{"id":115415,"date":"2023-01-05T22:15:10","date_gmt":"2023-01-06T03:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=115415"},"modified":"2023-01-05T22:15:10","modified_gmt":"2023-01-06T03:15:10","slug":"enhancing-the-holiday-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=115415","title":{"rendered":"Enhancing the Holiday Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

Featured image provided to TVL by ArtsQuest<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

ArtsQuest\u2019s newest attraction adds to Christmas City\u2019s charm<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

BETHLEHEM, Pa.\u2014\u00a0Thousands of people strapped on skates and made The Ice Rink at SteelStacks presented by Lehigh Valley Reilly Children\u2019s Hospital part of their holiday celebration during this season\u2019s inaugural run. The area\u2019s only outdoor rink featuring authentic ice opened to much fanfare and excitement Tuesday, Nov. 22, hosting its final session \u2013and last group of skaters \u2013 to welcome the new year Sunday, Jan. 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cLehigh Valley Reilly Children\u2019s Hospital was honored to sponsor the Ice Rink at SteelStacks in its first year,\u201d said Lehigh Valley Reilly Children\u2019s Hospital President Anne Baum.\u00a0\u201cSeeing the Levitt Pavilion\u00a0lawn transformed into a beautiful wintery wonderland was magical!\u00a0As the region\u2019s only children\u2019s hospital, we know just how important family fun is for kids as they grow and develop. We are thrilled to have sponsored this new tradition and enjoyed seeing our community out on the ice!\u201d<\/p>\n

With blast furnaces serving as its backdrop, the Ice Rink at SteelStacks quickly added to the Christmas City\u2019s charm, providing opportunities to create new traditions and memory-making merriment. Presented in partnership with Rink Management Services Corporation, the new attraction served to complement ArtsQuest\u2019s beloved Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem, presented by Univest Financial.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ice Rink at SteelStacks welcomed 12,264 guests during its first year,\u201d said Curt Mosel, ArtsQuest Chief Operating Officer. \u201cWe\u2019re grateful to LVRCH for the generous partnership that enabled ArtsQuest to present this exceptional addition to our holiday offerings.\u201d<\/p>\n

During its inaugural season, 75-minute skating sessions were offered daily. Children 13 and younger were admitted free Monday nights, courtesy of LehighValleyNews.com, with LVRCH presenting sensory-friendly skates Tuesdays and Wednesdays.<\/p>\n

According to Ryan Hill, ArtsQuest Senior Director of Programming, the Bethlehem-based nonprofit is excited to be reviewing plans to bring the rink back in 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe received so much positive feedback on the rink, from how it ties our campus together to how adding it further enhanced the holiday experience for patrons,\u201d said Hill.<\/p>\n

Hill explained that throughout its first season, the rink featured themed night events\u00a0geared for all ages. \u201cWe had a lot of fun with the theme nights,\u201d he said. \u201cA number of\u00a0them were sellouts and people were thrilled to participate either via costumes, by playing trivia or by simply singing along.\u201d<\/p>\n

About ArtsQuest<\/strong><\/p>\n

ArtsQuest\u2019s mission is to provide access to exceptional artistic, cultural and educational experiences using arts and culture as key elements of economic development for our urban communities. ArtsQuest\u2122 supports this mission via the presentation of performing and visual arts, film, arts education classes and outreach, youth programming and cultural events. Through festivals such as its flagship event, Musikfest; the Banana Factory Arts Center; and the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks arts and cultural campus, ArtsQuest\u2019s programming reaches more than 1.9 million people annually. The organization\u2019s programs and events, approximately 50% of which are free to attend, have a combined economic impact of more than $136 million annually in the region. ArtsQuest is a proud member of IFEA, the\u00a0International Festivals & Events Association<\/a>, NIVA, the\u00a0National Independent Venue Association<\/a>\u00a0and NATO,\u00a0the National Association of Theatre Owners<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Information provided to TVL by:
\nKelley Andrade, ArtsQuest
\nPublic Relations Coordinator
\nhttp:\/\/www.artsquest.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Featured image provided to TVL by ArtsQuest ArtsQuest\u2019s newest attraction adds to Christmas City\u2019s charm BETHLEHEM, Pa.\u2014\u00a0Thousands of people strapped on skates and made The Ice Rink at SteelStacks presented … Continue reading Enhancing the Holiday Experience<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115416,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5717,69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bethlehem","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/bethlehem-ice-rink-copy.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115415"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=115415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/115416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=115415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=115415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=115415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}