at the same time.
- Luke Combs UK – February 17
- The world’s leading tribute to Luke Combs, endorsed by Luke Combs and his management team. Come on and enjoy a fine night of country music!
- YAS Queen! – February 21
- A new 10-piece band celebration of Freddie Mercury and the music of Queen! Starring REMEMBER JONERS + horns, strings and a choir!
- Emo Kids – February 22
- EMO KIDS are the best emo cover band in the country, and what separates them is their dedication to not only playing as close to album perfect as possible, but also being able to play for hours non-stop, while bringing the intense energy with which this music was created.
- Tommy Castro & The Painkillers – February 27
- Mixing the blues, rock and roll and soul music he loved, Tommy started to create his own personal sound and style. He honed his guitar skills and intense, gritty vocals, learning how to capture an audience as he performed on San Francisco’s highly competitive club scene. Tommy soon made a name for himself as a hotter-than-hot live artist bursting at the seams with talent.
- Dwayne Gretzky – February 28
- Dwayne Gretzky are Canada’s reigning champs of nostalgia and a can’t miss live music experience; a curated nostalgia trip that captures the unique joy of turning a radio dial and being surprised by the familiar. Celebrating classic pop and rock from Fleetwood Mac to Fatboy Slim, Dwayne Gretzky has delivered electrifying renditions of over 800 songs from the 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s.
- Low Cut Connie – March 5
- For years now, Low Cut Connie has built its grassroots coalition of oddballs, underdogs and fun-loving weirdos with songs that celebrate life on the fringes of polite society. The band’s infamously wild, passionate live shows provide a total release – of stress, of inhibition, of shame – working up a primordial rock n roll sweat for fans to get blissfully soaked in.
- Alan Doyle – March 6
- Alan Doyle – actor, producer, best-selling author and best-known as lead singer for Newfoundland’s beloved Great Big Sea these past 20+ years – hardly needs an introduction. Their nine albums, double-disc hits retrospective, and two DVD releases have all been declared Gold or Platinum and have sold a combined 1.2 million copies in Canada.
- Hollywood Nights: The Bob Seger Experience – March 7
- The ultimate tribute to Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. They are a 9-piece band based in New Jersey that continues to strive to recreate everything about Bob Seger and his music down to the core.
- Enter The Haggis – March 9
- For over two decades, Toronto’s Enter The Haggis has combined bagpipes and fiddles with a rock rhythm section to create a distinctively eclectic sound, praised by The Boston Globe, The Washington Post and Canada’s Globe and Mail. Their songs offer singalong melodies and deep, meaningful lyrics which tell the stories of everyday hard-working people, often faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges.
- Dancing Dream – March 14
- The Tribute to ABBA, the greatest pop supergroup from Sweden that ruled the music world in the 70’s and it still holds the title of one of the best pop groups in the world ever. Dancing Dream from NYC pays the tribute to the legendary Swedish group honoring their legacy.
- Pink Talking Fish – March 15
- Pink Talking Fish is a Hybrid Tribute Fusion Act that takes the music from three of the world’s most beloved bands (Pink Floyd, The Talking Heads and Phish) and creates a special treat for fans of the music.
Visual Arts:
- Date Night: Drawing Cartoon Fun – February 14
- This is a fun class for adults who love cartoons. Basic drawing skills will be taught such as proportion, line quality, form, volume, character, design, color and more. The popular form of anime drawing will also be taught. Character drawn will be class requests.
- Location information – The Artist Garages at 520 Hamilton – Bay 1 is located at 520 Hamilton St. in Allentown.
- This is a fun class for adults who love cartoons. Basic drawing skills will be taught such as proportion, line quality, form, volume, character, design, color and more. The popular form of anime drawing will also be taught. Character drawn will be class requests.
- Wine’d Down Workshop: Hoop Earring Making – March 6
- Beadwork has existed across the world for centuries, from Greece to Italy, to Ancient Egypt and Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island. In this workshop, we’ll learn about beadwork history and two techniques for making beaded hoop earrings. This workshop is intended for folks who have never tried beadwork before and will give step-by-step guidance to help you learn the craft.
- Location information – The Fowler Blast Furnace Room is located at 101 Founders Way in Bethlehem.
- Beadwork has existed across the world for centuries, from Greece to Italy, to Ancient Egypt and Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island. In this workshop, we’ll learn about beadwork history and two techniques for making beaded hoop earrings. This workshop is intended for folks who have never tried beadwork before and will give step-by-step guidance to help you learn the craft.
- Painting Flowers in Acrylic – March 6
- Flowers are a fantastic subject matter to play, explore and enjoy the creative process while drawing inspiration from nature and organic beauty. Between the variety of color and shape we see in flowers, and the wide range of capability of acrylic paint, this class will provide a broad understanding of flower painting, lending to exploration of how one may wish to express oneself through painting flowers.
- Location information – Spring Garden Elementary is located at 901 North Blvd. in Bethlehem.
- Flowers are a fantastic subject matter to play, explore and enjoy the creative process while drawing inspiration from nature and organic beauty. Between the variety of color and shape we see in flowers, and the wide range of capability of acrylic paint, this class will provide a broad understanding of flower painting, lending to exploration of how one may wish to express oneself through painting flowers.
Comedy:
- Your Funny Valentine: An Improv Comedy Show – February 8
- This Valentine’s Day, we’re serving up a full course of laughs! Our quick-witted improvisers will create hilarious, unpredictable scenes based on your suggestions using improv games similar to those you’d see on Whose Line is it Anyway!
- Swipe Right: The Online Dating Game Show – February 14
- Swipe Right: The Online Dating Game Show brings to life the potential for greatness in everyone’s dating profile. Host Aliya Brown will take away key words in real people’s online dating profile bios. Two teams of comedians will compete to replace the words Mad-Libs style to please the judges.
- First Impression: A Speed Dating Experience – February 15
- At this event, participants will kick off the night by making their own calling cards to hand out to individuals they meet and hope to stay in touch with. We’ll have a few ice breaker games, then head right into speed dating. We’ll do two 15-minute rounds of speed dating where you’ll be paired with a new partner every 2 minutes. We’ll also have conversation starters provided!
Cinema:
- You’re Going to Hate This – February 13 @ 7:30 p.m.
- February’s mystery film will be selected by ArtsQuest Programming Specialist, Addyson Young.
- Becoming Led Zeppelin – Opening at Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas on February 14
- Becoming Led Zeppelin explores the origins of this iconic group and their meteoric rise in just one year against all odds. Powered by awe-inspiring, psychedelic, never-before-seen footage, performances and music, Bernard MacMahon’s experiential cinematic odyssey explored Led Zeppelin’s creative, musical and personal origin story. The film is told in Led Zeppelin’s own words and is the first officially sanctioned film on the group.
- The Rocky Horror Picture Show – February 28 @ 11:30 p.m.
- These screenings will feature a live performance from the Spaced Out Sensations shadowcast.
This Valentine’s Day, give a gift that can’t be wrapped in a box. Whether it’s a musical night out, an adventurous day, or a creative experience, this ArtsQuest guide ensures that this year’s celebration will be one to remember.
About ArtsQuest
ArtsQuest’s mission is to provide access to exceptional artistic, cultural and educational experiences using arts and culture as key elements of economic development for our urban communities. ArtsQuest™ supports this mission via the presentation of performing and visual arts, film, arts education classes and outreach, youth programming and cultural events. Through festivals such as its flagship event, Musikfest; the ArtsQuest Creative Factory powered by PPL; and the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks arts and cultural campus, ArtsQuest’s programming reaches more than 1.9 million people annually. The organization’s programs and events, of which nearly 50 percent are free to attend, have a combined economic impact of more than $136 million annually in the region.
Information provided to TVL by:
Bryn Keeney