East Penn Press

The Lehigh Valley Wine Trail celebrates the 10th anniversary of its Wine on the Mountain festival, noon - 5 p.m. July 27, July 28, Penn's Peak, Jim Thorpe.

Wine on the Mountain features wine samplings and sales from Lehigh Valley wineries, local artisans displaying their arts and crafts, and light fare available for purchase from Roadies Restaurant.

There is also music by the Billy Bauer Duo July 27 and the Jake Kaligis Dynamic Duo July 28. The venue offers panoramic views of Beltzville Lake and the surrounding Appalachian mountainside from its large open-air deck.

CONTRIBUTED IMAGE

Clarence H. Carter, "Study for Visitation 2" (pencil, 19 in. x 17 in., 1980), "Clarence H. Carter: Realism to Surrealism," through Aug. 9, David E. Rodale Gallery, Baum School of Art, 510 Linden St., Allentown

I would argue that change is the most daunting challenge for a human being. Leaving the warm cocoon of the known to enter the harsh world of uncertainty takes courage.

This is especially true of the arts, where fans expect a certain style from the artist, and get annoyed or even angry when the artist has mined one vein of inspiration and turns to another.

Yet, as the exhibition, "Clarence H. Carter: Realism to Surrealism," through Aug. 9, David E. Rodale Gallery, Baum School of Art, 510 Linden St., Allentown, shows, the career of Clarence H. Carter is all about change.

The Great Allentown Fair's Premium List booklets, that detail the procedures for entering and categories for the fair's blue ribbon competitions, are now available at the Allentown Fairground's main and box offices

PSF versions of each book are available for downloading at the fair's Web site, allentownfairpa.org.

Placement ribbons and cash prizes are awarded in each of the exhibitor categories judged the weekend before and throughout fair week, Aug. 27 - Sept. 2. There are contests for youths in addition to the all-age categories.

A week-long exhibit about Henry Ford, who was born 150 years ago, will be held at the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum, 432 W. Walnut St., Allentown.

The exhibit opens with a slideshow, 1 p.m. July 27, by Guest Curators Ron and Dennis Smith about the development of the Model T Ford, the assembly-line, and the mass production of automobiles in the United States.

PRESS PHOTOS BY SHARON SCHRANTZ

St. Peter's Union Church, St. Peter's Road, Macungie, was transformed to "Kingdom Rocks" for Vacation Bible School recently. Those attending had to cross the moat to gain entrance to the castle to discover those things that allow us to be strong in our faith and know the love of God. Setup for this terrific occasion was done solely by volunteers. This included painting, making armored Knights, making "bricks" to create walls and generally transforming the church into a medieval castle.

"Aida," July 26 - Aug. 11, Pennsylvania Playhouse, Illicks Mill Road, Bethlehem. 610-865-6665

"Beauty and the Beast," through Aug. 9, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Schubert Theatre, Labuda Center for the Arts, DeSales University, 2755 Station Avenue, Center Valley. 610-282-WILL

"Disney's Aladdin, Jr.," 3, 7 p.m. Aug. 16; 3, 4 p.m. Aug.17, Pennsylvania Youth Theater, Charles A. Brown Ice House, 56 River St., Bethlehem. 610-791-4671

"Footloose," through Aug. 18, The Pines Dinner Theatre, 448 N. 17th St., Allentown. 610-433-2333

The décor and the ambiance at the 19th Street Theatre in Allentown's West End Theatre District is right out of the 1920's, but the movie projection system is now strictly 21st Century.

Electricians and riggers pulled out the twin 35mm film projectors and replaced them June 24 with Barco DCP (digital) projectors that can project DVDs, Blu-ray or stream downloads of movies.

The old projectors were junked, according to Civic Theatre of Allentown Managing Director Michael Traupman, because there is no market for them nor are they considered candidates for museums.

In the western genre of motion pictures, "The Lone Ranger" ranks right up there with the more unusual.

While not as odd as "Cowboys & Aliens" (2011), it's not in the classic style of director Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven" (1992), "3:10 to Yuma" (the 2007 version and 1957 original) or director John Ford's "The Searchers" (1956), starring John Wayne.

However, "The Lone Ranger," despite the reviling reactions of many movie critics, has a lot to recommend it.

It is one of the wildest of movies about the Wild West as you're likely to see.

Whenever I tell someone I work in theater, their first question is always "Are you an actor?"

This is completely understandable, in part because when I first started in theater more than 20 years ago, I thought the only career in theater was acting.

Boy, was I wrong!

It takes many different people with many different talents and skills to create theater, and these unsung heroes work incredibly hard to make an evening at the theater the best and most amazing it can possibly be.