Lehigh Valley InSite

Artifest - Lehigh Valley Commemorative Mural

This past weekend I traveled to Mexico, India, Africa, Ukraine, Columbia, Jamaica, Vietnam, Scotland, Philippines and Ireland. I also had a taste of Pennsylvania German and American Indian culture. Where and how you might wonder? I spent both Saturday and Sunday at Artifest, located at the Museum of Indian Culture in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

This unique outdoor festival is a celebration of old world culture with crafts, lifeways demonstrations, fine arts retailers, music and dance, children’s crafts and my favorite, ethnic foods.

The Great Pork Race

It seems that lists always strike up pretty good conversation, and with the official start of summer just about two weeks away I thought I’d start my own list about (with all due respect to Don Henley) our boys of summer, the IronPigs.

For those that are unaware, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs are the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, offering high caliber baseball throughout the summer at Coca-Cola Park. The park provides a beautiful setting for family-friendly entertainment at an affordable price, with lawn seats starting at just $7. You can take the family and not break the bank.

Golf Club and Golf Ball

I finally golfed at Allentown Municipal Golf Course this past Sunday. I’ve been to their driving range, Brew Works on the Green, and live down the street, but never played a single hole.

Sunday morning/afternoon started out nice, I threw on my red, pink and white plaid shorts, a white polo, – you may have seen me, I looked pretty cute – grabbed my clubs and headed down the road.

Mayfair-2012

On Memorial Day, I braved the heat and humidity to attend Mayfair Festival of the Arts, and I was not the only one. I had heard that this year Mayfair had doubled the number of artisans from last year’s festival. More art you say? Sure.

What about the rain? Surely, you can’t blog about Mayfair without mentioning the rain.

Miller-Keystone Blood Center

Today, after getting that darn baby ready for school, getting myself ready for work, having a parent teacher conference, grabbing some breakfast and driving my morning commute, I also managed to save three lives.

Let me tell you, the saving three lives part was the easiest, most relaxing part of my day. The Miller-Keystone Bloodmobile comes right to our office parking lot at the Butz Corporate Plaza.

Arts Ovation Lunch

This past Thursday I had the pleasure of attending Allentown Arts Commission’s 24th annual Arts Ovation Awards Luncheon held at the Holiday Inn Center City Allentown. The arts hold a prominent place in Lehigh Valley culture and collectively make our job promoting the region that much easier.

I was glad to see the program insert listed all past recipients. This year’s honorees join an impressive “who’s-who” list in Lehigh Valley’s art world. The ballroom was packed with those happy to applaud the 2012 winners and their contributions. Entertained was provided by Dieruff High School’s Jazz Band and Civic Theatre.

Dinosaurs Alive

Last week, a few of us from Discover Lehigh Valley got a chance to tour the newest exhibit at Dorney Park: Dinosaurs Alive! I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, but no matter how ready I was, I still think it would have totally blown my mind when I saw these dinosaurs up close.

The entrance reminded me of a scene from Jurassic Park, with the entrance gated off right next to their iconic roller coaster, Steel Force. Dinosaurs Alive! consists of 30 life-size dinosaurs, each of which has information listed detailing where they came from and fun facts about their diet and habitat. Some of the stations even had interactive outlines of the dinosaur complete with buttons that would move the corresponding body part, depending on what you pushed.

workout station

This week I started a new kind of blog post. My goal was for a “Where in the World is Waldo” type of guessing game. I posted a picture (see main picture) of a Lehigh Valleylocation and gave a few clues to help you out. My two clues from this week were:

1. This workout station is within a short walking distance of a multitude of colors and sweet fragrances come summertime.

Cali Burrito

Cali Burrito is located on Hamilton Boulevard, just down from Dorney Park, across from the (now closed) Burger King. With an extensive menu of Mexican delight it’s hard to think of a better place to go in the Valley.

With that said, here are the top five things to get at Cali Burrito. You’ll notice that they’re not all food items…

Snickers Cupcake

Last night I was scanning through the TV Guide Channel and noticed that there was a new episode of Cupcake Wars on The Food Network. Normally this wouldn’t be worth mentioning, but Sunday’s episode featured a contestant from Lehigh Valley. Blondies of Catasauqua was one of 4 contestants competing in this unique competition. Unfortunately, Rebecca was knocked out in the second round, but it was not a reflection of the quality of her cupcakes. The judges felt her entries lacked the decorations other contestants used.

While it was great to see Blondies on The Food Network, I am happier to say they are a Lehigh Valley business. My wife and I have been ordering from Blondies for several months and have tried a wide variety of flavors. Our top 5 cupcakes are: