Community Calendar

The New York Times hails Buffalo-born Willie Nile as “one of the most gifted singer-songwriters to emerge from the New York scene in years,” while Uncut calls him “a one‑man Clash” and “the unofficial poet laureate of New York City.” His album Streets of New York was praised as “a platter for the ages,” and Rolling Stone named The Innocent Ones one of the “Top Ten Best Under‑The‑Radar Albums of 2011.” Its single “One Guitar” was USA Today’s “Top Pick of the Week.”

Bono, Springsteen, Pete Townshend, Lou Reed, Lucinda Williams, Jim Jarmusch, and Little Steven have all championed his work.

His album American Ride won “Best Rock Album of the Year” at the Independent Music Awards and topped numerous 2013 year‑end lists. Bono called it “one of the great guides to unraveling the mystery of America.” His 2014 piano album If I Was a River earned wide acclaim, followed by 2016’s World War Willie, which MOJO awarded four stars.

Nile’s 2017 Dylan tribute Positively Bob was hailed as one of the best ever made, and his 2018 release Children of Paradise was praised by the Associated Press as possibly “the best album of his career.” He has toured the U.S. with The Who and performed with Springsteen and Ringo Starr. His 2020 album New York at Night drew raves, with the AP calling it “as sharp and guitar‑driven as ever.”

His album The Day The Earth Stood Still features a duet with Steve Earle, and The New Yorker calls Nile “one of the most brilliant singer‑songwriters of the past 30 years.” In 2022 he released “Wake Up America,” another duet with Earle.

His 2024 live album Live at Daryl’s House Club was praised as “a life‑changer,” and his new studio album The Great Yellow Light has earned four stars from MOJO, which wrote: “He again delivers a batch of classic rock ’n’ roll.” Poet Richard Hoffman called it “a masterpiece… an album that can make you dance and cry.”

Wildlands Conservancy’s Stream Team Volunteers – 2026!
Dates: Fridays, May 29 – Sept. 25, 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM at various locations – check out our website for more information.

If you’re ready to go with the flow, join us as we maintain vegetative areas along streams (riparian buffers) and help ensure the survival of young, native trees in the forest buffer. These vital areas improve water quality in local communities, reduce erosion and flooding concerns, and provide habitat for wildlife.

Repairing vegetative streamside areas, also called riparian buffers, is a science-based method to:
• Improving water quality by reducing pollutants entering waterways through runoff, providing clean drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people in local communities.
• Restoring habitat for fish and native birds by planting native vegetation that provides sustenance and cools the water temperature.
• Reducing flooding downstream.
Stream Team is an act of environmental stewardship, which is our guiding principle to protecting and restoring our critical waterways that are the lifeblood of the Lehigh Valley and Lehigh River.

Stream Team is a great volunteer opportunity for individuals, college students, and community groups. Volunteers are encouraged to register for multiple dates and locations at: https://www.wildlandspa.org/streamteam/.

Questions? Contact Jake Metzger - jmetzger@wildlandspa.org, using subject line: “Stream Team Volunteers”.

Wildlands Conservancy’s summer camp offers an enriching, nature-based environment where children learn, play, and grow through curiosity and discovery, thus budding both friendships and a lifelong appreciation of our natural world.

11 Weeks of Summer Camp FUN from June 8 through August 21.
Wildlands Conservancy’s summer camp offers summer fun at our Dorothy Rider Pool Wildlife Sanctuary in Emmaus, Pennsylvania.

Located in the Lehigh Valley, Dorothy Rider Pool Wildlife Sanctuary is generally a convenient 10-15 minutes from Allentown and Macungie, 25 minutes from Bethlehem, as well as 30 minutes from Easton.

Register before April 1 for a 10% Discount!

Register online at: https://www.wildlandspa.org/camp/.

Questions? Contact Arianna Kohler, Environmental Education Manager: akohler@wildlandspa.org.

Discover the joy of playing the violin with other early beginners!

Learn the fundamentals of tuning, positioning, bowing, and music theory, including rhythm, pitch, and note reading. Students will build confidence, active listening skills, and general musicality as they have fun playing individually and together as a group. Students will have the option to demonstrate their new skills with a performance for family and friends on the last day of the camp. Instruments provided.

Ages: 7-11 Beginners, no experience required (Students age 6 may be accepted at the teacher’s discretion)
Teacher: Carolyn Gaul

For students not currently enrolled in private lessons at CMS, a $25 group class registration fee will be automatically processed after enrollment.

Learn more about this and other 2026 CMS Summer Music Camps https://cmslv.org/2026-summer-camps/

Be a filmmaker!

Create your own short film, using the state-of-the-art audio and video recording studio at CMS. You can even have it considered for entry in the 2026 Allentown Film Festival. Gain hands-on experience with industry-standard software, mics, and camera gear used in professional music and film production, including Neumann, Logic Pro X, Final Cut Pro X, Allen & Heath, Neve, Black Magic Pocket Cinema, Waves, and Universal Audio. Under the direction of CMS resident audio engineer and guitar teacher, Joe Wagner, and in collaboration with local filmmaker Matt Spade and television producer Michael Schelp of the Allentown Film Festival, learn the basics of how to record and compose soundtracks, and film, edit, and debut your own 1-3 minute short film.

Ages: 12-18, no experience required
Teachers: Joe Wagner

For students not currently enrolled in private lessons at CMS, a $25 group class registration fee will be automatically processed after enrollment.

Learn more about this and other 2026 CMS Summer Music Camps at https://cmslv.org/2026-summer-camps/

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival presents Sheila the Magical - The Princess and the Frog Prince Part 2, running July 3 through August 1 at the Schubert Theatre, Labuda Center for the Arts, DeSales University. For ticket giveaway winners, the performance date is arranged with the box office at 610-282-9455.

In the nineteenth century, American artists sought to capture the unique character of the North American landscape, from iconic landmarks to intimate countryside views. Drawing from the Allentown Art Museum’s permanent collection, this exhibition explores mountains, waterfalls, pastures, and wilderness scenes while also examining how these idealized landscapes can obscure ecological damage and colonial violence.

Kay WalkingStick / Hudson River School brings together works by contemporary Cherokee artist Kay Walking Stick with nineteenth-century Hudson River School paintings, creating a conversation about American landscape, identity, memory, and the land’s layered histories.

Pennsylvania Youth Theatre presents Willy Wonka Jr. at the Charles A. Brown Ice House in Bethlehem. This adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic book includes songs from the 1971 film as well as new songs that will delight audiences. Follow Charlie Bucket on his journey from a golden ticket to the chocolate factory.

Pennsylvania Youth Theatre presents Willy Wonka Jr. at the Charles A. Brown Ice House in Bethlehem. This adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic book includes songs from the 1971 film as well as new songs that will delight audiences. Follow Charlie Bucket on his journey from a golden ticket to the chocolate factory.