RETURN OF THE UNBOUND
Festival returns to Bethlehem’s Touchstone Theatre to open season
Bethlehem’s Touchstone Theatre will welcome the return of its Festival Unbound community celebration to kick off the 2020-21 season — but with a unique, COVID-cautious approach.
The socially distant and safety-first series of events will feature weekly programs running from Sept. 4 through Oct. 16, according to a Monday news release.
In Oct. 2019, Touchstone introduced Festival UnBound as a 10-day celebration of about 40 events that utilized the arts as a compass to chart a course for the future. The 2020 version will look to pick up where the original left off.
Last year, the music, performance art, visual art, meetings and panel discussions reflected on 20 years since the closing of Bethlehem Steel. The sessions looked to explore and re-establish the community’s creative identity.
“What emerged from the Festival was a vision of our community as a healthy, just, and loving place, as it had never been before — one full of music and play in the service of compassion and joy,” said Bill George, Touchstone Ensemble Member who coordinated
2019’s Festival UnBound, in the release. “We knew we couldn’t let go of that vision but had to keep holding it up as a light to lead us forward. And so, the Festival must live.”
The Festival UnBound 2020 plans include a series of outdoor events, parties, forums, and performances. Many will be free to attend, and most will provide a live stream or digital recording to accommodate audience members who are not comfortable attending due to ongoing pandemic concerns.
Planned events include
LATINX BLOCK PARTY: 7 p.m. Sept. 4 — Kick off the season with an end-of-summer party for the neighborhood.
Join Touchstone for an evening of food, live music by Héctor Rosado Latin Jazz Experience, and a celebration of local Latinx culture and community. Cost: FREE, donations welcome. Venue: Touchstone parking lot (321 E. 4th St. Bethlehem). Rain dates: 7 p.m. Sept. 5 and 6
MEDICAL WORKERS SPEAK OUT: 7 p.m. Sept. 12 — In the last year, doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals have come to national attention for their work on the front lines of COVID-19. Come listen to what some of our Lehigh Valley medical workers have to say about the experience — in tales of trauma, triumph, and compassion. Cost: FREE, donations welcome. Venue: Touchstone Parking Lot (321 E. 4th St. Bethlehem). Rain date: 7 p.m. Sept. 13.
RUMI/NATION: 6 p.m. Sept. 18-19 — An original project created by Touchstone/Moravian MFA student Sean Patrick Cassidy. This site-specific audio walking tour starts on the South
Bethlehem Greenway and will allow the audience to reflect on how they interact with and benefit from natural cycles of change. Cost: FREE, donations welcome, limited spots available. Venue: Performance takes place outside, starting at the 400 blocks of the South Bethlehem
Greenway and covers a 2-3 mile walk around Bethlehem. Rain date: 6 p.m. Sept. 20.
SUSTAINABILITY FORUM: 6 p.m. Sept. 19 — At last year’s Sustainability Forum, high school students from across Bethlehem came together to share projects to create a more sustainable community for all of us. This year, students will continue to reflect on the massive changes in our world by taking their plans to Bethlehem’s City Hall. Cost: FREE, donations welcome. Venue: Outside on the steps of Bethlehem City Hall. Rain date: 6 p.m. Sept. 20.
ALOUD: Sept. 26 —An original project created by Touchstone/Moravian MFA student Adam Ercolani. LGBTQIA+ youth come into their identities often feeling trapped and restrained by their surroundings and circumstance. This program asks how artistic creation and performance allows us to process and understand our identities in a new way. It’s an exploration of identity and self-discovery. Cost: FREE, donations welcome. Venue: TBA. Rain date: Sept. 26.
HOMECOMING: 7 p.m. Oct. 2 — A continuation of last year’s celebration of the history, struggles, and successes in the Lehigh Valley’s Black community — recognizing exceptional talent, drive, and leadership. The year of the Black Lives Matter movement included protests, civil discourse and the loss of esteemed civil rights icons. The names Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd will be raised as this program will claim space and call for justice — while recognizing that our history informs the present. Cost: FREE, donations welcome. Venue: Touchstone Parking Lot (321 E. 4th St. Bethlehem). Rain date: 7 p.m. Oct. 3.
TALES OF HOPE AND RESISTANCE: 8 p.m. Oct. 9 — Around the world, myths and fairy tales have taught us how to triumph in the face of overwhelming odds. Touchstone and Mock Turtle Marionette Theater presents retellings of traditional stories from the diverse cultural backgrounds of the Lehigh Valley — featuring live music and puppetry. Cost:
Tickets by table: $40 for a 4-top, $30 for a 2-top. Venue: Touchstone Parking Lot (321 E. 4th St. Bethlehem). Rain dates: 7 p.m. Oct. 10.
DICTATORS 4 DUMMIES… AND MORE!: 7 p.m. Oct. 16 — An election season retrospective of original political satire. Ensemble-member Christopher Shorr presents a re-imagining of his 2018 musical, now a movie with largerthan-life characters played by action figures voiced by the original Dictators 4 Dummies cast. Plus, a live concert of satirical songs from the Touchstone archive. It’s an evening of comedy and a chilling reminder of the tenuous state of democracy. Cost: Tickets by table: $40 for a 4-top, $30 for a 2-top. Venue: Touchstone Parking Lot (321 E. 4th St. Bethlehem). Rain dates: 7 p.m. Oct. 17 and 18.
More info: Online at touchstone.org; Facebook facebook.com/FestivalUnBound; Instagram instagram.com/ festivalunbound and Twitter twitter.com/FestivalUnBound