Does turning the page to 2024 having you feeling more ho-hum than hooray? Maybe it's time to liven things up and get out of your comfort zone by discovering a new hobby, passion or pastime. Read on to find some classes, clubs and workshops that would make a great starting place.
Ready, Set, Cook!
Latin Fusion
Panchita's Kitchen specializes in Latin fusion cuisine and has hosted a series of cooking classes at Northampton Community College's Fowler Center: Alitas con Maduros, La Bandera, Carnitas con Moro de Habichuelas and more.
Celtic Demos
Add a taste of the Highlands to your culinary repertoire with a Celtic cooking demonstration at McCarthy's Red Stag Pub & Whiskey Bar in Bethlehem. The menu changes for each class.
Culinary Adventure
Conquering Cuisine in Doylestown bills itself as the ultimate culinary adventure, and, with options that vary from Chinese dumplings to flavors of France to pierogi and kielbasa to homemade ramen, it's a choose-your-own-adventure kind of experience.
Cheese Making
Flint Hill Farm Educational Center in Coopersburg is happy to share its know-how in many areas related to farm life, including cheese making. Choose from chèvre, 30-minute mozzarella or cheddar; or make it an all-day event with the challenging hand-stretched mozzarella.
Vegan Meals
Butterhead Kitchen can whip up a 100-percent vegan cooking event that fits your schedule. Even the location is flexible: have it at their place outside Easton or host them in your own home or event space. Several menus and themes are available.
Get Moving!
Salsa Classes
Allentown-based Lehigh Valley Salsa Social will get your hips moving in ways you didn't even know they could with its salsa, bachata and merengue classes. The owners use Meetup to keep dancers—current, prospective and even those of the two-left-feet variety—in the know about upcoming events.
Parkour
Run, jump, roll and flip your way to a new pastime at the Lehigh Valley Parkour Academy in Allentown. Newbie? No problem. The classes are beginner friendly.
Rock Climbing
Go vertical at the North Summit Climbing Gym in Wind Gap. The 6,500-square-foot facility has more than enough wall space to keep climbers of all abilities engaged. Classes are offered for those putting on the harness for the first time.
Deep Water Running
Soak up the benefits of running without the wear and tear on your body at a Deep Water Running Class offered at the Rodale Aquatic Center on the campus of Cedar Crest College.
Aerial Yoga
There's nothing wrong with a traditional yoga class, but those looking for a twist (literally) on the traditional grounded poses might enjoy aerial yoga at the Yoga Lab in Emmaus. The yoga hammock is your portal to an hour-long session of floating, swinging, stretching and hanging around upside down.
Ice Skating
Learn how to ice skate at the Steel Ice Center in Bethlehem. No skates? No problem. Rentals are included in the class tuition. But BYOH (helmet) if you want that extra layer of protection.
Be Creative!
Improv
If you're a go-with-the-flow kind of guy or gal, and you can shrug off stage fright with ease, how about giving improv a try? Bucks County's UnScripted Productions offers improv classes for individuals or as team-building opportunities.
Acting Lessons
Or, play it straight with more traditional acting lessons. Touchstone Theatre in Bethlehem offers private lessons for thespians in the making, or for those who want to know more about the technical side of theater, like the art of sound design.
Hot Glass Encounters
A “hands on” experience will be much different at Warner Art Glass in Whitehall, where you can mold very hot molten glass during one of their Hot Glass Encounters. You can pick and choose between several pieces. Even the paperweights look like works of art.
Knit & Crochet
Bethlehem is home to Pennsylvania's largest yarn shop. But The Knitter's Edge doesn't just sell all the stuff you need to make a respectable scarf; it'll show you how to do it, too. Classes for knitters and crocheters of all skill levels are offered.
Pottery
Take a spin on the pottery wheel at Allentown's Baum School of Art. Classes cater to beginners as well as those who already can throw a jar or two. You'll learn how to transform a hunk of clay into a glazed masterpiece.
Ring Making
Want to put a ring on it? Cut out the middleman by doing the bending, torching and soldering yourself with your honey by your side at The Steel Beam in Bethlehem. Each ring-making workshop for couples yields two rings to take home.
Learn a New Skill!
Organic Farming
If you've ever wondered what organic farming is all about, the Rodale Institute in Kutztown offers field days and workshops that will have you rolling up your sleeves alongside experts who can answer your questions. Or, learn from afar by enrolling in one of Rodale's online courses.
Silver Saddles
Equi-librium in Nazareth has a program for just about anyone who's hankering to spend time on a horse. That includes Silver Saddles, which is perhaps the farm's own spin on the popular Silver Sneakers program for seniors. Equi-librium's offering is for riders 55-plus who want to improve mobility, balance and strength, all while spending time astride one of its gentile equines.
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
The Fab Lab at Northampton Community College offers some 150 community classes every semester that cover everything from electronics to woodworking to textiles to 3-D printing. The 2024 calendar is already filling up. Want to learn how to make your own guitar strap? Sew your own stuffed animal? Learn the basics of electrical wiring? The Fab Lab has you covered.
Pennsylvania Dutch
Pennsylvania Dutch is a language that developed from the immigration of German speakers in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Although the language is spoken primarily today in Amish and Mennonite communities, it's far from dead. The Berks History Center offers in-person and online classes that explore the language and culture of the Pennsylvania Dutch.
Yiddish Club
Allentown's Jewish Community Center invites you to experience the joys of Yiddish in its Yiddish Club. The group meets weekly to discuss topics like cooking, politics, humor, music and entertainment in the Yiddish language. All are welcome: fluent speakers, and those who only know a few words.Those in the latter category can shore up their skills in a separate, basic Yiddish class.
Mahjong Club
The Macungie Institute has served as an educational space since 1856. Its Mahjong Club is one of the activities that brings people together there today. Games are played weekly, and lessons can be arranged beforehand by calling the office.
Chess Club
Chess just might be the world's most popular board game. But if you don't know your knight from your rook, never fear. The head of the Lehigh Valley Chess Club offers free, on-demand lessons for beginners at various locations. Sign up on the club's website.
Bring the Kids!
Families in the Kitchen
Co-existing with your kids in the kitchen doesn't have to be stressful. The Young Chefs Academy in Allentown offers Families in the Kitchen workshops that will show you how to whip up something tasty together, without turning the space into a disaster zone.
allentownpa.youngchefsacademy.com
MOMents
SmARTivities in Easton has a MOMents workshop series designed to help moms delve into stress management and self-care while providing a creative environment for kids to explore at the same time.
Kindermusik
Moms and dads can move and groove with their little ones at Kindermusik at Community Music School Lehigh Valley & Berks. It's a music and movement program offered weekly at the school's Allentown studio.
Sign Language
My Smart Hands Lehigh Valley teaches parents and babies how to communicate through sign language in a fun and relaxing environment. In one four-week session, you'll learn more than 150 signs to use with your child.
Baby & Me Yoga
No need to leave the littles ones with a babysitter—unless you want to—for your next yoga session. The Yoga Loft of Bethlehem has classes for parents and babies as young as six weeks old.
Stay Sporty! (Even in the Colder Months)
Gymnastics
Gymnastics centers around here are usually packed with tiny tumblers. But who says kids get to have all the fun? Force Gymnastics in Nazareth offers open gym-style sessions for adults who want to practice new skills or brush up on old ones. A coach will be on hand for safety and guidance, when needed.
Golf
There's no need to stash your golf clubs away in the garage until the spring. The Golf Lab at Hanover Township's Valley Wellness Center has a simulator so you can work out all the kinks in the off-season. Golf lessons are also available for members.
Snowshoe
Strap on a pair of snowshoes for a tutorial at Lone Lane Park in Upper Macungie Township. If there is no snow at the time of the class (February 17), you can still walk around in the shoes to get a feel for them. A short nature hike by a Wildlands Conservancy educator will follow.
Tennis & Pickleball
Northwood Racquet and Fitness Club in Lower Nazareth has drop-in tennis classes for those who are eager to wield a racquet but perhaps aren't ready to commit to several weeks or months of lessons. Or, take the “tennis” out of it altogether, and find out what that pickleball craze is all about. The club runs weekly learn-to-play events.
Published as “Just Keep Learning!” in the January 2024 edition of Lehigh Valley Style magazine.
