In the Parks; music and festivals

With Memorial Day comes parades, community festivals, and the start of music in the parks, including at our own Green Lane Park.

Harleysville Country Fair Days began Wednesday night at the Harleysville Community Center, 435 Park Drive, Harleysville, PA and continues through Saturday night, May 28, 2016. Friday features live music by the Whiskeyhickon Boys, beginning at 6 p.m. when the gates to the Fair open, followed by Taylor Downes at 8 p.m. Weather permitting, fireworks will start appearing in the sky at 9:30 p.m. Saturday’s Fair events kick off with a parade at 11 a.m., starting at the Indian Valley Middle School and going down Main Street, Harleysville. The Fair itself will be open from noon to four, and 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. on Saturday. Bands taking the stage on Saturday are Pennise Family Band from noon to 2 p.m., Dr. Ben’s Backbone Blues Band from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m., Danielle & Jennifer 6 – 8 p.m. and Sandy & the Sneaky Petes from 8 p.m. – 10 p.m.

Allentown’s Mayfair Festival of the Arts runs from May 27 – 30, 2016 and showcases a wide range of music; blues, folk, rock, country, bluegrass, jazz, celtic, and the Slombovian Circus of Dreams, on multiple stages  from 4 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. on Friday, noon to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and noon to 6 p.m on Monday. While there, don’t miss the food and crafts booths, Mayfair’s Artist market and juried artist exhibit, and, new this year, the Sculpture Garden “combining landscape art with metal sculptures by Liberian-born Eugene Perry. Many of his pieces are colorful and move with the wind to complement foliage and flowers,”  along with some local sculptors’ work.  You can also find experimental art from the Allentown Arts Collective, poetry readings, demonstrations, and more. A dedicated KidSpace has a place for children to make their own art on site and a stage featuring performances geared just for them, as wellas the Middle-earth Interactive Theatre for Children. For the last few years, Mayfair Festival has been held at the Allentown Fairgrounds, 17th and Liberty Streets (yes, the place across from Allentown Hospital and near  19th Street Civic Theater), inside and outside. Read more about what’s happening courtesy of the Morning Call in Allentown’s Mayfair in the Groove.

Green Lane Park starts its summer schedule of free performances at the amphitheater this Saturday, May 28th, 2016, with Galena Brass Band, beginning at 7 p.m. The Green Lane Park Amphitheater is located on Green Lane Road in Green Lane, PA. From Route 29 take Park Road and stay left onto Green Lane Road to the park entrance.

Bring the family and enjoy an evening of music in the park! Act to be announced. Please bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on.
All ages; free.

Galena Brass is joining Make Music Upper Perk on June 21st for the first time, playing at the Porch at Pennsburg UCC at 3:30 and then at the Carriage House Restaurant for the dinner hour.

Lansdale begins their Tuesday evening Summer Music Concert Series at White’s Road Park (400 White’s Road, Lansdale, PA) this week on May 31st, 2016 at 7 p.m with the North Penn High School Jazz Ensembles.

On behalf of the Lansdale Borough Council and our mayor we cordially invite the first time as well as the seasoned concert goer to the natural amphitheater in White’s Road Park for our free annual concert series program.

The Tuesday evening program features a wide variety of music genres to satisfy the taste of our diverse listening audience. You will hear everything from classical to country performed by the finest bands in the Tri-State area. So bring along a blanket or lawn chair and join us in our annual celebration of live music.

Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks (101 Founders Way, Bethlehem – South Bethlehem) will once again be hosting 50 free concerts outside in front of the former Bethlehem Steel (which makes for an amazing backdrop for the stage), beginning this weekend, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and continuing every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening through September 10, 2016. Most concerts, including those this weekend, begin at 7:30 p.m. – but it doesn’t hurt to check the time, or to get their early to find a place to sit, on the concrete risers or bring your own chair. This weekend’s performers are Crystal Bowersox on Friday, Blind Boys of Alabama on Saturday, Jukebox the Ghost on Sunday, and the Lost Bayou Ramblers on Monday evening.

And don’t forget to mark your calendar for next Saturday, June 4th, when the New Goshenhoppen Park (3rd Street, East Greenville, PA) once more plays host to the annual Strawberry Festival during the day, and the Red Hill Band from 5 p.m – 7 p.m. in the evening.

Festivals This Weekend

Maybe it is foolish to hope that this sunny warm weather will last through the weekend, but that doesn’t meant we shouldn’t try to enjoy the day, and days ahead, rain or shine. I know of at least four different festivals happening in our area; all of which will have some live music, most of which will have amazing food, and some of which will be held indoors.

The St. Nicholas Greek Food Festival started Thursday night and continues today and Saturday from 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. I happened to drive by the event last year, and then spent 10 minutes looking for parking so that I could check it out; well worth the time spent and the short walk from my parking spot to the church in order to enjoy fabulous homemade food (available to eat there or take home – I did both!). Food includes gyros, moussaka, pastitsio, souvlaki and baklava, along with other classic traditional dishes and pastries. There is also Greek dancing, music, and activities for the kids. Seating and food can be found in the social hall as well as outside under tents, along with with some crafts. Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church, 1607 West Union Boulevard, Bethlehem, PA.

Alas, I have never made it to the Foods of India Festival in Lehigh Valley. It used to be held in Whitehall (above Allentown, by the Lehigh Valley Mall), but has moved to Charles Chrin Community Center of Palmer Township, 4100 Green Pond Rd, Easton, PA. This year the event is scheduled for Saturday, May 21, 2016, from 11:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Admission is $1. Meals on Wheels will receive some of the proceeds. There will be dancing, music, and kids activities, in addition to wonderful vegetarian and non-vegetarian food from restaurants and locals.

Foods of India is an annual food festival organized by IAALV to give an opportunity to the people of Lehigh Valley to try delicious Indian cuisine originated from different parts of India.

Besides delicious food there will be non food vendors with jewelry, clothing, face painting, henna, etc to add colors to the event.

Quakertown Arts Alive, originally scheduled for tomorrow, has been moved to Sunday, May 22nd (due to rain showers predicted to fall during Saturday). The event will be held from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. This is the 16th year for the juried fine arts and crafts show and festival, held in downtown Quakertown.

A wide variety of artisans will be showcased at this year’s event: handcrafted jewelry, pottery, and decorative home items as well as fine art are available. Arts Alive! offers fun for the whole family. Kids can enjoy the moon bounce, making and racing vegetable cars, and other fun activities. Visitors can take a break from action to enjoy all-day musical entertainment on two stages. Book lovers will be able to purchase books and have them signed by the authors at Authors Corner.

For guests over 21 years old, The Vineyard, the wine-tasting area on East Broad Street, is a favorite place to visit. Several local wineries will have their wares available for sampling.

McCoole’s at the Red Lion Inn is providing its shuttle bus to present tours of Quakertown’s historic areas throughout the day. Riders will board the bus at the Quakertown train station on Front Street and tours begin every hour between noon and 3pm.

Rain or shine, Boyertown plans on holding their Block Party at the Colebrookdale Railroad Railyard, East 3rd Street, Boyertown, PA,  on Saturday, May 21, 2016, beginning at 3 p.m., as the kickoff to their yearlong Sesquicentennial (150) Year Celebration. A parade is also scheduled for Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m. (according to the website, the parade may be postponed for up to an hour, or cancelled, depending on the weather tomorrow).

 The Block Party to be held at the Colebrookdale Railroad Rail yard. Featuring music, entertainment, food vendors, sesquicentennial activities, beer and wine tent, farmers market and much more!

Schedule of Events:

• 3:00pm – KICK OFF! Beer Garden Open
• 5:00pm – MUSIC – Gavin McNally
• 5:30pm – CORONATION – King & Queen
• 6:00pm – CAKE REVEAL – First Cut
• 6:30pm – MUSIC – Cranked
• 9:00pm – FESTIVITIES END

A unique take on classical music with Illumine in Pottstown tonight

Featuring compositions by J.S. Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Schoenberg, and Spohr, Illumine, a Philadelphia-based trio, is performing at Shenkel United Church of Christ in North Coventry Township, tonight, Friday, May 20, 2016. The free concert, open to the public, begins at 7 p.m. Shenkel UCC, 1580 Shenkel Road, Pottstown, PA.

This dynamic group of talented musicians includes David Matthew Brown, Kaitlyn Waterson, and Jodie Levine Brown.

An active and ardent performer of both ‘classical’ music and traditional style Celtic music, violinist-composer David Matthew Brown merges passion with ingenuity. Lyric mezzo-soprano Kaitlyn Michelle Waterson performs art song, opera, and musical theater alike with stunning clarity and charisma. Esteemed for her Mozartian ear and improvisatory prowess, pianist Jodie Levine Brown has amazed audiences since her first public recital at the age of four.

The concert is the first of a four-part series entitled Elemental/National, featuring the music of four, iconic European countries. Italy, France, Germany, and Spain will be metaphorically paired respectively with the four Classical elements: Air, Water, Earth, and Fire.

Donations cheerfully accepted.

 

Make Music Upper Perk – May News!

With only a little over a month left before this year’s Make Music Upper Perk – Tuesday, June 21, 2016 – preparation and  planning (and practicing, of instruments and new music) are in high gear!

Anyone and everyone interested in volunteering, either in the weeks leading up to the event or during the day and/or evening of June 21st, is welcome and invited to come to this Saturday morning’s meeting at Java Good Day Cafe, 350 Main Street, East Greenville, PA – 10 a.m. on May 21, 2016. The first cup of coffee or tea is on us! We will have posters, programs, and yard signs to hand out to volunteers to help spread the word about what is happening all over the Valley on June 21st; at 10 venues and 4 restaurants from 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. We also have a wide range of volunteer positions that need to be filled, ranging from roadies to site hosts to videographers to social media folks to campfire singers…

Thanks to Jyss Grohowski and Gary Phillips, we have a wonderfully designed colorful schedule and map, which has been printed and can be found at various places in the community, including the Upper Perkiomen Library in Red Hill, the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center in Pennsburg, The Senior Center in East Greenville, and the Community Thrift Shop in Pennsburg. Copies of the program (schedule and map) will be distributed to additional places over the next few weeks. The program can also be viewed online.

We also want to thank our financial donors who make it possible for us to print programs, flyers, and yard signs, among other basics needed to make this yearly celebration of music in our community happen, and build an audience for all the talented musicians who will be taking part in the event. You can find a complete listing of this year’s donors and performers online.

Something different…

This weekend and throughout the month, several slightly offbeat theatre productions are playing in the area, along with a few other new interesting events not too far from here.

Stephen Sondheim’s musical Assassins is being performed this month at the Civic Theatre, 19th Street, Allentown, PA

This groundbreaking American musical will kick off Civic’s summer with a bang! Bold, original, surreal, thought-provoking, and alarmingly funny, this five-time Tony Award-winner investigates the personalities behind nine Presidential assassins and reveals uneasy truths about the American Dream. Hugely resonant in today’s celebrity-obsessed culture, Assassins is brought to life by its desperate, disillusioned, passionate characters. It is Stephen Sondheim’s ode to the underbelly of American history.

Age Recommendation: 14+ for mature language and themes, including violence.

Tickets may be bought online, over the phone, or at the box office (either in advance or at the door the night of the show; box office opens 2 hours before curtain). The show runs until Tuesdays through Saturdays, now to May 22, 2016.

Another dark Stephen Sondheim musical, Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, takes the stage in Quakertown at McCoole’s Arts and Events Place (next door to McCoole’s Red Lion Inn), 19 Main Street, Quakertown, PA. Tickets may be bought online, May 13, 15, 20, 21, 2016.

This is the closing weekend for the hit musical Rent at the barn at Playcrafters of Skippack, 2011 Store Road, Skippack, PA.

It is more than worth the time and backroads drive to see the incredible mix of natural and carved stones in Steven Snyder’s sculpture garden. The large outdoor display contains items ranging from very small “whimsical hens on wheels and flowers” to bird baths to benches, fountains, and more.

Steven Snyder opens his studio and sculpture garden to the public May 14, 15 and May 21, 22, 2016, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. His recent works in stone will be displayed on the beautiful grounds of Cedar Maze.

My final recommendation for something off the beaten path – well, in downtown Philadephia, actually – is the Chinese Lantern Festival, open now through June 12, 2016 in Franklin Square at 6th and Race Street, Sunday – Thursdays from 6 p.m .- 10 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 6 p.m .- 11 p.m. Ticket prices are $17 for adults, $12 for youth 17 and under (2 and under is free). Check some of the amazing photos. In addition to seeing the fantastical light sculptures of dragons, flowers, and more, there will be many performances each night, ranging from plate spinning to acrobotics to Traditional Chinese Dance, as well as exhibits, cultural activities, and delicious food and drink including burgers, “cheesesteak egg rolls,” “Chicken Satay, Beef Bao, Soba Noodle Salad, Thai Tea with Boba,” fries, “fortune cookie milk shake,” and a Dragon Beer Garden featuring culturally-inspired snacks and non-alcoholic drinks by Cooperage 7 days a week overlooking the 200-foot Chinese Dragon lantern. Thursdays – Saturdays: beer, wine, and cocktails available. Specialty “mocktails” served for the duration of the Festival will become cocktails Thursdays – Saturdays with an addition of a variety of spirits. Snacks served in the Dragon Beer Garden include: chilled Chinese vegetable noodles with teriyaki mojo, green tea-infused deviled eggs with wasabi and ginger, and white truffle buttermilk ranch potato chips. Beer and wine options are Tsing Tao, Tiger Beer, Crabby’s Ginger Beer, Sapporo, Yuengling, Heineken and a rotating tap of local craft beers served on the Cooperage Beer Bike (subject to change), and Underwood Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. Cocktails and mocktails include Thai Basil Limeade, Lychee & Coconut Water, and Moscow Mule served with a choice of vodka, gin, rum, whiskey, and cognac (Thursdays – Saturdays) or mango, strawberry, or pineapple syrup (nightly).

Valley Choral Arts and Red Hill Band Spring Concerts

Valley Choral Arts will give two concerts this weekend; “spirituals and music of the African-American experience” featuring original music and arrangements by Harry Bruleigh and Moses Hogan in their 2016 spring concert series. Saturday evening, May 14, 2016, you can hear them at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 3104 Main Street, Sumneytown, PA, beginning at 7 p.m. The following afternoon, Sunday, May 15th, the singing begins at 4 p.m. at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 150 N. Hanover Street, Pottstown, PA. Tickets may be bought at the door.

The first Red Hill Band Concert of 2016 takes place a week from Sunday, on the afternoon of May 22nd, in the Upper Perkiomen High School auditorium, 2 Walt Road, Pennsburg PA. Free and open to the public, the music begins at 2 p.m. Their first outdoor concert of the season is scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday, June 4th, 2016 at the New Goshenhoppen Park bandstand (3rd Street, East Greenville, PA) as part of the annual Strawberry Festival. A few weeks later, the Red Hill Band will be playing from 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. on the lawn at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church (81 Main Street, Pennsburg, PA) as part of Make Music Upper Perk on Tuesday, June 21st, 2016. The Valley Choral Arts Society will also be singing at Make Music Upper Perk this year, from 6:30 p.m. – 7 p.m., also at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church – so bring your lawn chairs or a blanket (and maybe even a picnic dinner) and an enjoy an evening of free live music under the setting sun.

Is gardening an art?

After attending the Philadelphia Flower Show, and surveying some local gardens (and trying my hand at an herb garden and planting a very few flowers in front of the house), I have concluded that yes, gardening is indeed an art. Which accounts for this post alerting people to the free event with Mike McGrath of public radio’s You Bet Your Garden.

Beginning at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 11, 2016, at Allentown Public Library, 1210 W. Hamilton Street, “Swing into Spring with Mike McGrath” who will be talking about “how to grow tasty tomatoes and other vegetables” and answering questions from the audience. No tickets are required and admission is free.

An hour of “chemical-free horticultural hijinks,” You Bet Your Garden is a weekly, nationally syndicated Public Radio show airing out of WHYY-FM in Philadelphia that offers fiercely organic advice to gardeners far and wide. Host Mike McGrath offers tips on fending off garden and household pests without the use of toxic chemicals, caring for lawns and landscapes without losing your mind, and growing without groaning in tough conditions like extreme heat, unending rain and lousy soil.

Host Mike McGrath was Editor-in-Chief of Organic Gardening magazine from 1991 through 1997 and is the author of many books, including The Kitchen Garden Box (Quirk Publishing; 2009); Mike McGrath’s Book of Compost (Sterling Publishers; 2006); Kitchen Garden A to Z (Abrams; 2004) and You Bet Your Tomatoes(Rodale; 2002, and reissued in a brand new edition by Plain White Press in 2009).

– See more

May Arts Week in Upper Perk

The second week in May is a great time to check out the wonderful art and music of the students in the Upper Perkiomen School District. Bands and choirs from Hereford and Marlborough Elementary Schools, the Upper Perk Middle School, and the Upper Perk High School will take the stage in the auditorium at Upper Perkiomen High School (UPHS, 2 Walt Road, Pennsburg, PA) while art by students from all four schools will be on display in the auditorium lobby and in the gymnasium (which will look like an art gallery, with art ranging from collage to paintings to sculpture to mixed media and beyond).

The May Arts Festival begins on Tuesday, May 10th, 2016 with a performance by the UPHS Jazz Band at 6:30 p.m., followed at 7 p.m. by the  Elementary Schools Band and the  Middle School Band.

The Arts Displays in the gym area open to the public on Wednesday, May 11, 2016 at 6 p.m. The UPHS Jazz Band will be performing in the gym at 6:30 p.m. this night. The Art Displays will be open on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evening.

At 7 p.m. on Wednesday, the Elementary Schools Choir and the Middle School Choir will take the stage in the UPHS auditorium.

The Elementary Schools and Middle School Orchestra plays on Thursday, May 12, 2016, while the Upper Perkiomen High School Band and Orchestra play on Friday, May 13, 2016 – both concerts begin at 7 p.m.  There will be a high school vocal and instrumental recital beginning at 6 p.m .on Friday, May 13th in the auditorium, before the band and orchestra begin their concert.

And don’t forget to mark Saturday, June 4th on your calendar, if you ‘d like to catch the award winning Upper Perkiomen Choirs in their final concert of the school year, beginning at 7 p.m. in the UPHS auditorium. The high school choirs (“A” Choir, Uptones, Women’s Choir,  StepUP Show Choir) won the Grand Champion Award at the Nashville Music Festival in April. The award is for the highest combined score of all choirs in all 4 divisions, plus the highest singular score at the competition including all ensembles; “A” Choir had the highest score.

The UPHS Marching Band and String Orchestra also attended and competed in the Nashville Music Festival. Here are the rest of the results:

• Marching Parade Band, Division I – First Place
• String Orchestra Division – Silver Medal
• Concert Choir Division II – “A” Choir – First Place
• Chamber Choir Division II – Uptones – First Place
• Treble Choir Division II – Women’s Choir – First Place

More May Music; Gospel, Choral, and “Gypsy Jazz”

Continue to fill your May calendar with concert dates, thanks to local churches and a nearby Bed and Breakfast establishment.

The Gospel Choir from Wittenberg, Germany is currently on tour in the United States, with concert stops as close as Harleysville and Perkasie. They will be singing in Allentown on Friday, May 6th at 7 p.m. at Christ Lutheran Church, 125 Hamilton Street. The group then moves to Harleysville to give an evening concert on Saturday night, May 7th, 2016, at Salford Mennonite Church, 480 Groff’s Mill Road at 7 p.m. The Gospel Choir will participate and sing at two worship services (8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.) at the Advent Lutheran Church, 479 Landis Road, Harleysville on Sunday morning, MAy 8, 2016. On Monday evening, May 9, 2016, the Gospel Choir will be in Perkasie at St. Andrews Lutheran Church, 20 Dill Avenue for a 7 p.m. concert. Their local concert series concludes on Wednesday evening, May 11, 2106, with a 7 p.m. concert at Christ Lutheran Church, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, Oreland, PA.

The Gospel Choir, under the direction of Thomas Herzer, is over forty-five members strong.  It includes not only members from the Castle Church, but also several singers from the Wittenberg community.  It was founded as an outreach program for people who have a desire to sing the great American Spirituals and Gospel music.  Though the choir sings the music in English, only a small handful of the musicians actually speak English.

The Castle Church in Wittenberg Germany was built around the turn of the 16^th century.  It is the site where in 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 Thesis; an act which many consider the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

Tickets are not required, and a free-will offering will be taken at the concerts.

The Valley Choral Society presents “spirituals and music of the African-American experience” featuring original music and arrangements by Harry Bruleigh and Moses Hogan in their 2016 spring concert series. Tickets may be bought online for the evening concert to be held on  Saturday, May 14, 2016 at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 3104 Main Street, Sumneytown, PA at 7 p.m., and for the 4 p.m. concert scheduled for Sunday, May 15, 2016 at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 150 N. Hanover Street, Pottstown, PA.

“Gypsy jazz with some New Orleans thrown in” describes the Hot Club of Reading, who will be putting on a show as part of the Landhaven House Concert series on Saturday evening, May 7, 2016. Tickets may be purchased online. The following Saturday, May 14th, the Berks County band the Rhythm Road takes the stage – Landhaven’s website advises that “Last year they sold out, so don’t miss getting your tickets online.” Doors open at 7:15 p.m., with an 8 p.m. start time planned for each show. The establishment is BYOB; Cuisine in a Box meals may be ordered up until noon the Friday before the concert. 610.845.3257.

May Music kicks off with Jazzfest

There are many wonderful musical events happening in our area this month, starting today. Let’s start with Allentown’s Jazzfest.

Jazzfest in Allentown, which I mentioned in yesterday’s post, is offering a week’s worth of free and ticketed concerts at multiple venues. Today, Sunday, May 1st at 3 p.m., the Allentown Band plays an all jazz program at Zion UCC “Liberty Bell” Church, 620 W. Hamilton Street, Allentown (tickets are $10).

Wednesday, May 4th, the Fusion Jazz Trio performs outside at the Bell Hall Stage, 612 W. Hamilton Street. This free concert begins at 5:30 p.m. The Dieruff High School Jazz Band is also giving a free concert at The Dime, 12 N 7th Street, Allentown, on Thursday, May 5th from 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. Billy’s Downtown Diner hosts the soprano sax player and composer Patrick McGee along with his Quartet on Friday night, May 6th from 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. (free). Saturday afternoon, May 7th, 2016, from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. at the Bell Hall Stage, the B.D. Lenz Trio offers an “eclectic mix of jazz standards, original music, and pop classics” (free).

Jazz comes to West Park, 1550 W. Turner Street (weather permitting) with Noches de Ritmo from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. (free). Noches de Ritmo features local groups playing music from merengue to salsa to bolero, featuring Hector Rosado and Orq Hach (5 – 6:30 p.m.) and The Jeff “Taom” Watts Quartet ( 7 – 8:30 p.m.)

Jazzfest ends on Sunday, May 8th, with three concerts, beginning with Chris Cummings Trio at 11 a.m. at The Dime, 12 N 7th Street, followed by The Eric Mintel Quartet, 3 p.m. at the Samuels Theater, 100 College Drive (Cedar Crest College), and at 5 p.m. at Billy’s Downtown Diner, 840 W. Hamilton Street , the Bryan Tuk Complex closes out the night and the week.

There are a few more concerts interspersed throughout the week in Allentown as part of Jazzfest that I ran out of time to mention.