Lehigh Valley InSite

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A beautiful and wonderful young lady named Sasha Marie Long invited me to the 14th Annual Lehigh Valley Christmas Concert at Allentown Symphony Hall last Sunday. I’m so glad she did – without her invitation I may have missed this wonderful Lehigh Valley concert.

I love listening to Sasha play the violin in the Allentown School District Youth Orchestra and I try never to miss her performances. On Sunday, Sasha and her fellow musicians in the ASDYO were the first performers of the evening. I’m sure they were nervous, but you never would have known; they played beautifully and really set the tone for the evening.

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I sometimes pick up a thing or two throughout the year for Christmas gifts, but I usually don’t have a specific recipient in mind. Those are items I really just bought because I couldn’t resist.

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Lehigh Valley is known for many holiday attractions including Christkindlmarkt, Lights in the Parkway and Pip the Mouse. Last year my wife and I decided to add another attraction to our list of favorites: Koziar’s Christmas Village in Bernville.

Since my wife had never been to Koziar’s, I was excited to introduce her to this unique holiday attraction. As we were turned right onto Christmas Village Road, the actual name of the road that Koziar’s is located, her eyes lit up at the sight of all the lights.

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Last week a coworker and I decided that we would check out a matinee performance at The Pines Dinner Theatre in Allentown. For those of you who are not familiar with the Pines, it was formerly Blatt’s Dinner Theatre and is currently the only dinner theatre located in Lehigh Valley.

The doors opened at noon and the meal service started a half hour later. The lunch began with a garden salad and rolls, followed by our choice of three delicious-sounding entrees. I chose the turkey breast while Kate selected the sliced ham with an orange Dijon glaze. Both of our meals were served with sweet corn and potato filling. I can honestly say that the turkey was delicious and I didn’t leave anything on my plate. However the best part of the meal was still to come.

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I recently attended two of the four events that made up the Lehigh Valley ZooBASH. The first event was the Zoo Gala at Allentown’s Symphony Hall.

I was greeted by a few special guests as soon as I walked through the doors: an owl, a very large boa constrictor and some sort of a large lizard.

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Last Saturday was “Ladies and Gents Day Out” in Lehigh Valley. Now, as I tell you about our day out, keep in mind I already set everything up and it ran smoothly, so feel free to use this as an itinerary for you and your friends.

Around 4 p.m. on Saturday, 15 or so of us met at Mazezilla in Saylorsburg. I had allotted 2 – 3 hours there because they have so much to do: corn maze, pumpkin sling shot, pumpkin patch and hayride.

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Last Saturday, my boyfriend and I visited Easton Haunts. From the creators of Tatamy Haunted Mill, Easton Haunts includes the 13th Street Fear Factory and the 3D Fun House. In a word: SCARY!

The scariness began the minute we pulled off of 13th Street in Easton and proceeded down the driveway to where the historic Simon Silk Mill is located. The driveway was dark and seemed to go to nowhere, until you came upon the abandoned mill.

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I’d completely forgotten how liberating and refreshing it can actually be to get away, ever so briefly, from a busy schedule, a deadline or project. Too many times we live our daily lives going from one completed activity or issue to another without really appreciating how valuable our time is.

The other day my fiancé and I went to the Rose Garden in Allentown. The rose garden is a beautiful place, perfect for “getting away.” I’ve seen it a thousand times, usually as I hurriedly drove by on my way to some urgent matter. We were there on this day to take some pictures. Her sister-in-law Stacey had just purchased a new camera and wanted to work out the kinks. My fiancé and I are always saying that we don’t have enough pictures of us together so we were eager participants.

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On a distant hill is a mountain resort called Paul Revere Tavern, which stood near Boston, Mass. and was destroyed by fire in 1849. A little while later you enter Sleepy Hollow, an American village from the 1800s. You might also run into Aunt Matilda, the town mid-wife, who was highly regarded in a village which had no doctor (she was also the first American nurse). Or, you may opt to watch the village blacksmith at work.

You will find all of these displays as you tour Roadside America in Shartlesville, Pa., located right off I-78 between Allentown and Harrisburg, about 20 minutes from Lehigh Valley. I hadn’t been to Roadside America since I was in elementary school and each time I passed it I always told myself that I’d stop next time. Well, a couple of weeks ago I finally had the opportunity and I’m glad I made the stop. It was like going back in time for me. There were plenty of things that haven’t changed a bit.

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For the past three years I have volunteered to help out at “Teddy’s Birthday Party” at Roosevelt Elementary School in Allentown. Despite how it sounds, this was not a birthday party for our 26th president Theodore Roosevelt (his birthday isn’t until October 27). The birthday we were celebrating at Teddy’s Birthday Party last Thursday was the 100th birthday of Roosevelt Elementary School.

My wife, Casey, is the head honcho for this event. And even if I wasn’t her husband, I would still say she did a wonderful job. There were tons of games and activities for the kids to participate in. Face painting seemed to be a popular station for the kids.I didn’t get to walk around and see them all since I was put to work as soon as I arrived. I was stationed at the bean bag game that is pictured above. Not sure what the object of the game was, but the kids really enjoyed throwing bean bags at the target as hard as they possibly could.