Arts & Entertainment

Art, Artisans, Musicians, & More

As we celebrate the 50th year of the Mount Gretna Outdoor Art Show, so too are we celebrating the arts around the entire Lebanon Valley. Whether it’s dancing or painting, professional or amateur, the arts serve as a heartbeat to our community and provide essential creativity and well-being to creators and appreciators alike. For the entirety of 2024, from the artist to the impact, we applaud the arts in the Lebanon Valley.

THE MT. GRETNA OUTDOOR ART SHOW CELEBRATES 50 YEARS

 August 17th & 18th, 2024

2024 marks the 50th year of the Annual Mt. Gretna Outdoor Art Show in stunning Mount Gretna, Pennsylvania. This video kicks off how The Art Show will celebrate 50 years of art and culture in Mt. Gretna.

What should you do when you turn 50 years old? This year, the Mt. Gretna Outdoor Art Show reaches that milestone, and the community is taking no shortcuts to celebrate….Read More

YEAR OF THE ARTS MONTHLY FEATURES

For the entirety of 2024, Visit Lebanon Valley is celebrating the Year of the Arts by highlighting organizations that bring essential arts and creativity to our community each month. Check them out below!

Get to Know the Lebanon Community Theatre

The Lebanon Community Theatre has been providing the Lebanon Valley and beyond with quality theatre performances for over 60 years! Get to know the organization in this interview with board members Hugh Rooney and Todd Snovel.

What is the Lebanon Valley Council on the Arts?

Learn what the Lebanon Valley Council on the Arts does, why it’s important, and how the organization’s current president, Sharon Zook, went from studying clinical psychology to running an arts organization!

Ten Reasons to Attend the Music & Brew Fest

From live music to local craft breweries and food trucks, check out our top ten reasons on why you should attend the Music & Brew Fest on Saturday, September 21st in Coleman Memorial Park!

The Mount Gretna Outdoor Art Show: Part One

How did the art show ever come to be? Find out in this blog, featuring remarks from Bruce Johnson, one of the cofounders of the show!

The Mount Gretna Outdoor Art Show: Part Two

The art show is celebrating it’s 50th show this year! In this blog, learn more about the 2024 show and the inaugural Mount Gretna International Film Festival from the show’s director, Kerry Royer.

The Amish Outlaws

Composed of three ex-Amish and three “honorary” Amish members, The Amish Outlaws rock suspenders and straw hats for a cover band performance like no other. Get to know one of band’s founders, Eazy Ezekiel, with this Q&A.

Gretna Theatre

Get a behind the scenes look at the historic theatre company in this exclusive interview with artistic producing director Michael Philip O’Brien.

Ryan Fretz

Go behind the scenery with Ryan Fretz, a Mount Gretna native whose artistic talents have graced the quaint Chautauqua community for many years, from intricate stonework to floral displays.

Timberdale Brass

Get to know Eric Schweingruber, a former member of The Philadelphia Orchestra and a current trumpeter in the brass quintet, Timberdale Brass, which performed at the Gretna Playhouse this summer!

The St. James Players

Karen Dundore-Gulotta founded the St. James Players back in 2018. Today, the theatre is thriving at their new home in the Lebanon Valley Mall.

The Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery

The Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery was opened in 1994 at Lebanon Valley College. Today, their mission is to provide museum quality work to the community in and around the college.

Music & Theatre

“The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.”
– Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Allen Theatre & Backstage Cafe

The Allen Theater features first-run movies including art and foreign selections. Dine in their award-winning coffeehouse before or after the show, located adjacent to the theatre lobby.

Gretna Music

Gretna Music brings world class musicians to the beautiful Mt. Gretna Playhouse on summer evenings to perform chamber music, as well as jazz, folk, world music, choral, and dance. Children are also welcomed with big ticket discounts and some special daytime programs created especially for them. 

Mount Gretna Heritage Festival

The Heritage Festival at the Mount Gretna Tabernacle is a family friendly music festival that runs throughout the summer. With performances by a variety of local musicians, the concerts are funded by audience donations.

 

 

 

The St. James Players

The St. James Players is a non-profit community theatre run entirely by volunteers. Founded by Karen Dundore-Gulotta, the theatre’s mission is to provide quality, affordable performances with performers of all ages, abilities, and talents with a goal of uniting the community.

Larry McKenna's Mt. Gretna Summer Concerts

Larry McKenna’s annual concert series brings your favorite artists’ music to life under the trees at the Mt. Gretna Tabernacle.

Lebanon Community Concert Association

One of America’s oldest community concert associations, celebrating 81 years of live musical presentations to the Lebanon Valley. For upcoming concerts and ticket information visit their website.

Lebanon Community Theatre

Lebanon Community Theatre

For more than five decades, the Lebanon Community Theatre has provided our community – and all of South Central Pennsylvania – live productions for the enjoyment of audiences of all ages. Lebanon Community Theatre is a volunteer-driven nonprofit organization founded to enrich, entertain and educate our community with the best available theatre experiences. We are committed to playing an active role in keeping our community vital by greatly enhancing the quality of life for our neighbors in Lebanon County and across Central Pennsylvania.

The Original Mount Gretna Cicada Music Festival

The Mount Gretna Cicada Music Festival is a six-day, family friendly music festival that takes place in the historic Mount Gretna Playhouse. The festival features a series of live concerts with renowned bands from across the United States.

 

Mount Gretna Bible Festival

The Mount Gretna Bible Festival takes place in the Mount Gretna Tabernacle, a site listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Festival features concerts, worship services, and sermons all summer long.

 

 

Gretna Theatre

Your home for summer theatre since 1927. This historic theater is one of America’s oldest summer theatres and has been operating at the Mount Gretna Playhouse since 1927. The theatre features plays and musicals, a Saturday morning kids series, and educational arts programs for the community. Productions play from June through August.

Music in the Park

This program was created by community music enthusiasts, who saw the need to put to use an amphitheater that had been built in Coleman Memorial Park, on the north side of Lebanon.  The Veterans Memorial Amphitheatre was built without any defined use in mind.

Visual Art

“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way… things I had no words for.” – Georgia O’Keefe

8th Street Mural

This Norman Rockwell inspired mural by Artist BKFoxx  can be found on the side of Market View Apartments at 38 S. 8th St. Commissioned by former NFL player Jared Odrick, the artist took an original piece and altered it to reflect a different story, unique to Lebanon City.

You can find the mural at 38 S 8th Street, Lebanon, PA 17042

3 Summer Arts

Located in Mt. Gretna, 3 Summer Arts Studio offers a variety of educational art classes for adults of all skill levels. Instructor Patricia Reichenbach has been teaching the Bob Ross technique, as well as many others, for over 22 years. Patricia and her husband Scott built the 3 Summer Arts Studio adjacent to their home in Mt. Gretna where they excel in fostering a welcoming environment for all artists.

Drunken Smithy

The Drunken Smithy specializes in hand-forged goods like their axes, swords, hammers, and knives, as well as entertaining demonstrations and workshops. Go full DIY with a guided forging workshop and axe throwing session or browse their impressive assortment of forged goods.

Lancaster & Lebanon Quilt Shows

Both held at the Lebanon Expo, the Lancaster-Lebanon Quilt Show and the Lebanon Quilter’s Guild Annual Exhibition of Quilts showcase beautiful, handcrafted quilts that are marvels of a different type of art.

Lebanon Valley Council on the Arts

The first Friday of each month, the Lebanon Arts Council sponsors an ArtWalk — an opportunity to freely view the creative work of local artists displayed at numerous locations throughout the City of Lebanon, all within walking distance. Along with paintings, drawings, sculptures, and photographs, musicians provide a festive atmosphere at some of the ArtWalk venues.

Annubis Productions

This production studio works on commercial video production with storytelling at the core their operations. With their studio housed in Lebanon, much of Annubis Productions’ work centers around the Lebanon Valley.

Mt. Gretna School of Art

The Mt. Gretna School of Art provides life-changing programs and opportunities for artists looking to advance their work. The school also offers Summer Saturday Workshops that are open to the public and taught by their artists in residence. The workshops are college level instruction, but open to adults of all skill levels.

Self Selfie Museum

With over 20 fun and immersive setups, Self Selfie Museum is the perfect place to snap a few (hundred) pics with your friends! Head over to the museum, located in the Lebanon Valley Mall, for a fun-filled session that is sure to be Instagram-worthy.

Mt. Gretna Outdoor Art Show

Nationally ranked in Sunshine Magazine’s “200 Best”, the historic Mt. Gretna Outdoor Art Show takes place during the summer in Mt. Gretna, PA. Enjoy artwork and items hand-crafted from artisans all over the country and enjoy the beautiful, wooded splendor of Mt. Gretna!

Lebanon Camera Club

Open to anyone who enjoys photography, the Lebanon Camera Club meets on the first Tuesday of every month to improve, share, and enjoy all things photography. Meetings frequently include hands-on workshops, instructional programming, and always a digital image competition and critique session.

Lebanon Picture Frame & Fine Art Gallery

The fine art gallery at Lebanon Picture Frame features a rotating exhibition showcasing an array of artists and mediums. With a warm and friendly atmosphere, the gallery welcomes all to enjoy the talent and beauty of local artists on display.

The Movement Laboratory School of Performing Arts

The Movement Laboratory is an internationally acclaimed dance studio with a cultural exchange emphasis. For over 50 years, founding artistic director Judy Henry has been teaching young people to dance through her mission “Goodwill Through Dance”. Their winter Nutcracker performance is always a yearly highlight and not one to miss!

Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery at LVC

Housed in a former church in the Gothic-revival style, this gallery hosts five to six exhibitions a year, with loans from major national and regional art museums, galleries, and collectors.

KRB Ceramics

KRB Studios is the teaching space and shop of Karen Rich Beall, a nationally recognized artist who resides in Mt. Gretna. In addition to displaying her prolific portfolio of artwork, housewares, and jewelry at her studio, Karen also teaches easy-to-follow clay hand-building classes, the only such classes in the county.

The Tweed Weasel Folk Art & Primitives

Set inside a 3,000 sq. ft. restored Pennsylvania-German barn, the gallery features folk art by Tish & Mike Bachleda, primitive antiques, pottery, candles, original metal outdoor art, cement garden accents, and more.

The Mt. Gretna International Film Festival

The inaugural Mount Gretna International Film Festival (MtGIFF) will take place on August 18, 2024, 12-3pm, as a platform to support and celebrate emerging and established filmmakers in their shared passion for cinema as an all-encompassing art form.

MtGIFF will coincide with Mount Gretna’s most celebrated event, the nationally ranked Outdoor Art Show and will be held at the historic Mount Gretna Playhouse. The festival will include a screening of selected films and an awards ceremony.

TAKE A TOUR OF OUR MURALS

There is lots of public art on display for you to enjoy around Lebanon County and the city of Lebanon. The Lebanon Valley Council on the Arts has created a virtual map of public art and murals that can be viewed at any time of the day.

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