{"id":145234,"date":"2025-09-17T21:40:41","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T01:40:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=145234"},"modified":"2025-09-17T21:46:48","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T01:46:48","slug":"artsquest-and-lehigh-valley-ironpigs-unite-to-celebrate-americas-250th-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=145234","title":{"rendered":"ArtsQuest and Lehigh Valley IronPigs Unite to Celebrate America\u2019s 250th Anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo Credit: Ken Duh Photography<\/em><\/p>\n

Partnership Launches Official 250th Logo Mark and Invites Community-Wide Participation<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bethlehem, Lehigh Valley, PA<\/strong>, September 17, 2025 \u2013 ArtsQuest and the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, two of the region\u2019s most recognized names in the arts and sports, are teaming up to kick off a year-long celebration of our nation\u2019s 250th<\/sup> anniversary in 2026. The partnership will debut a specially created 250th\u00a0Anniversary logo mark, designed by ArtsQuest\u2019s Graphic Designer, Morgan Fehnel which was based on local artist Doug Boehm\u2019s 2026 Musikfest poster. With community goodwill and collaboration in mind, ArtsQuest and the IronPigs invite regional organizations to reach out with interest in using this logomark to unify and relate our collective 250th<\/sup> anniversary events.<\/p>\n

Both organizations are excited to announce the debut of limited-edition jerseys and caps on special game nights. \u2018Festers Night, <\/em>on Wednesday, July 29, will celebrate the 10th<\/sup> anniversary of this annual collaboration with a special Musikfest \u2018Festers Night 250th<\/sup> anniversary edition <\/em>jersey and cap. A second limited edition field jersey and cap will also be introduced on six additional game nights throughout the season. These designs blend Lehigh Valley community spirit with national patriotism and unity.<\/p>\n

The celebration will extend beyond both the ArtsQuest at SteelStacks campus and Coca-Cola Park, with multiple events and programs taking place throughout 2026. At ArtsQuest, programming that celebrates the nation\u2019s 250th<\/sup> anniversary will take place all year long, with many 2026-specific opportunities for community celebrations and gatherings, including FIFA World Cup watch parties on the SteelStacks campus and more. The Lehigh Valley IronPigs will hold their own patriotic events including a large Drone and Fireworks show on July 3, a community celebration and fireworks display on July 4 and additional events, all infused with the 250th<\/sup> theme and centered on the values of patriotism, community and the shared history of the Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is about more than baseball or arts and entertainment, it\u2019s about bringing people together to make memories and celebrate our nation\u2019s 250th<\/sup> anniversary,\u201d said Kurt Landes<\/strong>, President & General Manager of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs and member of the Lehigh Valley 250th committee. \u201cFor more than a year, we\u2019ve been working side by side with ArtsQuest to<\/p>\n

thoughtfully create this partnership; blending design, creativity and community spirit. The Lehigh Valley has an incredible history and energy, and this is the perfect moment to share it with the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough the event calendars of the IronPigs, ArtsQuest and many other local organizations next year, the nation\u2019s 250th<\/sup> anniversary celebrations go on all year long, bringing not only our Lehigh Valley community together but allowing us to showcase all we love about the Lehigh<\/p>\n

Valley with others from outside our area,\u201d said Kassie Hilgert<\/strong>, President & CEO of ArtsQuest. \u201cArtsQuest and the IronPigs have been collaborating for more than a decade, and this project reflects the strength of that partnership. We are proud to join forces with the IronPigs to announce a regional logo and invite other organizations to be part of this shared experience and economic impact throughout 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

This celebratory merchandise can now be purchased through the IronPigs at<\/p>\n

ironpigs.milbstore.com<\/a>. The 250 Caps and pre-orders for Jerseys, T-shirts and the 2026 Musikfest Mugs can be purchased artsquest.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To find out how your organization can use this logomark or get involved directly with our partnership and local efforts, please reach out to Matthew Bari, Vice President, Marketing & Entertainment, MBari@ironpigsbaseball.com<\/a> and check out discoverlehighvalley.com<\/a> for more about how Pennsylvania is celebrating the nation\u2019s 250th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

About ArtsQuest<\/h1>\n

ArtsQuest\u2019s<\/strong><\/a> 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<\/p>\n

arts, film, arts education classes and outreach, youth programming and cultural events. Through festivals such as its flagship event, Musikfest<\/strong><\/a>; the ArtsQuest Creative Factory powered by<\/strong><\/a> PPL<\/strong><\/a>; and the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks<\/strong><\/a> arts and cultural campus, ArtsQuest\u2019s programming reaches more than 1.9 million people annually. The organization\u2019s programs and events, of which nearly 40 percent are free to attend, have a combined economic impact of more than $136 million annually in the region.<\/p>\n

About the Lehigh Valley IronPigs<\/h1>\n

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs<\/a> have been the triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies since 2008, playing at state-of-the-art Coca-Cola Park. The IronPigs have welcomed over 10 Million fans thru the gates at Coca-Cola Park in their 17 seasons, the fastest in Minor League Baseball to reach the milestone in the Modern Era. The IronPigs strive to provide affordable, family-fun, for the entire Lehigh Valley with moments turning into memories at Coca-Cola Park. Coca-Cola Park has become an entertainment capital of the Lehigh Valley, with the park also hosting Illumination<\/a> during the winter months.<\/p>\n

Information provided to TVL by:
\nJennifer LoConte
\nArtsQuest
\nDirector of Communications<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo Credit: Ken Duh Photography Partnership Launches Official 250th Logo Mark and Invites Community-Wide Participation Bethlehem, Lehigh Valley, PA, September 17, 2025 \u2013 ArtsQuest and the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, two … Continue reading ArtsQuest and Lehigh Valley IronPigs Unite to Celebrate America\u2019s 250th Anniversary<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":145235,"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":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-145234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Ken-Duh-Photography.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145234"}],"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=145234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/145235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=145234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=145234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=145234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}