It has been one hell of a summer!!! It started with evolving the hubpages blog into A Valley and Beyond. Starting off the season was Mayfair. The first, major event covered. A 4 day test to see if I could really pull this off.
Mayfair highlighted the arts. It re-located from Cedar Beach to the Allentown Fairgrounds. This move proved to be smart. The first two days were cold with rain.
Next major event? July 4th weekend. Starting with a great fireworks show in a small town, Coplay on July 3rd. The 4th started with ringing of the Liberty Bell replica on Hamilton St. Over to Bethlehem for James Supra Blues Band at ArtsQuest. Back to Allentown for the first, annual, street festival and fireworks over Cedar Beach. Saturday? Artsquest / Steelstacks again for my first show at Levitt Pavilion. Craig Thatcher Band / The Sofa Kings packed the outside venue with over 3000 people! Sunday, I wound out the holiday weekend in Easton. Another first time at Easton's Heritage Day and fireworks over the Delaware River. Nature was kind with only a few showers on Sunday. This weekend was a major summer highlight: 3 fireworks shows / 3 different locations / 5 days.
2 weeks later came the next, major highlight: Sportsfest 2013. With few exceptions, sports is a lower priority for A Valley and Beyond. After being introduced to Ray Atiyeh, and finding out more information; I could not resist this one! Starting on Thursday, July 18, this one became my top priority for the weekend. Severe heat on Thursday and backing off a little on Friday / Thunderstorm Saturday evening challenged everyone. Reason I will remember this one? What the organization did for the volunteers. Volunteers not only had water / beverages available; they also had food. A catering service was present and kept everyone's stomach full with a variety throughout the event. Second reason I will remember Sportsfest 2013? Volunteers / athletes / staff pushing the limits and beyond at this free event. They did it for various reasons, but, everyone involved gave it their best and beyond. Sportsfest 2013 was the first time I added live updates and "In the Moment", the blog to A Valley and Beyond.
Next one list: Musikfest 2013 and St. Peter's Church picnic. St. Peter's Church picnic makes the list because of the food, especially pierogies. The feel of being able to take a break from life. The way you could be there, relax and forget about everything for a few hours. If you are familiar with Musikfest, reasons are obvious. If not, here is why...
I did 9 out of 10 days here. Times ranged from 4 to 9 hours. I did not attend any major shows. The local and national acts more than made up for it. Bands including: Idol Kings / Holly Williams / Sara Ayers / Trespass had top of the line shows. Friday, the first night, I realized my original plan was going to be scrapped real quick. No full music reviews for this festival. Between the north and south sides, I did not have a chance to see all the bands on the list. The energy every day combined with music and food was almost off the scale for me! Musikfest 2013, live updates from events became a regular part of A Valley and Beyond.
Coplay Community Days, in August makes the list. No, I am not explaining here. Two lives, the past and present combined on this one. I ran into old and new friends. The feeling of community and everyone coming together to have fun was easily noticeable. I stopped by this one 2 times, Saturday early and Sunday evening. Saturday, I was in a rush to go other places. I did hit the food stands including burgers by Coplay Sports and fries. Sunday is where I really noticed the community feel. Sunday evening, after having everything I needed for the article; I relaxed for a few hours.
Lehigh Valley Airshow at ABE / LVI airport rounds out this list of most memorable moments for summer 2013. The first one in 16 years for the Lehigh Valley. It started on a Saturday, I could not make it until Sunday. Glad I skipped day 1. I heard it was packed with people and lines at food stands topped 2 hours. Sunday, it was crowded but you could easily move around / see and enjoy everything. The food lines? A little over 1 hour. Know this one from experience. While waiting for something to eat, you could easily the entire "air" part of the event. In fact, most people had no problem with the wait because they were engrossed in it. Add another first onto my list. "In the Moment" was an automatic part of A Valley and Beyond by this point.
The Allentown Fair added another aspect to A Valley and Beyond. The live updates on "In the Moment" now include weather reports from the event. I am not talking about looking at a radar or weather forecast. I am talking about looking at the sky and current weather from where I stand at that moment. The second half is funny but useful: Traffic reports. The first day of the fair, it was very busy inside the fairgrounds. I had the idea to do a traffic report while walking around. The first one was just to make people laugh. I realized this could be very useful for people thinking about coming out. Every day, I did at least one. These two are now a part of the live updates.
There were dozens of other events in between these. Art exhibits, live music, benefits to name a few. Part of the reason for this section. What I did not have time to include / write about.
Summer 2013 proved to me I can pull off A Valley and Beyond and make it very successful. From the first edition in May, it has seriously evolved and expanded. Starting with the first 3 editions only available for purchase. It has evolved into this website and continues to grow. The Lehigh Valley, Pa area always has a lot going on. Starting with late spring and ending with Labor Day, the area is crazy with things to do! One thing I learned real quick: it is not possible to make every event on the weekends. The summer 2013 season has only 3 days left (I know, technically a few weeks). Nature's beauty changes to cooler temps and the beauty of Autumn. Weekends in the Lehigh Valley will still be crazy with music, arts, fall / October festivals. With the change of seasons, A Valley and Beyond will continue to change and evolve. I will always do my best to come up with new ideas. The main goal does not change. Give you the best, possible experience while you are spending time in the Lehigh Valley and on this site. Even if you live half-way around the world, I want you to feel like you are here and a part of everything going on.
So you can really feel like you were there with A Valley and Beyond. Here are the articles / photos / video clips. The site navigation for this one is a little long. :)
Mayfair highlighted the arts. It re-located from Cedar Beach to the Allentown Fairgrounds. This move proved to be smart. The first two days were cold with rain.
Next major event? July 4th weekend. Starting with a great fireworks show in a small town, Coplay on July 3rd. The 4th started with ringing of the Liberty Bell replica on Hamilton St. Over to Bethlehem for James Supra Blues Band at ArtsQuest. Back to Allentown for the first, annual, street festival and fireworks over Cedar Beach. Saturday? Artsquest / Steelstacks again for my first show at Levitt Pavilion. Craig Thatcher Band / The Sofa Kings packed the outside venue with over 3000 people! Sunday, I wound out the holiday weekend in Easton. Another first time at Easton's Heritage Day and fireworks over the Delaware River. Nature was kind with only a few showers on Sunday. This weekend was a major summer highlight: 3 fireworks shows / 3 different locations / 5 days.
2 weeks later came the next, major highlight: Sportsfest 2013. With few exceptions, sports is a lower priority for A Valley and Beyond. After being introduced to Ray Atiyeh, and finding out more information; I could not resist this one! Starting on Thursday, July 18, this one became my top priority for the weekend. Severe heat on Thursday and backing off a little on Friday / Thunderstorm Saturday evening challenged everyone. Reason I will remember this one? What the organization did for the volunteers. Volunteers not only had water / beverages available; they also had food. A catering service was present and kept everyone's stomach full with a variety throughout the event. Second reason I will remember Sportsfest 2013? Volunteers / athletes / staff pushing the limits and beyond at this free event. They did it for various reasons, but, everyone involved gave it their best and beyond. Sportsfest 2013 was the first time I added live updates and "In the Moment", the blog to A Valley and Beyond.
Next one list: Musikfest 2013 and St. Peter's Church picnic. St. Peter's Church picnic makes the list because of the food, especially pierogies. The feel of being able to take a break from life. The way you could be there, relax and forget about everything for a few hours. If you are familiar with Musikfest, reasons are obvious. If not, here is why...
I did 9 out of 10 days here. Times ranged from 4 to 9 hours. I did not attend any major shows. The local and national acts more than made up for it. Bands including: Idol Kings / Holly Williams / Sara Ayers / Trespass had top of the line shows. Friday, the first night, I realized my original plan was going to be scrapped real quick. No full music reviews for this festival. Between the north and south sides, I did not have a chance to see all the bands on the list. The energy every day combined with music and food was almost off the scale for me! Musikfest 2013, live updates from events became a regular part of A Valley and Beyond.
Coplay Community Days, in August makes the list. No, I am not explaining here. Two lives, the past and present combined on this one. I ran into old and new friends. The feeling of community and everyone coming together to have fun was easily noticeable. I stopped by this one 2 times, Saturday early and Sunday evening. Saturday, I was in a rush to go other places. I did hit the food stands including burgers by Coplay Sports and fries. Sunday is where I really noticed the community feel. Sunday evening, after having everything I needed for the article; I relaxed for a few hours.
Lehigh Valley Airshow at ABE / LVI airport rounds out this list of most memorable moments for summer 2013. The first one in 16 years for the Lehigh Valley. It started on a Saturday, I could not make it until Sunday. Glad I skipped day 1. I heard it was packed with people and lines at food stands topped 2 hours. Sunday, it was crowded but you could easily move around / see and enjoy everything. The food lines? A little over 1 hour. Know this one from experience. While waiting for something to eat, you could easily the entire "air" part of the event. In fact, most people had no problem with the wait because they were engrossed in it. Add another first onto my list. "In the Moment" was an automatic part of A Valley and Beyond by this point.
The Allentown Fair added another aspect to A Valley and Beyond. The live updates on "In the Moment" now include weather reports from the event. I am not talking about looking at a radar or weather forecast. I am talking about looking at the sky and current weather from where I stand at that moment. The second half is funny but useful: Traffic reports. The first day of the fair, it was very busy inside the fairgrounds. I had the idea to do a traffic report while walking around. The first one was just to make people laugh. I realized this could be very useful for people thinking about coming out. Every day, I did at least one. These two are now a part of the live updates.
There were dozens of other events in between these. Art exhibits, live music, benefits to name a few. Part of the reason for this section. What I did not have time to include / write about.
Summer 2013 proved to me I can pull off A Valley and Beyond and make it very successful. From the first edition in May, it has seriously evolved and expanded. Starting with the first 3 editions only available for purchase. It has evolved into this website and continues to grow. The Lehigh Valley, Pa area always has a lot going on. Starting with late spring and ending with Labor Day, the area is crazy with things to do! One thing I learned real quick: it is not possible to make every event on the weekends. The summer 2013 season has only 3 days left (I know, technically a few weeks). Nature's beauty changes to cooler temps and the beauty of Autumn. Weekends in the Lehigh Valley will still be crazy with music, arts, fall / October festivals. With the change of seasons, A Valley and Beyond will continue to change and evolve. I will always do my best to come up with new ideas. The main goal does not change. Give you the best, possible experience while you are spending time in the Lehigh Valley and on this site. Even if you live half-way around the world, I want you to feel like you are here and a part of everything going on.
So you can really feel like you were there with A Valley and Beyond. Here are the articles / photos / video clips. The site navigation for this one is a little long. :)
