Lehigh Valley InSite

GodfreysLargeStage

Saturday night my girlfriend and I went to Godfrey Daniels, one of Lehigh Valley’s music venues, to see Dina Hall and Beth Sherby perform. And for the $11 and change it cost to get in, it was worth every penny.

It was my first time at Godfrey Daniels, so I didn’t know what to expect. Once we got there I realized why reservations are suggested – it’s a smaller place but that makes the performances much more intimate. Our table was right up front next to the stage. It is a B.Y.O.B. establishment which makes it even more laid back; it’s like having a glass of wine with friends, listening to your favorite band in a comfortable, homey, atmosphere.

PSF Photo C

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival’s production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a musical love story that is so fabulously funny that I can’t imagine missing it.

The play was Stephen Sondheim’s first venture writing both score and lyrics, and he hit a home run. Larry Gelbart of M*A*S*H* fame adapted the book to stage. With a base like that, expectations are high and this production exceeded my wildest expectations.

Putt u

I live within a 10 minute drive to one of the best miniature golf places in Lehigh Valley, Putt U. I’d always heard great reviews about them so I decided to check it out myself. My friends were so excited to try out Putt U that they drove 40 minutes just for mini golf, and they were not disappointed.

Devon, Matt, Rheanna and I started off our evening with dinner at Red Robin in the Promenade Shops then headed over to Putt U. They have two full, 18 hole courses; the red course and the blue course. At check-in we asked the young man which course was harder. “Both are challenging, but for different reasons” he said. The red course is more windy, as opposed to the blue course (which we chose to play) that’s seemingly straighter but with more bumps.

Cibi logo

I got a little ahead of myself last week with the wedding blog. I skipped past the wonderful rehearsal dinner we had at Bar Cibi on The Allentown Fair Grounds. I have not been to Bar Cibi since it was the Fairgrounds Hotel, but I was hearing good things about it.

A person I know with The Great Allentown Fair has been there since it has become Cibi and suggested it to me. Didn’t even give it a try, I trusted her. I am glad I went with her suggestion. The dinner took place in the private room upstairs before hand. It looked great up there. We had our own bar and plenty of seating for our party of 40. Not sure what the plans are for upstairs, but they have this awesome deck that wraps around the top of the building and would be a cool outdoor hangout.

Playboy of the Western World PSF 2010 - web

On Friday, Mike and I went to see the Irish comedy The Playboy of The Western World at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. After a lovely dinner at Pistachio’s we headed over to DeSales to catch the “pregame” and we were lucky enough to catch the end of the Celtic band Backwater’s set.

Side note: My sister, cousin and I went to Ireland in 1999. It was our first trip to a foreign county, so we picked Ireland because that is our heritage, but more because they speak English there. We spent the entire trip saying to each other, “I can’t understand a word anyone says!”

Art in the park

Sybil and I headed to one of my favorite annual events, Art-in-the-Park, on Saturday.

Before I get into the event itself, I have to rave about the location. Art-in-the-Park is held in Allentown’s West Park. With 78 varieties of trees, more than 300 varieties of shrubs, memorials along the east side of the park and the band shell where the Allentown Band performs free concerts every year on its western edge, West Park is a beautiful oasis within the city. It’s worth a trip even if there are no events going on.

Bear rock junction 2

Lately the weather in Lehigh Valley has been gorgeous! Very summer-like. And Monday marks the official start of summer. In my mind, there's no better local summer activity than to go play mini golf!

Previously on Lehigh Valley InSite, Putt U has been called out on more than one occasion as a favorite mini golf spot. But we have more than one stellar mini golf course in the area. In fact, during my daily commute from New Tripoli to downtown Allentown, I pass three of them:

Fireworks

After The Great Allentown Fair (BTW, I can’t wait to see Rush on August 31), my favorite Lehigh Valley fair would have to be the one in Schnecksville. That would be the 27th Annual Schnecksville Fair, which starts on Monday and runs through next Saturday.

Each year I volunteer some of my time to help out at the hot dog stand, which benefits the Fair directly. Besides the hot dogs and people watching, here are a couple of reasons why I like this Fair:

Bridge-Picture

While my recent bachelor party was a lot of fun, our wedding day blew it away!

The wedding took place at St. John’s UCC in Whitehall. I couldn’t have asked for a better ceremony from Pastor Becky; she even threw our favorite band Pearl Jam into the homily. The most amazing part was how many people actually showed up! The place was packed – standing room only – which was very special to us.

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Lately I’ve been thinking about all the really cool old buildings throughout Lehigh Valley and how many of them are in the cities. Bethlehem is a perfect example, with its rich Morvaian background and industrial roots. But how can you appreciate the history of the 1744 Single Sisters’ House as you drive by it in a car? You can’t! And I’m too lazy to walk, so that means I’ll never get to really enjoy the local history, right? Well, that’s where Segway of Lehigh Valley comes in.

I had never ridden a segway before, but that wasn’t a problem; before heading out on the streets, I watched a safety video on how to use a segway and then had time to practice right there in the Segway showroom (in the heart of Southside Bethlehem).