One of the country’s largest antique and classic car shows is back for its 63rd year across 42 acres in Macungie Memorial Park in Macungie, Lehigh County, and this year, the event will celebrate antique and classic race cars and motorcycles, featuring Donald G. Hawk.
Das Awkscht Fescht offers three days of outdoor events, shows, and entertainment from 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The festival will feature more than 2,500 vehicles, including antique and classic cars, trucks, and motorcycles. The event also will include arts, crafts, kids’ entertainment and activities, car flea market and car corral sale area, antique toy show, bingo, and, for the sixth year, a beer garden.
There will be a flag raising by Marine Corp League Lehigh Detachment #296 at 9 a.m. all three days.
Friday’s entertainment will be A Girl and a Guy Band at 2 p.m., Godfrey Daniels 50th anniversary concert at 4 p.m., and Craig Thatcher Quintet at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday’s entertainment will feature The Macungie Band at 10:30 a.m., Lilly Moss & Steel Ponies at 12:30 p.m., BC Combo Band at 2:15 p.m., Decoy Clones at 3:45 p.m., The Buzz at 5:30 p.m., and Pink Floyd Tribute “Inside the Wall” at 7:30 p.m.
The Lester Miller Family Hoedown will return for its second year with performances from 10:15 to 10:45 a.m., 11:30 a.m. to noon, 12:30 to 1 p.m., and 1:30 to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Sunday’s entertainment will feature a patriotic presentation with Dave Fry at 11:30 a.m.. Steel Creek Band at 12:45 p.m., and Rick Toole Band at 2:30 p.m.
Visitors can look for strolling entertainment by the Happy Dutchmen German Band from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and from noon to 2 p.m. on Sunday, and they can check out the additional entertainers (music, magicians and more) in the children’s area.
Food will include Pennsylvania Dutch favorites such as funnel cake, shoofly pie, and a hot dog with sauerkraut as well as festival fare such as a waffle and ice cream, chicken wrap, pierogies, and baked goods.
Admission is $10 for adults and free for children age 15 and under.
DCI returns to Allentown
The world-champion Bluecoats will compete against other drum and bugle corps from across the country as Drum Corps International presents its 48th annual DCI Eastern Classic at J. Birney Crum Stadium, which is located at 2027 Linden St. in Allentown, Friday through Sunday.
Allentown is the longest continuous running stop on the DCI tour. This year, 23 drum corps from 15 states will entertain thousands of fans with their pageantry and musical talent. A drum dorps is an independent youth organization comprised of 140 members between the ages of 14 and 22.
The championship is a two-night event, with half of the competitors performing each night. Each 11-minute performance combines music, marching, and special effects. The music may be classical, jazz, Broadway, or anything in between. Poetry in motion describes the constant movement of the musicians, accompanied by the color and majesty of flags, sabers, rifles, and numerous props.
Performing Friday will be the Bushwackers of Princeton, New Jersey; Reading Buccaneers of Reading; Hawthorne Caballeros of Hawthorne, New Jersey; Blue Devils of Concord, Colorado; Blue Knights of Denver; Blue Stars of La Crosse, Wisconsin; Bluecoats of Canton, Ohio; Colts of Dubuque, Iowa; Music City of Nashville, Tennessee; Genesis of Austin, Texas; Spirit of Atlanta of Atlanta; and Troopers of Casper, Wyoming.
Performing Saturday will be the Boston Crusaders of Boston; Carolina Crown of Fort Mill, South Carolna; Crossmen of San Antonio, Texas; Madison Scouts of Madison, Wisconsin; Pacific Crest of City of Industry, California; Phantom Regiment of Rockford, Illinois; Santa Clara Vanguard of Santa Clara, California; Seattle Cascades of Seattle; Spartans of Nashua, New Hampshire; The Academy of Tempe, Arizona; and The Cavaliers of Rosemont, Illinois.
Tickets cost $39 to $59.
‘Legally Blonde’
Pennsylvania Playhouse in Bethlehem will stage “Legally Blonde The Musical,” a 2007 adaption with music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin and a book by Heather Hach. It’s based on the novel “Legally Blonde” by Amanda Brown and the 2001 film.
Elle Woods, played by Cat McKenna, appears to have it all. Her life is turned upside down when her boyfriend Warner, played by Robert Samuel Morgan, dumps her so he can attend Harvard Law. Determined to get him back, Elle ingeniously charms her way into the prestigious law school. While there, she struggles with peers, professors, and her ex. With the support of some new friends, though, Elle quickly realizes her potential and sets out to prove herself to the world.
The cast features John Leiderman, Shaun Hayes, Stephanie George, Rachel Lutz, Caleb Flannery, Andrew Galindez, Lauryn Littlejohn, Detria Stafford, Jessica Sturm, David Lippincott, Jameelah Gonzalez, Rachel Kemmerer, Joseph Troiano, Nicolas Penn, Daniel Carroll, Benito Ortiz, Anysha Teleo, Effe Lambrinos, Karina Hernandez, Jess McGlothlin, Lizzie Witek, Carlo Igot, Alexandra Feifel, Isabella Natosi, Abbey Gildner, and Mya Detweiler.
Kayla Driscoll directs.
Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and Aug. 7, 8, 14, and 15, and at 6 p.m. on Sunday and Aug. 9 and 16.
Original play
Crowded Kitchen Players will premiere “The Perfect Fit” at Between The Lines Studio Theatre, which is located at 725 N. 15th St. in Allentown.
Written and directed by Crowded Kitchen’s Ara Barlieb, “The Perfect Fit” follows aspiring young screenwriter Zach McKenzie, played by Colin Core. After years of trying unsuccessfully to find funding for his first feature film, McKenzie, is granted a rare and unexpected opportunity to meet with Oscar-winning Hollywood legend Rory LaRue, played by David “Oz” Oswald, and try to interest him into taking the leading role of his movie.
McKenzie, however, is an idealist who fervently believes in casting only the perfect actor in that role and not necessarily the most famous and acclaimed actor. Meanwhile, the aged and somewhat fading star may have his own reasons for not wanting to take on the challenges of a risky return to the screen.
The cast also features Trish Cipoletti, Pamela Wallace, and Danny Black.
Barlieb said the play is called “The Perfect Fit” because the screenwriter is a perfectionist and is never satisfied that he’s found the “right words, the right actors, the right shot, to the point that, as in the case of his screenplay, the end goal is never reached.”
“I’m putting the emphasis on the unintended consequences of always striving for perfection when, in reality, there is only the illusion of flawlessness,” Barlieb said.
Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and Aug. 7 and 8, and at 2 p.m. Sunday and Aug. 9.
‘Matilda’ in Fleetwood
Fleetwood Community Theatre will present “Matilda the Musical” at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and at 2 p.m. on Saturday in the auditorium of Fleetwood Area High School, which is located at 803 N. Richmond St. in Fleetwood, Berks County.
The musical is based on “Matilda,” a children’s novel written in 1988 by British writer Roald Dahl. The story follows Matilda Wormwood, a precocious child with an uncaring mother and father who goes to a school run by the tyrannical headmistress Miss Trunchbull.
The musical features music by Tim Minchin and a book by Dennis Kelly.
Matilda is a little girl with wit, intelligence, and psychokinetic powers. She’s unloved by her parents but impresses her schoolteacher, the lovable Miss Honey. At school, however, Matilda also must deal with the evil Miss Trunchbull, who hates children and loves to come up with cruel punishments for those who don’t abide by her rules.
“Matilda the Musical” premiered on the West End in 2011 and went on to win seven Olivier Awards, including best new musical, which, at the time, was the most awards ever won by a single show.
The show opened on Broadway in 2013 and was nominated for 13 Tony Awards, winning five.
Tickets cost $18 for adults, $15 for seniors, and $10 for children ages 5 to 13.
Blacksmith Day
The Pennsylvania Artist-Blacksmiths’ Association will be holding its annual Blacksmith Day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday on the grounds of Old Dry Road Farm, which is located at 202 Highland Rd. in Lower Heidelberg Township, Berks County.
This free event is open to the public and will be held rain or shine. Featured events will include forging demonstrations, a hands-on instruction area for the public, children’s activities, and a forging contest among the blacksmiths. Association members will be on hand to discuss the craft of blacksmithing. Handcrafted metalwork made by club members will be on display and for sale.
The event and the grounds are pet friendly. The Pennsylvania Artist-Blacksmith’s Association is a group of approximately 200 people from across the commonwealth and surrounding states. Some members are professional blacksmiths or metal workers, while others are artists or hobbyists. The association welcomes people of all skill levels provided they have an interest in metal.
Hopewell Furnace Establishment Day
Hopewell Furnace will commemorate the anniversary of the park’s establishment as a national historic site with National Establishment Day on Saturday from 1 until 8 p.m.
The event also will celebrate 250 years of American industry with an iron pour, the first time iron will flow at Hopewell Furnace in 143 years.
At 1 p.m., the charcoal pile will be lit to start the summer charcoal burn.
Guests can discover industry and history beyond Hopewell Furnace and learn the art of molding and make a miniature stove plate. They can also watch molds be prepared to be filled later with iron, using the same process as molders 200 years ago.
There will be blacksmithing demonstrations and, for an extra fee, visitors can create their own design in a scratch block mold and later see it poured with iron.
From 6 to 8 p.m., demonstrators will tap a non-historic furnace and pour iron.
Hopewell Furnace showcases an early-American landscape of industrial operations from 1771-1883, Hopewell and other “iron plantations” laid the foundation for the transformation of the United States into an industrial giant for the time. The park’s 848 acres and historic structures illustrate the business, technology, and lifestyle of our growing nation.
Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site is located at 2 Mark Bird Lane in Union Township, Berks County.