The Mock Turtle Marionettes do more than just dangle for Doug Roysdon. They take on special meaning by reflecting children's issues ranging from special education, literacy, substance abuse, and the environment. Their roots are in southside Bethlehem, where they educate and raise awareness as they creatively partner with local community institutions, which have included Lehigh University, Wildlands Conservancy, the National Canal Museum, and Lehigh County.

"It’s no more 'Here's the show,'" Roysdon explained of his company, but rather, 'Let's get diverse.'

Roysdon is the founder of the Mock Turtle Marionette Theatre, which, for three decades, has been recognized by schools, museums, libraries and festivals throughout the region. Appearances also have extended to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and Lincoln Center in New York City. While Mock Turtle produces new works and new ways of using puppets, it also is anchored in a series of community programs organized by Roysdon and presented at the Charles Brown IceHouse on Sand Island in Bethlehem. Recent programs have included partnerships with the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley, and Cops-n-Kids of the Lehigh Valley.

As part of its winter season at the IceHouse with its Saturday’s Child Family Series, Mock Turtle will be presenting the regional performance group, "Magic, Mayhem & Motion," on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 10 a.m. The program, in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Lehigh Valley, will feature Joe Keppel, magician, and Bruce Ward, performance artist, in old-fashioned vaudeville reminiscent of Abbott & Costello and the Marx Brothers. Ward, known as "Clarence the Clown," will be 'twisting' balloon fables sans costume. A hands-on workshop in magic will follow the performance.

Lehigh Valley audiences have experienced the art of Bethlehem's Keppel and Ward at Musikfest, First Night Bethlehem, the Rose Garden Children's Festival, and Mayfair Festival of the Arts, to name some.

"Magic is such a great ice-breaker," said Keppel, a full-time performer since 1985, when he developed his "Magic of Reading" program for schools. Previously employed by the U.S. Postal Service in Bethlehem, he became a table-side magician at the former Spring Valley Inn in Center Valley and at Bridgeworks in Bethlehem. His magic later spread across the country and abroad, including Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam.

The next program in the Saturday's Child Family Series will be "Diversity Day: The Dancing Granny," on Feb. 18, with the Mock Turtle Marionettes spinning tales from Africa, the Caribbean and Afro-America.

This year's series is supported by donations from Just Born, Lehigh County, Hoch Foundation, Century Fund, and the Lehigh Valley Arts Council.

Roysdon said he hopes to expand the IceHouse programming to include shows for area universities and downtown Bethlehem's "Restaurant Row" with a new evening performance series, "The IceHouse Tonight!"

For further info: mockturtle.org                keppelscomedymagic.com

Arts Roundup:

You can brush up on your local football stats while preparing for the Super Bowl when Emmaus resident and local football guru Evan Burian holds a book-signing on Saturday, Jan. 28 from 1 to 3 p.m., at the Moravian Book Shop in Bethlehem. Burian has authored six books on the subject and will be signing his "Football Legends of Pennsylvania," which was made into an Emmy-nominated documentary by WLVT-TV PBS 39, Bethlehem, and "Ancient Rivals and Thanksgiving Day Football." A 1964 graduate of Emmaus High School, Burian is one of the most knowledgeable fans of football in Pennsylvania when it comes to its famous players, legendary coaches and championship teams. His research covers such great names as Herb Adderley of Philadelphia, Chuck Bednarik of Bethlehem, Fred Biletnikoff of Erie, Mike Ditka of Aliquippa, Jack Ham of Johnstown, Joe Montana of Monongahela, Lenny Moore of Reading, Mike Munchak of Scranton, Joe Namath of Beaver Falls, Mike Reid of Altoona and Johnny Unitas of Pittsburgh.

For further info: moravianbookshop.com

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The exhibit, "Witness," by Maureen Kelleher is under way through March 2 at the Freyberger Gallery at Penn State Berks Perkins Student Center in Spring Township. An opening reception will be held tonight (Jan. 26) from 6 to 8 p.m. Kelleher began her career as a social activist and now works as a private investigator on cold-case files. Her work involves revisiting crime scenes and witnesses to gain new evidence for prisoners. She has assisted in getting two innocent men removed from Death Row. She said it was only after reading a biography of James Baldwin (while holed up in her New Orleans home during a hurricane) that she had the idea to make visual art. Her work serves as a “witness” to inmates and other marginalized individuals as she makes their stories tangible through brightly colored paintings and constructions.

For further info: bk.psu.edu

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Stories for, by and about adults will be told on Friday, Jan. 27 at 8 p.m., when the Lehigh Valley Storytelling Guild and Touchstone Theatre present "Story Cabaret" at Touchstone's Café in Bethlehem. According to Story Cabaret creator Mary Wright, the evening’s format will be similar to that of The Moth in New York City, with allotted time for two tellers to share personal stories based on a theme, and then open mic stories. The main rule is no notes, Wright said.

"Part of the experience of something like this is the immediacy of the interaction between the person speaking and the people listening," she said. "Reading something you've already written doesn’t have the same energy or emotion as sharing it first-hand. It’s the experience as much as the stories themselves that make it so rich."

Reservations are recommended, though not required. For further info: lvstorytellers.org/Cabaret

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If you visit Rave Motion Pictures at the Saucon Valley Promenade, be sure to check out the window art painted by students in the art club at East Penn's Shoemaker Elementary School in Lower Macungie Township. Students and family members painted images and characters from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast.e" In the past, East Penn students have painted murals at the Rave for "The Muppets Movie," "The Princess and the Frog," "Cars 2" and "Alice in Wonderland." What’s coming next? Keep on checking those windows in the months ahead.

For further info: ravemotionpictures.com