31 businesses. Two sides of Bethlehem. One holiday star hunt.
Bethlehem Stars are hiding inside participating NorthSide and SouthSide businesses.
Pick a location, find the star inside, scan the QR code beside it, & enter for your chance to win.
Find another star at another participating location for another chance to win.
November 28 – December 23, 2026
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Pick a Spot
Choose a participating Bethlehem business from the map.
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Find the Star
Visit the business and look for its Bethlehem Star inside.
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Scan & Enter
Scan the QR code beside the star and submit your entry.
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Find Your Bethlehem Star
Explore participating locations. Tap a star or choose a business from the map menu. #FindYourBethlehemStar
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NorthSide
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SouthSide
Yellow stars are NorthSide locations. Blue stars are SouthSide locations.
Zoom, move the map or select a business from the map menu.
What Can You Win?
Each eligible entry gives you a chance to win a gift card from one of the participating Bethlehem businesses listed below.
Find more stars. Visit more locations. Earn more chances to win.
Data centers, warehouses, property taxes and housing costs are all part of the conversation when Ron Beitler, an independent Lehigh County commissioner representing District 2, and Frank Pintabone, Easton’s vice mayor, join Off the Record with Lehigh Valley with Love.
Hosts George Wacker and Jeff Warren, Northampton County Council vice president and host of The Philadelphia Sports Table podcast, ask what first drew the guests into local government and what keeps them involved.
Warehouses and the decision to run
A warehouse proposal on farmland in Lower Macungie Township brought Beitler into local politics. He had grown up in the community and wanted a voice in how it developed. He learned that agricultural zoning and permanent farmland preservation offered different protections, then went on to serve as a township commissioner before joining the county board.
Pintabone was concerned about teacher layoffs, school finances and threatened cuts to music and sports in the Easton Area School District. After he complained on Facebook, somebody challenged him to run for school board. He took office thinking he could fix things quickly.
“I was wrong. Boy, was I wrong.”
He eventually became school board president. After leaving in 2017, concerns about Easton’s neighborhoods keeping pace with downtown helped persuade him to seek a seat on city council.
From Democrat to Republican to independent
Beitler once led his college Democrats chapter. He registered as a Republican after returning home and starting a small business, describing his views as fiscally conservative and more liberal on social issues.
Now an independent, he is concerned about the expansion of executive power under presidents from both parties and the erosion of checks and balances. He says his approach to public service has remained consistent through those changes in affiliation.
County property taxes and essential services
Beitler has to weigh property taxes against the cost of county services, including jails, health and human services and public nursing homes. Both Lehigh and Northampton counties operate nursing homes, and he describes caring for their residents as a moral and ethical responsibility.
The proposed 2027 county tax increases were still under review when the interview was recorded. Beitler said commissioners were scrutinizing new spending and looking for ways to limit an increase while keeping services funded.
Housing and neighborhood life in Easton
Pintabone wants to help residents who earn too much to qualify for assistance but struggle to afford market-rate rents. He calls them the “forgotten middle,” including teachers starting their careers, police officers and city employees.
His workforce housing approach ties requirements to qualifying developments receiving public subsidies or tax incentives. He also wanted income calculations based on Easton itself so the program would reflect city residents’ earnings.
A fourth-generation South Side resident, Pintabone has seen neighbors respond when families need help. After fires displaced residents, he requested gift card donations on social media. So many arrived that City Hall called asking him to collect them because there was no more room.
Data centers and local rules
Pintabone and Beitler support giving municipalities more time to study data center proposals, including water use, electricity demand and where facilities should be built.
Beitler backed moratorium proposals from state Senators Jarrett Coleman and Katie Muth. He wants communities to be able to update their rules before applications move ahead under older requirements.
Residents interested in public service can also contribute through parks boards, planning commissions and other local bodies. Beitler encourages people to use those opportunities to work on issues they care about and learn how local decisions get made.
Explore the community-built map of Halloween displays across the Lehigh Valley and check out the limited-edition It Came From the Lehigh River shirts created with Bethlehem artist Thymes Zup.
We caught up with Lara Bly at Lara Bly Designs in South Bethlehem as she gets ready for her Fall/Winter 2026 Fashion Show at The Wilbur Mansion in Bethlehem on Friday, October 9.
Lara takes us inside her boutique and working design studio, where much of what you see on the racks is actually made right there.
Lara Bly Fall/Winter 2026 Fashion Show: Friday, October 9, 2026, at The Wilbur Mansion in Bethlehem.
Explore the community-built map of Halloween displays across the Lehigh Valley and check out the limited-edition It Came From the Lehigh River shirts created with Bethlehem artist Thymes Zup.
We’re giving away three pairs of tickets to the Bethlehem Vintage & Harvest Market at Historic Burnside Plantation on Saturday, September 19.
More than 75 vendors will bring vintage clothing, mid-century furniture, vinyl, jewelry and one-of-a-kind finds to Burnside, along with a DJ spinning vintage vinyl, fall desserts, family activities and access to the historic farmhouse, barns and heritage apple orchard.
Saturday, September 19, 2026
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Historic Burnside Plantation
1461 Schoenersville Road, Bethlehem, PA 18018
General admission is $3 in advance and $4 at the event, with children 14 and under free. The Autumn Dessert Market to Go will also take place Friday, September 18 from 4 to 7 p.m.
For the 2026 12-Foot-Tall Skeleton Crawl, Lehigh Valley with Love teamed up with Thymes Zup, a lowbrow project based out of Bethlehem, PA, led by designer Saige Sufrin, to create an original piece specifically for this year’s Crawl.
The result is It Came From the Lehigh River, a distinctly Lehigh Valley take on the strange, oversized world of the Skeleton Crawl.
The artwork is available now as a limited-edition collection of T-shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts, with profits from the collection split 50/50 with the artist.
Dave Burgio, co-founder of Trifecta Credit Solutions in Allentown, joins the Lehigh Valley with Love Podcast to talk about how credit connects to capital.
The conversation covers credit readiness, business funding, SBA loans, debt consolidation, creative finance, private real estate lending, and the mistakes people often make before applying for funding. Dave explains why credit is not just about removing negative items, why personal and business credit often work together, and why paying on time is still one of the simplest and most important things people can do.
This is a practical conversation for consumers, small business owners, and real estate investors who want to better understand how to get lender ready before they need the money.
Lehigh Valley with Love summer intern Caroline Jack from Lehigh University recently visited Shankweiler’s Drive-In for her first drive-in movie experience, catching Toy Story 5 with friends and sharing the night with us.
Lehigh Valley with Love is giving away three pairs of adult admission tickets to the 39th Annual Blueberry Festival at Historic Burnside, happening Saturday and Sunday, July 18-19.
The Painted Petal is a restored 1910 Craftsman-style boutique guest house and event venue at 7809 Hamilton Boulevard in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania.
Owner Maggie Fischer transformed the once-deteriorating historic home into one of the Lehigh Valley’s most unique places to stay, gather, create, and celebrate. Inside, the house is filled with restored woodwork, leaded glass, salvaged antiques, vintage furniture, local history, and surprises in nearly every room.
One of the biggest surprises came during the renovation, when crates marked “high explosives” were found in the basement. What first looked like old storage turned out to be very real, very old TNT.
Maggie shares the story behind The Painted Petal’s renovation, the home’s history, the antiques and artifacts that found their way back, the challenges of restoring a historic property, and why preservation matters in the Lehigh Valley.
610 Day, or June 10, is also known as “610 Day,” which is a nod to the 610 area code. For a lot of us, 610 still feels like the Lehigh Valley area code, even though it came after the 215 days and before 484 entered the chat.
A little phone-number history: 610 was placed into service in January 1994 after being split from the 215 area code, which had covered much of southeastern Pennsylvania since 1947. The 484 overlay was introduced in June 1999 for the same region, which meant 10-digit dialing became part of local life. Today, 610 and 484 cover the same general region, which includes the Lehigh Valley, with 835 also added in 2022.
“People are social, and there’s not a whole lot of other opportunity to just go somewhere and socialize with all of your neighbors.”
Lisa Surma Borick said it simply, and she’s right.
Farmers markets are not just places to buy produce, baked goods, flowers, meats, soaps, coffee, mushrooms, or whatever else ends up in your bag on a Saturday morning. They are places where people see their neighbors. They are places where kids grow up knowing the vendors. They are places where customers do not just say they are going to buy something. They say they are going to see someone.
We spoke with Lisa Surma Borick of the Nazareth Economic Development Commission and Nazareth Farmers Market, and Emily Roland, Farmers’ Market Manager with the Greater Easton Development Partnership and Easton Farmers’ Market, about why farmers markets still feel so important right now.
Easton Farmers’ Market has roots dating back to 1752 and is known as America’s oldest continuously operating open-air market. Nazareth Farmers Market was reestablished in 2010 and has grown into a weekly gathering place in the center of town.
But the bigger story is not just history. It is what these markets do every week.
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Emily talked about the work people do not always see: selecting vendors, balancing farmers with prepared food and specialty vendors, handling permits, road closures, parking, layouts, special events, and all the details that make a market feel easy for the people walking through it.
Lisa talked about how markets create ownership. People say “my market.” They know the vendors by name. They bring their kids. They make the market part of their weekend rhythm.
The conversation also gets into the phrase “buy fresh, buy local” and what it actually means. Supporting a farmers market helps local farms, small businesses, makers, bakers, and families. It keeps money closer to home. It also supports food access programs, including SNAP matching programs that help more people buy fresh food while also helping farmers bring in more income.
As Emily said, “It’s so much more than buying.”
That is why farmers markets matter more than ever. They are not just about food. They are about people, place, access, relationships, and community.
GUESTS:
Lisa Surma Borick Nazareth Downtown Manager Nazareth Economic Development Commission / Nazareth Farmers Market
Emily Roland Farmers’ Market Manager Greater Easton Development Partnership / Easton Farmers’ Market
The votes are in for Lehigh Valley Patio Palooza 3 presented by Banko Beverage Co., and we have our winners!
Foundation Tavern at Shepherd Hills Golf Club has once again been named the Lehigh Valley’s favorite patio, taking the top spot for an incredible third consecutive year.
Pints & Pies Bethlehem finished in second place, followed by The Wooden Match in third.
This year’s Patio Palooza also introduced the Home Patio Edition, giving Lehigh Valley residents a chance to submit their own backyard patios, decks, porches, and outdoor spaces.
Congratulations to Steve K. of Allentown, our Home Patio Edition winner! Steve will receive a patio prize pack courtesy of Banko Beverage Co.
Thank you to everyone who voted, submitted a home patio, and helped spread the word about Patio Palooza 3.
A special thank you to presenting sponsor Banko Beverage Co. for helping make Patio Palooza possible.
Inspired by Patio Palooza to tackle an outdoor project of your own? Visit QuoteAhead.com to connect with local contractors for patios, decks, landscaping, hardscaping, fencing, concrete, outdoor lighting, and more.
And what’s next? Stay tuned. We might just need to find out who the Lehigh Valley’s favorite bartender is. 🍺
Patio season is almost here, and Lehigh Valley Patio Palooza 3 presented by Banko Beverage Co. is back to celebrate the best outdoor spots in the region.
This year, we’re adding something new!
Along with voting for your favorite restaurant, bar, beer garden, or outdoor dining space, you can also enter the 🏡 Home Patio Edition by submitting your own backyard patio, deck, porch, or outdoor oasis.
The winning restaurant or bar patio will be part of a summer celebration at their location.
Home Patio Edition entrants will be eligible for prizes, which may include a Miller Lite mini fridge, lounge chair, patio umbrella, Banko Beverage Co. shirts, koozies, promotional items, and a $100 QuoteAhead outdoor project credit.
Foundation Tavern has won two years in a row. Can anyone beat them this year?
The Chopper Foundation is hosting its 2nd Annual Chow Line on Saturday, March 28 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Wooden Match, 61 W. Lehigh Street in Bethlehem.
The event will offer free pet food for the community and free vaccinations for pets in need, while supplies last, rain or shine.
Shanthi Project, the Easton-based nonprofit bringing evidence-based mindfulness education to more than 5,000 kids and adults each year across the Greater Lehigh Valley, has announced new leadership on its Board of Directors.
