Labor Day Weekend!

House of Hamill is giving a free show (!!) at a new brewery – Blueprint Brewing Company just down the road in Harleysville, PA (1571 Gehman Road), on Friday night, August 31, 2018, from 7 p.m. – 10 p.m.  Rose Baldino (fiddle/vocals) of Burning Bridget Cleary and Brian Buchanan (guitar/fiddle/vocals) of Enter the Haggis make up the eclectic folk/roots/Celtic group. Wondering about their music and want a sneak preview? Listen to their new album online for free, buy it digitally or get a CD shipped quick!  Blueprint Brewing Company makes “gluten free and gluten full beer.”

Saturday, September 1st might be a good afternoon to head over to New Goshenhoppen Park (3rd Street, East Greenville, PA) for one last picnic, and a chance to hear Piano in the Park presented by students from Susan Royer’s Grace Notes Piano Studio from 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. Take a break to eat at 4 (food will be on sale from 4 – 8 p.m.) and then settle in for the Allentown Band Concert, which starts at 5:15 p.m. and continues until 8 p.m. The musicians will be on the bandshell stage; there is bench seating under cover. Parking and concerts are free and open to the public.

If you feel like taking a slightly longer drive this weekend, don’t forget about the 166th annual Allentown Fair (Allentown Fairgrounds, 17th and Chew Streets, Allentown, PA), now through Labor Day; showcasing goats, chickens, sheep, cows and more, the biggest tomatoes and pumpkins, blue ribbon photographs , cakes, and Lego constructions, midway food and rides, free entertainment at multiple stages (in addition to the ticketed grandstand shows). Other festivals worth a drive include the Pocono Garlic and Harvest Festival featuring 35 garlic food vendors and musicians, magicians, and jugglers, on Saturday and Sunday – the first two days of September – at Shawnee Mountain Ski area and the Polish-American Family Festival and Country Fair  on the grounds of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa (654 Ferry Road, Doylestown, PA), featuring polka musicians and dance groups and Polish and American food, and crafts, this weekend, Saturday through Monday, and next weekend, September 8 – 9, 2018.

 

 

 

No matter the weather, outside and inside events for the last weeks of August abound.

The Philadelphia Folk Festival takes place this weekend, August 16-19, 2018, outdoors, by the Perkiomen Trail in Schwenksville on the Old Poole Farm. Day and weekend passes are available online and at the gate.

The annual Peach and Ice Cream Festival at Pennsburg UCC (775 Main Street, Pennsburg, PA) is this Saturday, August 18, 2018. In addition to homemade bbq, soup, desserts, and, of course, peaches and ice cream, there will be live music from 3:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. on the church lawn. In case of rain, the event will be held on Sunday, August 19, 2018. Patrick McGovern, who many of you may have heard at Make Music Upper Perk, among other venues, will be playing from 3:30 – 4:30, followed by the Red Hill Band, scheduled to play from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.

If you prefer to be inside, out of the heat and potential rain storms, head over to some local art museums (Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center, Michener Art Museum, or Allentown Art Museum, for example) or buy a ticket to a show at a local theater!

The family friendly Broadway Disney musical Newsies takes the stage in Pottstown at the Steel River Playhouse (245 E. High Street) tonight, and runs through August 26, 2018.

Next weekend the Disney musical Beauty and the Beast, Jr will be staged at the McCoole’s Art Event Place (10 Main Street) in Quakertown, PA. Performances are August 24-26, 2018.

Phil Stahl opens for the Little River Band at the Quakertown Amphitheater (501 W. Mill Street) on Thursday, August 23, 2018. This is a ticketed event.

The free concert summer series continues at the Church of the Holy Spirit on Friday, August 24, 2018 with Break from Blue Collar.  The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. The Church of the Holy Spirit is in Harleysville (corner of Sumneytown Pike and Barndt Road).

Break from Blue Collar is making a distinct mark in the world of barbershop and acappella music, mixing fresh interpretations of barbershop classics with the exciting sounds of rock & roll. The result is an entertainment experience that can’t be beat.