Celebrating Bethlehem's Southside Culture
I sat down with Rachel Rosenfeld – Community Outreach Coordinator for the Pennsylvania Chapter of the Sierra Club in order to discuss environmental concerns on the South Side of Bethlehem and in the larger Lehigh Valley. Rachel works in the Lehigh Valley to establish a grassroots network of advocates focused on the importance of protecting…
The PennEast Pipeline was officially born in January 2018 when it was approved for construction on a federal level, but it has been in discussion since 2014. For years, communities’ concerns about the pipeline have created several roadblocks for approval and construction. It’s easy to form an opinion as soon as one hears the word…
On the first Friday of every month, Bethlehem’s Third and Fourth Streets radiate with life. The diverse array of shops, art galleries, restaurants, salons and boutiques turn into a city-wide celebration of the arts, culture, and music that residents can find in the South Side Arts District. In September, the SouthSide Arts District hosted its…
I was astounded by the turnout of Aardvark Sports Shop’s evening group run. Growing up, I worked at a similar shoe store. Even with the incentive of free beer, usually only around ten athletes showed up to our runs. By contrast, the run that I attended at Aardvark had around 40 participants! The large attendance…
Lehigh Valley SoccerFest & Viewing Party (SoccerFest) at SteelStacks has drawn thousands of visitors in the five short years since its creation. Featured as part of Fox Sports’ nightly World Cup wrap-ups, this year’s festival offered screenings of the U.S. women’s matches on giant, outdoor LED screens at SteelStacks. Each viewing party had live music,…
The South Side Permaculture project explores the role that gardens have in bringing the community together. Andrew Goldman, a Lehigh University senior, started the project after receiving a grant from the Green Fund. Goldman’s experience working in an environmental chemistry lab at NJIT the summer before his senior year of high school provided him the…
Over the past year, citizens of Bethlehem have learned about the surprising and exciting ways that artists can inspire civic engagement. Inspired by community interest in uniting walking paths on the North and South Side, Doug Roysdon of Mock Turtle Marionette Theatre led us in the process of imagining a pedestrian bridge for our city….