NewswireToday - /newswire/ - Allentown, PA, United States, 10/03/2008 - The Studio Tour Weekend event is an outgrowth of the two-year-old D&L Artisan Trail initiative which features 35 art galleries, museums, and private studios located in Northampton, Lehigh, Carbon and Monroe counties.

Lovers of fine arts and crafts can connect with artists during the first D&L Artisan Trail Studio Tour Weekend on Saturday, October 18th and Sunday, October 19th. It will feature 23 participating artist sites in Lehigh Valley, Jim Thorpe and Stroudsburg, Pa.

The free event allows visitors to interact with artists in their studios and galleries, learn about their creative process, see their artwork on display and purchase it for their homes. Artistic mediums include oil and watercolor paints, blown and stained glass, clay, metal sculptures, apparel and jewelry. All participating studios will be open from 11 am. to 6 pm. both days.

Several of the participating artists have donated works of art which will be raffled off during the weekend. Studio Tour Weekend attendees simply fill out a registration form at one of the participating studios or galleries in order to be entered into the raffle.

A complimentary Studio Tour Weekend brochure that features descriptions of all 23 participating artists, directions to their studios and a map of the region can be requested by calling Lehigh Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau at 1-800-747-0561 or Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau at 1-800-POCONOS.

The ARTSPACE Gallery in Stroudsburg and the Carbon County Cultural Project in Jim Thorpe will act as host centers for tour participants. Brochures and light refreshments can be picked up at both locations, and staff can assist with driving directions and answers to tour-related questions.

Organized by The Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, the Studio Tour Weekend is a joint initiative with Lehigh Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau, Pocono Arts Council, Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau, and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

The Delaware & Lehigh Artisan Trail is one of five Pennsylvania artisan trails that were developed over the last four years to bring attention to the Commonwealth’s unique spectrum of art venues. Each trail offers visitors the opportunity to visit artists in their studios or galleries.

The Delaware & Lehigh National and State Heritage Corridor fosters stewardship of historical, cultural and natural resources along the early canal and railroad systems that carried anthracite coal from mine to market in eastern Pennsylvania.

Agency / Source: Lehigh Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau

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