BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2014 Bethlehem\u2019s planning and zoning director, its ADA coordinator and LANTA\u2019s planning and scheduling director will join a panel on access Saturday at \u201cOur Art, Our Voices,\u201d an afternoon of art, performances and talks by disabled artists at the Bethlehem Area Public Library.<\/p>\n
The library\u2019s event page lists Janine Santoro, the city\u2019s director of equity and inclusion, as its contact. Santoro organized a panel at the library in July 2025 as the city marked the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and raised its first Disability Pride flag<\/a>, and three of Saturday\u2019s speakers were listed as panelists then.<\/p>\n The event runs from noon to 4 p.m. at the main library, 11 W. Church St. The talks are in the second-floor Laros Room, next to the children\u2019s section: a roundtable of disabled artists at 1 p.m. and the access panel at 2 p.m. \u201cLet\u2019s Roll,\u201d which the flyer calls a sensitivity experience, follows at 3 p.m. at the library entrance.<\/p>\n The library\u2019s event page<\/a> says registration is required and closes at noon Saturday, and it lists the event for teens, families and adults. Organizers have not listed a fee. Access requests go to the library at 610-867-3761 or info@bapl.org.<\/p>\n The talks<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tRest of story locked332 more words \u00b7 1 min \t\tStory continues \u00b7 1 min left<\/p>\n Read the rest of this story \u2014 freeWelcome back.That email didn\u2019t go through.<\/p>\n Reader emails keep local news free, with no paywall. You\u2019ll get our newsletter with the Valley\u2019s top stories Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, and that\u2019s all we use it for. Do it once and every story stays open.You left the newsletter, so stories past here need your email again. Rejoin and every story opens.We couldn\u2019t deliver to the address you gave. Use another one and every story opens.<\/p>\n Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy<\/a><\/p>\n The 1 p.m. roundtable, \u201cCreating Art through the Lens of Disability,\u201d is moderated by Robin Gow of Queer & Trans Lehigh Valley, a poet and author whose Instagram profile describes Gow as autistic, trans and disabled. The flyer says local disabled poets, writers and artists will talk about how disability is part of their work and what barriers and opportunities they face; it is open to all.<\/p>\n The speakers are Rain Black, a horror watercolor artist; Lynn Donnelly; Maryann Dunwoodie; Michael Freeman, the artist and owner of Freeman Paintings; and Salem Sage. Gow, Black and Freeman are the three who were also listed for the 2025 panel.<\/p>\n The 2 p.m. panel, \u201cFrom Barriers to Belonging: Creating a More Inclusive Community,\u201d takes up housing, transportation, vocational opportunities, pedestrian infrastructure and business advocacy in Bethlehem and beyond. Susan Schaffer, founder of Disability Dialogue, moderates.<\/p>\n The panelists are Cathy Fletcher, Bethlehem\u2019s director of planning and zoning; Sean Ziller, the city\u2019s deputy director of economic development and its ADA coordinator; AJ Knee, director of planning and scheduling at LANTA; Julianna Rodrigues, a project coordinator at the Lehigh Valley Center for Independent Living; and Marcus Rolle, a transition and employment specialist with The Arc of Lehigh and Northampton Counties.<\/p>\n Schaffer also leads \u201cLet\u2019s Roll,\u201d from 3 to 4 p.m. Organizers have not described what it involves.<\/p>\n Around the building<\/p>\n The city posted the full schedule on Instagram:<\/p>\n View on Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n Library entrance: Bitty & Beau\u2019s Coffee, whose shop at 74 W. Broad St. is part of a chain that says it employs people with intellectual and developmental disabilities<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cohen Room, first floor by the entrance: art vendors, art displays and interactive art.<\/p>\n Huddle Room, center of the library: a relaxation station for independent crafting with LUAG, the Lehigh University Art Galleries.<\/p>\n Studio 11, basement: performances and workshop space. Organizers have not named the performers.<\/p>\n Gow, Schaffer and Freeman were among those the city thanked after its second annual Disability Pride flag raising at Payrow Plaza this July.<\/p>\n \t\t
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