High fashion meets fine art with two events at ArtsQuest’s Banana Factory.

The “First Friday” opening reception for “An Uncommon Thread: Fashion as Fine Art,” 6 - 9 p.m. May 5, will feature a meet and greet with artist and wedding dress designer Barbara Kavchok.

The solo exhibit in the Crayola Gallery, 25 W. Third St., Bethlehem, highlights 14 magnificent apparel creations by the Bethlehem native.

“I want people to view fashion as an art form because fashion is a form of art,” says the designer.

For the solo exhibit, she pairs her collection of elaborate dresses to represent a yin-yang of good and evil that delves into futuristic, science-fiction themes.

The designer, who studied fine art and illustration at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia, says she conjured a more heady dose of futuristic themes during the pandemic.

ArtsQuest’s 2023 inaugural “People’s Ball,” May 6, also in the Crayola Gallery, celebrates art, style and the community.

Guests are encouraged to purchase general admission tickets or join the stylish fun (in one of four categories) and send their creations down the catwalk in the Runway Show.

Attendees will have the chance to embrace a community where fashion meets art, view the solo exhibit, and meet designer Barbara Kavchok while enjoying appetizers and stylishly dancing the night away to DJ, the Nite Liters.

The ArtsQuest “People’s Ball” is a new creative endeavor to bring fashion to the community as inspired by the costume and fashion events celebrated yearly in metro regions such as New York, Los Angeles, Paris and Milan.

“Good Cause” is a column about galas, benefits and fund-raisers. If you have an item for “Good Cause,” or would like to request for your event to be covered, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com