Carson Kressley to Join Bicentennial Fun Saturday

The Jazz Ensemble will help kick off Lehigh County's bicentennial festivities on Saturday, March 10, with TV star Carson Kressley among the famous honorees who will host public sessions throughout the day.

The free Community Celebration will begin at 11 a.m. in the Agri-Plex Building at the Allentown Fairgrounds and end at 8 p.m. with a fireworks display.

Kressley will be among 24 current and former county residents who will be inducted into a at 6 p.m. Also, Parkland High School graduate Michaela Conlin, who played Angela Montenegro on the Fox TV series "Bones," will be inducted but she is not expected to attend. (Her parents will.)

A bison will visit from the Lehigh Valley Zoo. Historical re-enactors will impersonate significant Lehigh County figures. And area mascots, such as the IronPigs "Ferrous," will be on hand.

Here is the schedule of events, including the public sessions by Kressley and six other Hall of Fame honorees:

Main Coca-Cola Stage

• 11 a.m. Parkland High School Jazz Ensemble
• 11:30 a.m. Opening Ceremony – Don Cunningham, Lehigh County Executive and the Bethlehem Rotary Morganaires
• 12:30 p.m. Happy Boombardiers 
• 1:15 p.m. Hall of Fame Honoree Carson Kressley will host a session, "From Lowhill to Hollywood.” 
• 2 p.m. Hall of Fame honoree Dave Zinczenko will lead a session on nutrition and fitness based on his series Eat This Not That.  
• 2:45 p.m. Hall of Fame honoree and NFL heavyweight Andre Reed will host a session on football and philanthropy, featuring his famous “Over the Middle” hot sauce. For every bottle sold, a donation is made to “Kids Escaping Drugs,” a local Buffalo charity.
• 3:30 p.m. Hall of Fame honoree and Golf Channel personality Rich Lerner will share his life’s experiences in a session entitled “From Dorneyville to Pebble Beach.”
• 4:15 p.m. O’Grady Irish Step Dancers           
• 5 p.m. William Allen High School Chorale Group
• 5:30 p.m. Name the Bison Contest – Winner Announced
• 6 p.m. Hall of Fame Ceremony. All but four of the 24 inductees or their family members are expected to appear to accept their awards.

 Bicentennial Stage

• 12:30 p.m. Hall of Fame honoree Charles Bierbauer, a former White House Correspondent, will host a session on the media and politics. 
• 1:15 p.m. Hall of Fame honoree and WNBA star Michelle Marciniak will host a session on entrepreneurship in business and sports. 
• 1:45 p.m. Dina Hall featuring Mike Fritz on guitar
• 2:30 p.m. Steve Brosky and Jimmy Meyer
• 3:15 p.m. Jake Kaligis
• 4 p.m. BC Combo
• 4:45 p.m. Hall of Fame Honoree John Grogan, author of "Marley and Me," will do a book reading and signing.

Kids’ Stage

• 12:30 p.m. Dave Fry
• 1:30 p.m. Balloons the Clown
• 2:15 p.m. Yippee Puppet Show
• 3 p.m. Balloons the Clown
• 3:45 p.m. Excel Dance Company

“This is going to be a great day for the community to celebrate the history and people of Lehigh County," Lehigh County Executive and Bicentennial Committee Chair Don Cunningham said in a prepared release.  

A 300-page, four-color coffee table book, "Lehigh County: A Bicentennial Look Back at an American Community," by local historian Frank Whelan will be on sale at the celebration.

There also will be more than 80 interactive and educational booths presented by community, ethnic and historical organizations.