What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

By Jack Tobias

The Lehigh Valley has plenty of activities so that you and your family can bid farewell to 2013 with a blast and propel yourselves into 2014 with just as much energy.

Fireworks -- the real thing -- can be found in Allentown (at midnight) and Bethlehem (at 5:15pm) on Tuesday -- New Year's Eve.

The Crayola Experience in Easton is offering family fun from noon to 7 p.m. that includes a kids-friendly countdown to 2014.

And of course there are other locations offering musical entertainment and a chance to hit the dance floor.

Here's the low-down on fireworks:

• In Allentown, the lights in the sky will go off at midnight, the culmination of a two-hour celebration on Hamilton Street between Eighth and Ninth streets. The event begins at 10pm with music by Jake and the New Constitution. Also performing will be the Burning Hearts Fire and Light Performers.

• In Bethlehem, fireworks will help conclude the two-day PeepsFest 2013 at SteelStacks. The big bang will be at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday with the dropping of the Peep -- a 4½-foot-tall, 85-pound, lit, fiberglass model of the marshmallow candy chick. Then comes the fireworks. To find out more about PeepsFest, click here.

PeepsFest isn't the only event in Bethlehem marking the coming of a new year.

For instance, the Sands Bethlehem Event Center will feature reality TV star Pauly D of “Jersey Shore” fame. He will be joined by Shwayze and Hyper Crush. The fun begins at 8pm.

Other events include the Musikfest Café's New Year’s Eve party with Talking Heads tribute band Start Making Sense, starting at 9 p.m.

For more information on what to do in Bethlehem, click here.

Meanwhile, Discover Lehigh Valley has prepared a list of New Year's Eve activities. They include:

• The noon to 7pm family fun at The Crayola Experience, located on Easton's Centre Square.

• A party at Allentown's Cigar Factory on N. Fourth Street being put on by Challenge Quest.

For the Discover Lehigh Valley list, click here.