Published October 21. 2026 01:08PM<\/p>\n
Hosted by the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce at 7 E. Fourth St., Bethlehem home of Godfrey Daniels since 1976, a special anniversary celebration and ribbon cutting ceremony for Godfrey\u2019s 2026-2027 season opening was held Sept. 9.<\/p>\n
Cofounded by Lehigh University graduates Dave Fry and Cindy Dinsmore, the folk music venue became the cornerstone of the local arts community in what had once been a doughnut shop. Since its establishment on the South Side, this humble coffeehouse with its intimate listening-room atmosphere, continues enriching the surrounding community and beyond with world-class folk, blues, bluegrass, Americana, jazz, singer-songwriter, and roots music provided by legendary performers and emerging artists.<\/p>\n
In his book \u201cWelcome to Godfrey Daniels,\u201d Fry wrote of how he, with tongue-in-cheek, named the establishment after a W.C. Field\u2019s \u201ccurse\u201d that sounded \u201cpub-ish.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis recognition is an enormous honor,\u201d remarked Godfrey Daniels Managing Director Ramona LaBarre as she expressed gratitude to the Chamber of Commerce as the inspiration for the gathering and to Fry and Dinsmore for their vision and decades of making it a reality.<\/p>\n
\u201cStaffed and managed from the beginning 50 years ago by all volunteers, Godfrey\u2019s has grown into a viable touchstone for thousands of people of all ages and from all walks of life, near and far,\u201d said LaBarre. Successful enough to be able to pay a small and growing staff, what LaBarre calls \u201cthe little folk club that could\u201d continues to be served by volunteers, from the board to hundreds of volunteer staff who have over the years handled setting up for events, ushering, serving snacks and beverages, along with \u201can indescribable amount of behind-the-scenes tasks that keep it all going.\u201d<\/p>\n
LaBarre was thankful for their supporting membership, as well as for the financial assistance and gifts in kind Godfrey\u2019s receives from foundations, government entities and businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cGodfrey Daniels is also blessed to be part of a strong network of community partners,\u201d noted LaBarre. Among the many she listed are WDIY radio, Touchstone Theatre, South Side Arts District, Lehigh University and ArtsQuest.<\/p>\n
Members of the Chamber of Commerce and local government provided remarks praising the beloved cultural institution\u2019s enduring legacy including Mayor J. William Reynolds with \u201cThe best of who we are comes from rooms like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
As one of the longest-running nonprofit music venues in the region, Godfrey Daniels remains committed to its mission of preserving and promoting performing arts with live music, storytelling, and cultural experiences that connect people of all generations.<\/p>\n
For more information, visit godfreydaniels.org.<\/p>\n
Press photos by Ed CourrierFrom left, Godfrey\u2019s co-founder Dave Fry, Managing Director Ramona LaBarre and Development Director Kate Hughes, along with Northampton County Executive Tara Zrinski (D) cut the ribbon as they celebrate Godfrey Daniels\u2019 50th anniversary Sept. 9.<\/p>\n
From left, co-founder and Ex Officio Dave Fry, Ex Officio Bill George, and board members Greg Heller-LaBelle and Roland Kushner relax in the venue\u2019s front lobby. Heller-LaBelle also co-chairs the Capital Campaign Committee with Genevieve King.<\/p>\n
Godfrey Daniels Managing Director Ramona LaBarre expresses gratitude to the founders, volunteers and supporters of \u201cthe little folk club that could.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tammy Wendling, the Chamber\u2019s Senior VP Bethlehem Initiatives welcomes those celebrating five decades of music at Godfrey Daniels.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmbient Tunings\u201d are performed by Erik Santana on his electric sitar ahead of the ribbon cutting ceremony.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best of who we are comes from rooms like this,\u201d says Mayor J. William Reynolds as he remarks on the positive impact Godfrey\u2019s had on the community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published October 21. 2026 01:08PM Hosted by the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce at 7 E. Fourth St., Bethlehem…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311680,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-311679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311679\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}