Lehigh Valley InSite

Blog Photo - Easton

Last week was a very exciting week in Lehigh Valley.  It was opening day for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs and a birthday celebration for the America on Wheels Museum in Allentown.  In addition to those events occurring, there was also a very special event taking place in Easton.  The Longaberger Basket Festival was taking place at The Crayola FACTORY®.

Since this was a unique event I decided to spend Thursday in Easton talking to the visitors of the Basket Festival.  I spent the first 2 hours in The Crayola FACTORY® answering questions about the festival and encouraging guests to explore Easton on their way out.  After spending this much time talking about Easton, I decided it was my turn to take a walk.

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I am a crazy holiday tradition person. We always go to Turkey Bowling at Parkway Lanes in Allentown on Thanksgiving night, a tradition of our daughter-in-laws family and a great way to burn off all those calories!

Also, my niece, her husband and my great niece Beth, always stay at my house for Thanksgiving, hence we have a new holiday tradition of attending some event in or close to Lehigh Valley to get us in the Christmas spirit.

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One of Lehigh Valley’s biggest assets isn’t just one place or thing, but a collection of places and things…our local arts scene. Last night I had the pleasure of attending Arts Count, a rally in support of the arts hosted by the Lehigh Valley Arts Council at The Crayola FACTORY in Easton.

To say I was probably the least-creative person in the room would be an understatement. The room was packed with enthusiastic, like-minded people from all disciplines of the art world. Speakers included Mike Perry (CEO of Crayola), Chris Martin IV (CEO of Martin Guitar) and Linny Fowler, to name a few.

Crayola store james benetzky

Whenever I’m in Easton, I have to visit The Crayola Store at Two River’s Landing, Lehigh Valley’s most colorful retail outlet. Just walking through the doors puts a smile on my face!

I love to watch families marveling at the world’s largest crayon then searching for that perfect souvenir to bring home after their factory tour. I usually seem to find something I’d like to buy too.

Crayons

Do you ever wish you could go back to the days when you were a kid? You know, not having to deal with all the pressures of adult life? I may date myself here, but there were no computers or cell phones back then. Heck we didn’t even have fax machines let alone PDAs! It was a much simpler lifestyle.

Recently I had the opportunity to step back in time and be that kid again. How’d I do that? It wasn’t any special time warp machine or anything, although wouldn’t that be cool? Really, all I had to do was travel to Easton to visit one of the most colorful places in Lehigh Valley … The Crayola Factory.

Green harvest food emporium

During lunch at Green Harvest Food Emporium in Easton, I realized there was fresh, locally grown lettuce on my ham-and-cheese-on-pretzel bread sandwich! I could taste it. It was multi-colored, tender and sweet.

Green Harvest Food Emporium is in the same building as the Grand Eastonian Suites. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner every day of the week except Sunday. I love the term “Food Emporium” – which means they are a market that sells a variety of food items, even though the cafe is not a big place.

Crayola Store

Whenever I’m in Easton, I have to visit The Crayola Store at Two River’s Landing, Lehigh Valley’s most colorful retail outlet. Just walking through the doors puts a smile on my face!

I love to watch families marveling at the world’s largest crayon then searching for that perfect souvenir to bring home after their factory tour. I usually seem to find something I’d like to buy too.

LVCVB Easton Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of attending the grand opening ceremonies of Lehigh Valley’s newest visitor center. Located in downtown Easton, the center is located on the ground floor of the Two Rivers Landing building; it’s the same building that The Crayola Factory and the National Canal Museum are located in.

On more than one occasion I have found myself in downtown Easton on a weekend attending the Easton Farmer’s Market or doing some shopping, and have run into a family exiting Two Rivers Landing. I must look friendly to strangers, because many of them will stop me to ask for suggestions of places to eat or other things to do in the area. In some instances I’ve actually approached them and offered my services - I’m happy to do it since I think Easton is a great city with a downtown district that continues to improve.

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Kudos to Easton’s National Canal Museum on receiving the 2008 Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award for Visitor Experience at a Small Institution given by the Association of Science-Technology Centers.

The National Canal Museum was recognized for its innovative canal exhibit, which offers visitors a hands-on water-based lesson on how canals work. Easton Mayor Sal Panto described the award as the “Oscar or the Emmy of Tourism.”