Week two of Small Things Near Us, the list of creative things happening around Berks, Lancaster and the Lehigh Valley.
Halloween is all over this one, from a witches' walk in Easton to a spooky watercolor and embroidery class in Bethlehem. The holiday stuff is already creeping in around the edges too (a glass Christmas tree in Bird-in-Hand, a holiday bazaar in Lititz), which feels early, but the makers are clearly getting ready, so we're not going to argue.
A few things sold out between when we found them and when we checked, including two glass classes at GoggleWorks. Everything below was still open on the host's own page on Monday. Click through before you drive anywhere.
Berks County
Crafts and Cinema at Clay on Main
Thursday, October 22, 7 to 9pm. Clay on Main, 313 Main St, Oley. $10.
A craft and a movie for ten dollars. Their page doesn't say which craft or which film, so ask them if you need to know.
IX Evening Showcase from IX
Friday, October 23, and Saturday, October 24, 8pm to midnight. DoubleTree by Hilton, 701 Penn St, Reading. Free.
The late-night side of the IX Art Show: 130 artists showing work in the hotel ballroom, open to anyone who walks in. The main IX show is at GoggleWorks through Sunday the 25th, with single-day tickets at the door on Saturday and Sunday.
Printmaking Drop-In Workshop: Reduction Prints at GoggleWorks
Friday, October 23, 9am to noon. Printmaking Studio, Room 201, GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, 201 Washington St, Reading. $20.
A demo and then hands-on printing with Suzanne Fellows. All levels, teens 14 and up (under 18 needs GoggleWorks' permission form). Six spots were open on Monday.
Harvest Craft Fair for the Muhlenberg Community Library
Saturday, October 24, 9am to 2pm. Muhlenberg High School gym, 400 Sharp Ave, Reading. Free.
A craft market with a basket raffle, a 50/50 and food, and it all benefits the library. All ages, and the vendor spaces filled up a while ago.
Holiday Bazaar at St. John's UCC of Pricetown
Saturday, October 24, 9am to 1pm. St. John's UCC, 3713 Pricetown Rd, Fleetwood.
A holiday bazaar at the church out on Pricetown Road, a good one to pair with the Muhlenberg fair the same morning.
Pyrography at GoggleWorks
Saturday and Sunday, October 24 and 25, 9am to 5pm both days. Woodworking Studio, GoggleWorks, Reading. $425 ($361.25 for members), plus a $15 supply fee.
A full weekend of woodburning with Jen DiArenzo, decorating pre-cut wooden shapes into winter ornaments. Adults, all levels, closed-toe shoes. Two spots left when we checked.
Portraits with Amanda Condict at Clay on Main
Sunday, October 25, 10am to 2pm. Clay on Main, 313 Main St, Oley. $95.
A four-hour portrait class. The page doesn't name the medium or the level, so check with Clay on Main before you sign up.
Open Studio Sale with painter Marilyn Fox
Sunday, October 25, 4 to 5pm. Her studio at 447 Normal Ave, Kutztown, or by appointment at 610-698-2519.
All original paintings, framed and ready to take home. She's opened the studio every Sunday in October and says it may run into November.
Figure Drawing at GoggleWorks
Tuesday, October 27, 6:30 to 8:30pm. Studio 318, GoggleWorks, Reading. $15, register ahead.
Drawing from a live model, no instruction, bring your own paper and pencils. 18 and up.
Lancaster County
Autumn Moss & Magic Happy Hour Workshop at Gallery Grow Plant Bar
Thursday, October 22, 5:30pm, and it can run up to two hours. Gallery Grow, 320 N Queen St, Lancaster. Bring your own drink. The price is on the ticket page.
Build a framed moss wall from preserved moss, dried botanicals and two air plants, with moss wall artist Laura Alvis.
Flameworked Glass Halloween at the PA Guild of Craftsmen
Thursday, October 22, 5:30 to 8:30pm. 335 N Queen St, Lancaster. $145 ($130 for members), materials included.
Halloween figurines, ornaments or pendants in glass with Phil Hackman, and you pick them up the next day once they've cooled in the kiln. Beginners welcome, ages 13 and up, under 18 with a parent. Online sign-up closes Wednesday night at 11:55.
Bezel Set Rings at the PA Guild of Craftsmen
Friday, October 23, 6 to 9pm. 335 N Queen St, Lancaster. $170 ($153 for members), materials included.
A beginner class with Jessica Keemer: make the bezel, solder it, and set a stone in your own sterling silver ring. Sign-up closes Thursday night. The Guild has a full weekend after this one too, with needle-felted ornaments, flameworked beads and glass pumpkins on their calendar.
Artisans Showcase at Garden Spot Village
Saturday, October 24, 10am to 2pm. Garden Spot Village, 433 S Kinzer Ave, New Holland.
The third year of this one. Artisans work in front of you (woodworking, painting, sewing, purse making, tile engraving, stained glass), and the pieces are for sale in The Artisan's Corner.
Hosanna's 5th Annual Holiday Bazaar
Saturday, October 24, 9am to 2pm. Hosanna! A Fellowship of Christians, 29 Green Acre Rd, Lititz.
A holiday market for local artisans and small businesses, in its fifth year.
Make & Take: Glass Christmas Tree at Bird-in-Hand Artisan Village
Saturday, October 24, 10am to noon (the workshop itself is 90 minutes). 2705 Old Philadelphia Pike, Bird-in-Hand. $30, everything included. Call 717-344-6875 to save a spot.
Local artisan Karen Worst helps you pick glass, beads and little wood pieces for a Christmas tree picture, set in resin and framed at 6" × 6". This is about the friendliest price on the whole list.
Halloween Paint n' Pint with Switchboard Studios and Gallery
Sunday, October 25, 2 to 5pm. Columbia Kettle Works IronSpire Taphouse, 2800 N Reading Rd, Reinholds. $30, plus tax and a small fee.
A step-by-step Halloween painting with supplies and one drink ticket included, run by an independent studio and gallery out of Columbia. Tickets have to be bought by midnight Saturday, and they're nonrefundable.
Drafts + Crafts from the Demuth Museum
Sunday, October 25, 12:30 to 2:30pm. Lititz Shirt Factory, 5 Juniper Lane (third floor), Lititz. $30, with materials, a Collusion draft and non-alcoholic drinks. 21 and up.
A grown-up craft afternoon. They haven't said what the craft is.
Witches Brew Makers Market at West Art
Sunday, October 25, noon to 5pm. City Hall, West Art, 816 Buchanan Ave, Lancaster.
A makers market celebrating Lancaster's creatives, in West Art's City Hall space.
Autumn Daze VI & Great Pumpkin Challenge opening at the Lancaster County Art Association
Sunday, October 25, reception 1 to 4pm. Kauffman Gallery, 149 Precision Ave, Strasburg.
A juried autumn show plus a gallery of artist-made pumpkins for the association's 90th year. It stays up through November 12 (Thursday to Saturday 11 to 4, Sunday 1 to 4).
Craft Night at Columbia Kettleworks with Flying Fibers
Wednesday, October 28, 6 to 8pm. Columbia Kettle Works, 40 N Third St, Columbia.
Flying Fibers' craft night at the brewery, and the last one of the year (there are none in November or December). Their page doesn't say what to bring, so call the shop at 717-898-8020.
Lehigh Valley
Spooky Watercolor and Embroidery Workshop with ArtsQuest
Friday, October 23, 6:30 to 8:30pm. Fowler Blast Furnace Room, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem. $63.50 to $70.
A Halloween piece in watercolor with simple embroidery stitched over it, taught by Rachel Cavotta. 18 and up.
Date Night Wheelthrowing Workshop (Session A) with ArtsQuest
Friday, October 23, 6:30 to 9pm. ArtsQuest Creative Factory, 25 W 3rd St, Bethlehem. $149 to $165.
Two and a half hours on the wheel with Jenn Thompson, for couples or friends. Each person keeps one piece, which gets fired and glazed and is ready about four weeks later. 18 and up.
Witches Walk from Easton Main Street
Friday, October 23, 4 to 8pm in Centre Square, and Saturday, October 24, 3 to 8pm in Scott Park. Easton.
Artisans, makers and local vendors, plus a costume contest, a fire performance and a broom bar at Sonny Daze on North 4th Street. On Saturday, The Bloomin Cottage runs a Broom or Witchy Hat Crafting Workshop from 3 to 5 along the river on Larry Holmes Drive ($49.87, under 14 with a parent), where you make your own besom broom or a witchy hat.
Handbuilt Trinket Dish Workshop (2 Weeks) with ArtsQuest
Saturdays, October 24 and 31, 10:30am to 1pm. ArtsQuest Creative Factory, 25 W 3rd St, Bethlehem. $90.50 to $100.
Build the dish from slabs and coils the first week, then paint it with underglaze and scratch through it the second. All levels, 18 and up, with Jenn Thompson.
Van Gogh's Flowers (Session B) with ArtsQuest
Tuesday, October 27, 6 to 9pm. Crayola Classroom, ArtsQuest Creative Factory, Bethlehem. $68 to $75.
Thick, textured flower painting in the Van Gogh style with Alexandra Schnabel. Ages 16 and up.
Artist Series #1: How to Photograph Your Artwork at Lehigh University Art Galleries
Wednesday, October 28, 5:30pm. 420 E. Packer Ave, Bethlehem. Free, but space is limited, so register with ejs421@lehigh.edu or 610-758-6882.
Led by artist Quintin Fernandez, the first in a free series of workshops for local artists that LUAG runs with HOMEBASE and the Lehigh Valley Artist Meetup.
Still on
In Berks, How People Make Things is at the Reading Public Museum through January 10 ($14 for adults), Altars of Home closes at Clay on Main on Sunday the 25th, and PETS! is at Studio B in Boyertown through November 1 (free). In Lancaster, Red Raven Art Company's October show has Theresa Heidig Rooney and J. Stephen Davis, the Lancaster Art Vault has Tina Borchert's Blend in Beauty through October 31 and its U-Gallery show through November 28, and Modern Art's window nook on West Chestnut has COSTUMES through November 1. In the Lehigh Valley, HAUNTED! is at the Nazareth Center for the Arts through October 31, Bill Needs opens at Moravian's Payne Gallery on October 23 (free, through December 18), Emily Baker's Hands Before Mine, Hands Beside Mine is at the ArtsQuest Center through February 7 (free), and Lehigh's VIEWFINDER landscape show is free and up until June.
Tell us what we missed
Three of the Berks entries almost didn't make it this week. All we had for them was a community calendar and a news story, so I went hunting, and two of them turned out to live only on Facebook. That's where a lot of the small stuff lives, honestly.
So if you know about something creative happening near you, especially the things that never make the big calendars, tell us. Comment on our Instagram post or send us a message, and it might make next week's list.
— Kim