BETHLEHEM, PA – Touchstone Theatre presents a new concert fundraiser entitled Jakopa’s Punch Bowl on Saturday, February 18 from 7-10pm at the Charles A. Brown Ice House. This Mardi Gras-themed evening of eclectic music by three local bands, New Orleans-style lite fare, beer, and wine supports Touchstone’s upcoming The Jakopa’s Punch Processional, an outdoor, free-to-the-public, spectacle-based performance premiering summer 2017.
The Jakopa’s Punch Processional summer show—a part circus, part rock concert, part parade, and part puppet show outdoor spectacle—follows the musician characters from the Jakopa’s Punch band in a traveling performance running along the South Bethlehem Greenway behind Touchstone’s home theatre. The Processional premieres July 14-15, 2017 and promises to be an adventure unlike any other.
“It’s fitting that this fundraiser is Mardi Gras themed, as this summer’s Processional is in no small part inspired by the spectacle of Carnivale,” says James P. Jordan, Touchstone’s Artistic Director and Jakopa’s Punch front man. “Through The Jakopa’s Punch Processional, we hope to offer the community an opportunity to experience joy and revelry together and to both literally and figuratively dance in the streets.”
The February Jakopa’s Punch Bowl fundraiser will feature headliner Jakopa’s Punch, a band composed of Touchstone company members and guests artists, performing “reimaginings” of classic pop hits. The evening also features opening band The Bastard Sons of Burt Sugarman, a local revolving door of singer-songwriters hosted by Mike Roi and Carter Lansing; and closing act The Charts Funk Band, comprised of students from the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts. Attendees will also enjoy New Orleans-style lite fare, like jambalaya and king cake, along with beer, wine, Jakopa’s punch, and other refreshments; all included in the price of admission.
Touchstone is supported locally by season sponsors First Generation, an integrated marketing communications company, and RCN. WDIY provides media sponsorship, and Working Dog Press provides print sponsorship. Beer is provided by Hunterdon Brewing Company.
Jakopa’s Punch Bowl performs February 18, 2017, 7-10pm, at the Charles A. Brown Ice House on Sand Island (56 River St. Bethlehem, PA 18018). Price of admission includes music, food, beer, and wine; advance tickets are $35 and may be purchased at 610.867.1689 or www.touchstone.org; tickets at the door are $40.
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ABOUT TOUCHSTONE:
Celebrating thirty-six years, Touchstone Theatre produces and presents both original and classic productions, with a dedication to the renewal of theatre as a vital art form. Touchstone works to foster collaboration on a local and national level through educational and youth empowerment programs, using theatre as a community-building tool. Visit us on the web at www.touchstone.org