Paradise

Want to party high above Bethlehem? Then you'll want in on the city's Rooftop Beach Party early Friday night atop the North Street Parking Garage. The second annual event presented by the Downtown Business Association and the Bethlehem Parking Authority features food, drinks, music, dancing and more 5:30-8:30 p.m. Six local restaurants will provide food samples, including Tikas, Voracious Deli, Starfish Brasserie, Confetti Cafe, Dave's Deli and Sotto Santi Pizzeria. Frozen pina coladas, daquiris, island drinks, Corona and local wines will flow from Tika's Tiki Bar. Music will be by the Peter Johann Band.

Whether you're an artist or just appreciate art, head to Easton for the 17th Annual Riverside Festival of the Arts 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 21-22, along the Delaware at Riverside and Scott Parks. Both days are jam-packed with art, music and literature to inspire. The highlight is, of course, the art. A Juried Art Exhibit and the 4th annual en Plein Air Contest celebrate great local and regional artists. Seventy juried artists have works in the fine art/fine craft competition, which awards $1,600 in cash to the top three.

Need a vacation but don't have time (or money) to jet off to a tropical island? Whisk yourself away to the tropical paradise that will be the Lehigh Valley Zoo on Saturday, August 27 from 6 – 10 p.m. The evening will feature the popular Jimmy Buffet tribute band Parrotbeach plus some island-inspired atmosphere. Enjoy a cheeseburger in paradise or waste away in Margaritaville while you jam out to Jimmy tunes to support the over 250 different animals, including 14 endangered or threatened species, living at the Zoo. Zoo in Paradise ■ WHEN: Saturday, Sept.

Two men with handguns held up a gas station on Route 940 in Monroe County on Wednesday night, state police said. The robbers pointed handguns at four employees of the Litning Quik Lukoil gas station at Route 940 and Carlton Road in Paradise Township at 9:45 p.m. The employees were closing up for the night, and the robbers forced them back inside. The robbers stole cash and took the car keys of one employee before running away on foot on Carlton Road. No injuries were reported.

With summer vacation well under way, 8-year-old Steven Miller finds his share of tropical paradise in his front yard in Emmaus. Steven snorkels to his heart's content in the family swimming pool.

Q: Scott Hertzog's banana plant story gave me the courage to ask you this question: Can I grow bird of paradise in a container? Where can I get a starting plant? —Grace A: The bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginea or S. Nicola) is a slow-growing native to South Africa. It thrives in Zones 9-11, although it can be grown as a potted plant in our area if brought indoors for the winter. The bird of paradise requires specific growing conditions to thrive: • Pot in sterile potting soil, peat moss and sand.

Civil War skirmishes will be fought "on the road to Paradise" Sunday as Strasburg Railroad celebrates a Civil War weekend. The popular tourist railroad is across Route 896 from the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, just east of Strasburg, Lancaster County. Union and Confederate Civil War re-enactment troops will be camped in separate locations along the tracks. Skirmishes will begin at noon Sunday and continue until 8 p.m., while passengers watch from passing trains. No fighting is scheduled tomorrow, but visitors can tour both military camps and talk with soldiers.

To the Editor: I truly enjoyed the June 25 column by Frank Whelan touting the car-free existence of one Allentown urbanite. I have not driven a car for six years. I believe the automobile wreaks a level of violence upon its users, as well as innocent pedestrians, cyclists, children and the very air we breathe that makes its continued use an option only suitable in emergencies. I do disagree with one thing said in the article. The headline reads, "No paradise, but you can forgo a car."

CLASSICAL-CROSSOVER Delicate, evocative and feminine, with a flute-like soprano and an equally rich lower register. Those are hallmarks of Norwegian singer Sissel's voice on "Into Paradise." For her new disc, the striking redhead, who surfaced after providing soaring vocals for James Horner's "Titanic" soundtrack, assembles a collection of mesmerizing traditional Scandinavian songs and arrangements of classical pieces by Bach and Purcell, among others. The opening track, "Dusk (Velkomne Med M-Fra)

Four years ago, the idea of a Styx reunion with guitarist Tommy Shaw seemed remote. In 1988, Shaw had broached the idea of reactivating Styx, but band leader Dennis DeYoung, who at the time was immersed in a solo project, declined and put the idea on hold. Three years later, when DeYoung was ready for a regrouping, Shaw had chosen instead to join Ted Nugent and Jack Blades in Damn Yankees. In 1994, after the release of the second Damn Yankees disc, "Don't Tread On Me" (Warner Bros.

Tucked behind sleepy residential South Third Street in Quakertown, hidden by ivy-coated fences and wrought-iron gates, a scene imported from tropical Kagoshima, Japan, thrives in a temperate climate. Peanut, eggplant, raspberry and tomato plants sprout from beds that border a mossy stone walkway. Japanese maples, some verdant and others maroon, provide shade for chaises and chairs on the patio. To the left, a fountain gurgles, nestled in shrubs. To the right, cream-colored tiger lilies spring up in greeting.

A chart-topping, platinum-selling rapper who had one of the most successful rap songs of all time is coming to Allentown's Crocodile Rock Café, the venue just announced. Coolio, who topped all charts in 1995 with the triple-platinum, Grammy Award-winning hit "Gangsta's Paradise" and who sold more than 4 million copies of his three albums from 1994-97, will play the club on July 19. Tickets, at $20, are on sale at http://www.cocodilerockcafe or by calling 610-434-4600. Coolio broke onto the charts in 1994 with his debut album, "It Takes a Thief," which hit the Top 10 and went platinum, and had the Top 3 hit "Fantastic Voyage.

Collectors rejoice. The Antique City Fun Fair, Pennsylvania's largest indoor antique, art and collectibles show, returns Saturday and Sunday to the Rauch Field House at Lehigh University's Goodman campus. Boasting everything from jewelry, coins and pottery to dolls and trains, the diversity of goods to browse through is practically endless. Highlights include the first Miss America crown, worn by Margaret Gorman of Washington, D.C. in 1921. Or check out the Pennsylvania Prohibition Pretzel flask, a ceramic pretzel-shaped flask used for sneaking illegal alcohol.

According to PennDOT, there will be a lane restriction on Route 191 between Routes 447 and 940 in Paradise Township, Monroe County, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 6 through Oct. 31 for paving. No weekend work is scheduled. Motorists should use caution and expect delays while traveling through the work zone.

I'm sure you've heard people suggest there are two kinds of people in the world and then say something profound about how they're divided. You hear these statements so much that humorist Robert Benchley once said, "There are two kinds of people in the world: those you divide the world into two kinds of people, and those who don't. " I'm unapologetically part of that first group, so I'm going to tell you that there are two kinds of people in the world: Those with wet basements and those with dry basements.

Need a vacation but don't have time (or money) to jet off to a tropical island? Whisk yourself away to the tropical paradise that will be the Lehigh Valley Zoo on Saturday, August 27 from 6 – 10 p.m. The evening will feature the popular Jimmy Buffet tribute band Parrotbeach plus some island-inspired atmosphere. Enjoy a cheeseburger in paradise or waste away in Margaritaville while you jam out to Jimmy tunes to support the over 250 different animals, including 14 endangered or threatened species, living at the Zoo. Zoo in Paradise ■ WHEN: Saturday, Sept.

Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, one of filmdom's trendiest couples, might seem dubious choices for the roles of a shrimp fisherman and his stay-at-home wife. But the glamorous duo, he of "Miami Vice" and she of "Working Girl," are more than up to the challenge of playing unsophisticated small-towners. Their sensitive performances in "Paradise" are the best things about this too-tidy drama from writer/director Mary Agnes Donoghue (screenplays for "The Buddy System" and "Beaches"). Adapted from the French film "Le Grand Chemin," "Paradise" is about a quartet of characters, all of whom are in pain.

According to PennDOT, there will be a lane restriction on Lower Swiftwater Drive between Bush Drive and Route 191 in Paradise Township, Monroe County, 6 p.m.-6 a.m. July 11-Aug. 27 for paving. Motorists should use caution and expect delays while traveling through the work zone.

Want to party high above Bethlehem? Then you'll want in on the city's Rooftop Beach Party early Friday night atop the North Street Parking Garage. The second annual event presented by the Downtown Business Association and the Bethlehem Parking Authority features food, drinks, music, dancing and more 5:30-8:30 p.m. Six local restaurants will provide food samples, including Tikas, Voracious Deli, Starfish Brasserie, Confetti Cafe, Dave's Deli and Sotto Santi Pizzeria. Frozen pina coladas, daquiris, island drinks, Corona and local wines will flow from Tika's Tiki Bar. Music will be by the Peter Johann Band.