BETHLEHEM, PA - Touchstone Theatre opens its 2022-23 season with a fourth year of Festival UnBound, a five-day celebration with visual arts, live music, participatory dance, original theatre, and community dialogue shaped by Lehigh Valley community members for a unique, hyper-local festival-going experience.
Festival UnBound takes place September 28-October 2 at venues throughout Bethlehem and Allentown, with a pre-festival weekend featuring original performances by Touchstone/Moravian University MFA students September 16-20. Attendance is free for most events; select events have an admission fee. The festival includes work by Touchstone, local artists and organizers, and acclaimed guest artists from beyond the Lehigh Valley, including folk singer-songwriter John Gorka.
The first year of Festival UnBound took place in October 2019, twenty years after the closing of Bethlehem Steel“ a massively disruptive and traumatic event for the community.
In the years since the closing of the Steel, Touchstone began to explore questions of community and identity: Who were we, now that the Steel was gone' What were the challenges ahead, and what were the values that hold us together as we shape our future' Out of these questions came the inaugural ten-day Festival UnBound that centered on themes of diversity, sustainability, health, youth leadership, and interconnectedness.
Over the years since, Festival UnBound has evolved into a five-day series focused on engaging the diverse community of the Lehigh Valley” through art and civic dialogue” in the radical act of envisioning our future together. The past two years have included adaptations to the festival for COVID safety, including an extraordinary festival in 2020 spread out over several months, with all events presented outdoors and socially distanced. Some community partners have been with the festival since its inception, and others are coming aboard new this year.
"As we approach our fourth year of Festival UnBound, it's exhilarating to see the way the community embraces a festival rooted in the art of place," says Festival coordinator Mary Wright. "Whether it's singer-songwriter John Gorka returning to his artistic home at Godfrey Daniels, or the powerful Maafa Commemoration Project tackling deeper questions of how we remember, critique, and honor the places we call home, Festival UnBound is a true community festival” art of the people, by the people, and for the people of the Lehigh Valley."
A highlight of the 2022 festival is the Lehigh Valley premiere of the Maafa Commemoration Project, produced in partnership with Rev. Dr. Gregory Edwards and Resurrected Life Community Church and Festival UnBound's long-standing Homecoming Committee led by committee chair Sharon A. Brown. Maafa (pronounced Mah- AH-fah) is a Kiswahili word which refers to the catastrophic events experienced by millions of African people during the middle passage journey from Africa bound for enslavement in the Americas. This local event is part of a national movement, started in 1995 by St. Paul Community Baptist Church (Brooklyn, NY) and led by the vision of Rev. Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood, to bring issues of racism and slavery into the light. The premiere of the Maafa Commemoration Project Lehigh Valley seeks to raise up and honor stories of Black African Ancestors, the known and unknown, and recognize strength of spirit, richness of heritage, and the world in which freedom is still out of reach for so many.
This year's Festival UnBound lineup includes:
OPENING CELEBRATION (September 28 at 7pm) - A celebration bringing together singer-songwriter John Gorka, the Bethlehem Area School District's Broughal Middle School Choir, and performers from a variety of Festival events. Touchstone's outdoor Barrio Stage “ 321 East 4th Street, Bethlehem; Free with donations gratefully accepted.
COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS (September 28-October 1) - Coffee hour, lunchtime, and happy hour conversations about the future of our community, moderated by Touchstone Ensemble Member Christopher Shorr. Free with donations gratefully accepted. Times and venues vary throughout the festival.
REMIX (September 29 at 7pm) - Join CAMILLE WHO and guests for an exuberant performance of music, poetry, spoken word, dance, and visual art, exploring an Afro-Caribbean home and the art of the everyday. Touchstone's outdoor Barrio Stage “ 321 East 4th Street, Bethlehem; Free with donations gratefully accepted.
BOMBAZO (September 30 at 7pm) - A night of jams led by local Latinx musicians; all are encouraged to join in the performance, with multiple styles of music coming together onstage. Touchstone's outdoor Barrio Stage “ 321 East 4th Street, Bethlehem; Free with donations gratefully accepted.
REMAKING HOME (October 1 at 10am) - A hands-on workshop with author and professor Jan Cohen-Cruz, exploring questions about making home in a new place, through artistic creation. Bethlehem Area Public Library, 11 W Church St, Bethlehem; Tickets: Free with donations gratefully accepted. Space is limited; reservations strongly encouraged.
DEVOTIONAL GATHERING (October 1 at 1pm) - Joining with interfaith representatives of those who belong to a faith community (or not), we unite around the mystery of life and the gifts of being together. Touchstone's outdoor Barrio Stage “ 321 East 4th Street, Bethlehem; Free with donations gratefully accepted.
GHAR-AM MASALA (October 1 at 4pm) - Join us for a joyous, multi-cultural, musical celebration, including Latin/Indian fusion music and traditional Indian folk dance. Wear your dancing shoes! Touchstone's outdoor Barrio Stage “ 321 East 4th Street, Bethlehem; Free with donations gratefully accepted.
MAAFA COMMEMORATION PROJECT LEHIGH VALLEY (October 1 at 3pm and 7pm, October 2 at 3pm) - In partnership with Resurrected Life Community Church, join us as we honor Black Ancestors” known and unknown” and celebrate the strength of spirit and the richness of heritage. Written by Nehprii Amenii; directed by Kymbali Craig. Resurrected Life Community Church, 144 N Ninth St, Allentown; Tickets: $25 Adults, $20 Students/Seniors. Preview performance on October 1 at 3pm; Tickets: $10.
CHANGE-SPOTTING (October 1 at 3pm, October 2 at 1pm) - A 45-minute walking tour with architect Wes Hiatt that invites guests to spot changes over time in the "everyday spaces" of South Bethlehem. Walk begins at Parham Park, 317 E 4th St, Bethlehem. Tickets: Free with donations gratefully accepted. Space is limited; reservations strongly encouraged.
A SUNDAY MOMENT (October 2 at 10am) - A chance to check in with yourself, meditate, recenter, and re-focus. Take a moment to reflect on where community begins “ within you! Charles A. Brown Ice House, 56 River St., Bethlehem; Free with donations gratefully accepted.
With events throughout the weekend from the festival's artists in residence:
JOHN GORKA, called "the preeminent male singer-songwriter of the New Folk Movement" by Rolling Stone, performs on his home stage at Godfrey Daniels and leads a workshop, celebrating the power of place. John Gorka performs old and new favorites on September 29 at 7pm; Tickets: $40. The Razzy Dazzy Spasm Band reunion performs September 30 at 8pm; Tickets: $45. Workshop, in collaboration with singer-songwriter Anne Hills on October 1 at 1pm; Workshop fee: $35. All events at Godfrey Daniels Coffee House, 7 E 4th St, Bethlehem.
MARK VALDEZ, a theatre artist, community organizer, and housing advocate, will lead a series of community gatherings and workshops, focused on issues of housing and home insecurity, and engage audiences in considering what is important to be at home.
Fundraising for Festival UnBound is ongoing, but to date, Festival sponsors include Gold Sponsors: Air Products, PNC Foundation, and The Donald B. and Dorothy L. Stabler Foundation; and Silver Sponsors: Amaranth Foundation, Beall Fowler, Just Born, Keystone Savings Foundation, Lehigh Valley Community Foundation, and WDIY. The festival is also gratefully supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, as well as numerous small businesses, local foundations, and individuals.
Touchstone Theatre's Festival UnBound takes place September 28-October 2, 2022 throughout Bethlehem and Allentown, plus a pre-festival weekend featuring original performances by Touchstone/Moravian University MFA students September 16-20. More information at www.touchstone.org/festival-unbound
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