Community Events
Mock Turtle’s programming at the Charles Brown IceHouse in Bethlehem offers Valley families and youth organizations a substantial schedule of professional performances and arts-educational workshops. These events emphasize active and personal experiences: hands-on workshops, audience participatory performances and outdoor activities for families and organizations. We believe that a trip to Sand Island is a chance to interact with the Arts, Nature and each other.
But our IceHouse program goes well beyond the personal experiences offered by our Saturday shows. Our schedule of events is designed to pursue larger communal and economic goals as well. Our programs at the IceHouse nurture and encourage the area arts community through our exclusive hiring of Valley arts groups. By creating collaborative events involving regional artists and community organizations, we help promote the work of our community organizations. In the coming season, we plan to expand our IceHouse programming to include shows for area universities and downtown Bethlehem’s “restaurant row” by providing a new evening performance series, The IceHouse Tonight!.
Mock Turtle’s aspirations for the IceHouse go well beyond the artistic and community events on our schedule. We view the IceHouse as means for supporting the Valley’s “native assets”, elements of our regional culture that make the Valley unique, livable and economically attractive. We envision the IceHouse as a compliment to the growing commercial entertainment industry evolving in the Valley by providing a venue where regional artists can develop new works and meaningful partnerships with Valley community organizations.
Who We Serve: Known principally for our work with families and youth organizations, Mock Turtle’s work at the IceHouse also connects with a surprising variety of other demographic and community groups. The following is a list of groups and organizations our IceHouse venue serves.
General Public: The IceHouse has provided Lehigh Valley families with Saturday mornings filled with performances and arts workshops for fifteen years. Among the general public who attend our shows, we see a flow of young parents, grandparents and, of course, children of all possible descriptions.
Youth Organizations: Boy and Girl Scouts have been a part of our IceHouse program since its beginning in 1996. Also important have been the many social service groups who have attended performances and workshops at the IceHouse. In the current season, we will be hosting (and providing free tickets for) partnering organizations from intercity Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton. These include children from The Caring Place, Project Easton and Cops ‘n Kids of the Lehigh Valley.
Non-Profit Organizations and Institutions: Over the past year we have joined with over twenty community organizations to provide collaborative programs for Valley residents. These organizations, listed on our 2011 schedule (see supplemental materials), vary dramatically in size and mission; from science-based institutions (the Da Vinci Center) to musical organizations (Pennsylvania Sinfonia and SATORI).
Educational Institutions: Schools love Sand Island and the IceHouse as a field trip location. The combination of our playground, nature walks and theater performances make it unique among Valley field trip locations. The Early Reader Field Trip Program is a major feature of Mock Turtle’s educational offerings, including a marionette show, puppet-making workshops and puppetry literary stations.
Arts Groups: Over the past six years, Mock Turtle has opened its stage to fourteen regional arts organizations providing programs and arts-based workshops. During IceHouse events, these professional groups have introduced our audiences to the wonders of the performing arts including theater, classical music, dance, storytelling and puppetry.
Tourism and Commercial Interests: With the coming year, Mock Turtle looks forward to adding a new demographic group to our programming at the IceHouse. Our intention is to pilot a three or four part series, The IceHouse Tonight! , establishing the IceHouse as a concert venue supporting nearby college life and Downtown Bethlehem commerce.