Lehigh Valley InSite

The Championship

The Championship is set.

Emerging from the left side of the bracket is 02 Lehigh Valley IronPigs and their opponent from the right side of the bracket is 01 Musikfest.

Both teams are family fun, summertime activities and as such had high expectations coming into the Lunacy.

Final Four

And there were four, the Final Four.

Lehigh Valley Lunacy, which began March 1st with 64 participants is now down to four teams playing in semi-final matchups to get to the Championship!

Twelve Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me A fine piece of jewelry from Cleo’s Gallery.

Ok, you get the idea. I’m not going to make you read the whole song, so here is my Twelve Days of Lehigh Valley gifts I’d like to receive boiled down for your reading pleasure …

25 Days of Lehigh Valley Giveaways

25 Days of Lehigh Valley Giveaways will run from today, November 30, through Christmas Eve.

Every day at around Noon, we will be posting a giveaway from a Lehigh Valley business or attraction on Facebook. We’ll ask a question along with that post and will then pick a winner from those who commented.

Please be sure to check our Facebook page every day because if you do not claim your prize within 24 hours it will be sent back to Santa’s workshop. Or just given to a new winner.

Below is a list of all the prizes we will be giving away in no particular order.

Brew Works Craft Beer Festival

Enjoying quality craft beer is akin to enjoying music. Nearly everyone loves music, but some people love AC/DC and others love Bonnie Raitt. Some people follow Ke$ha across the country and others follow Bruce Springsteen as he tours.

Okay, no one follows Ke$ha across the country, but you get my point.

Where to eat after the game.

After the tailgating, touchdowns and, hopefully, not a tie, the crowd at Fisher Field will need somewhere to catch a bite or a few drinks. After Lehigh and Lafayette meet for the 148th time on Saturday, both Bethlehem and Easton downtown areas will be awash in alumni, family, friends and students. Shops get full. Bars get packed. Seats get limited.

We’ve seen it before. In fact, we’ve been in the thick of it. You walk out of the stadium with your friends and family and everyone starts wondering where they should go next. The first spot you get to is packed and it’s a 45 minute wait. You didn’t make reservations because, well, whoops. So, where can you head in the Bethlehem and Easton areas following the game?

Cask Beer Festival

This past Saturday, I attended the Great Allentown Brew Works Cask Beer Festival with my brother / fellow beer aficionado, Bill. There were about 30 limited edition cask varieties available, many of which were brewed especially for this event. I’d estimate that there were a few hundred people enjoying the samples, and we had some great conversations with other beer lovers and home brewers from Lehigh Valley.

Allentown Brew Works did a great job involving local Pennsylvania breweries, including Weyerbacher, Victory, Yards, Prism and SlyFox, among other notable breweries from across the country. If I had to decide my favorite cask conditioned ale, I’d have to say it was definitely the Scotch Ale from Bethlehem Brew Works. I think…

Photo

Here’s a list of my 5 favorite beer destinations in Lehigh Valley. Of course, your tastebuds and mine will undoubtedly differ, but maybe this list will help point your thirst in the right direction one evening.

Fegley’s Brew Works (Allentown & Bethlehem) – Two of my favorite places to be in Lehigh Valley, period. I love the atmosphere and ambiance that both Brew Works buildings have (I haven’t been to Brew Works on the Green yet). There’s an appreciation for the architecture here, but most importantly the beer. The bartenders are enthusiastic and willing to offer advice and tastes to make sure you’re satisfied.

Ellen

I’ve been invited to a “girls night out” this Friday night here in Lehigh Valley. It’s almost like a mini bar crawl if you will. We’ll be starting at Starfish, making our way to Apollo then finishing at Steelgaarden at Bethlehem Brew Works. Now if you’ve read any of my previous blog posts you’ll know that I enjoy Starfish and have spent my fair share of time at Brew Works, seeing as how the best beer ever is Steelgaarden Wit. However, I’ve never been to Apollo. I’m looking forward to going and will have to give a full report of my experience at Apollo down the road.

I suppose you could say that my weekend is packed in like pickles. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was pumped for it. With a ‘girl’s night out’ on Friday, a birthday bash dance party Saturday night, then birthday dinner Sunday night or Monday. I’ll have to behave myself Friday night because I need to have energy reserved for *said in a singing tone similar to what Oprah does* DANNNNCCCCINNNNNGGGG Saturday night.

Allentown St. Patty's diaper guy

I can’t say that I’ve ever been a big parade person, however, the events I’m about to recount for you will lead you to believe otherwise. I can confidently say that I’m a huge fan of St. Patrick’s Day (being Irish and all), so of course I’ll agree to any and all St. Patty’s Day festivities.

This all started with an invitation to Bethlehem’s Parade of the Shamrocks. The parade started at 2:30, and just to be sure we arrived in time and found parking my friend Jen and I met at Bethlehem BrewWorks for lunch at 11:30. At first BrewWorks was near-empty, but within an hour that place was jamming with green and kilts. After having a wit (best BrewWorks beer ever according to me) or two we headed across the street to meet our friends near the corner of Walnut & Main Streets.