Chaired by Janine Santoro, upcoming community holiday events were highlighted during the Mayor’s South Side Task Force Nov. 26 hybrid meeting held in the NCC Fowler Center.

Besides Santoro, in-person attendees included Katy Knibbs from the Southside Arts District, Adrienne McNeil from Lehigh University, and Jeff Zettlemoyer from Housing Opportunities Group. All others checked in remotely.

Santoro announced New Bethany is holding free holiday events at their Southside Drop-in Center with a Christmas Brunch Dec. 25 from 11 a.m. to noon and a visit with Santa afterward. A New Year’s Day Lunch is scheduled for Jan. 1, 2025 from 11 a.m. to noon.

McNeil promoted Empty Bowls 2024 held Dec. 4 at 4:30 p.m. at Broughal Middle School Cafeteria. Sponsored by Sodexto at Lehigh and Moravian universities, the $10 ticketed charity event raises funding to fight hunger.

Veteran newspaper editor Marty Baron is the Lehigh University’s Compelling Perspectives speaker on Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. in the Packard Laboratory.

According to Knibbs, “Holiday on the Southside,” sponsored by Community Action Development Bethlehem (CADB), is scheduled for Dec. 6 at 4:30 p.m. with a tree lighting at Tranquility Park. At 5 p.m. it’s followed by cocoa, cookies and activities at the Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley. The Northeast Community’s Toy Drive & Park Free offering a free day of parking in a Bethlehem Parking Authority garage in exchange for an unwrapped toy donation continues to Dec. 14.

She said Touchstone Theatre’s Christmas City Follies runs Dec. 5 to 22.

Santoro reminded attendees about the city’s recent acquisition of 11.8 acres to extend the Southside Greenway project and said construction begins in 2025.

“That now gives everybody 14.9 continuous miles of trails from the South Bethlehem Greenway all the way down to Veterans Park down there in Quakertown,” said Bethlehem Senior Planner Corey Gray. “That’s definitely a really big win for the city and the region.”

“The Parks and Recreation Master Plan will be comprehensive. It will look at all of our open space and parks here in the city,” Gray said. It will build on a 2017 plan. Public discussions to determine how best to use these spaces to serve the community are being planned for 2025.

Victoria Fields from a local marketing agency that assists with small business development introduced herself.

Nayeli Hance from the Bethlehem Area Public Library South Side branch said it is open to the public Mondays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. She listed several programs offered at the branch for the month of December.

Included are Holiday Gift Making on Dec. 14 at 11 a.m., Holiday Gift Wrapping Workshop on Dec. 17 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and a Gingerbread House Party on Dec. 19 from 4:30 to 6 p.m., as well as Navigating Regional LGBTQ+ Archives Dec. 11 at 5 p.m.

Susan Vitez from the Steelworkers’ Archives reported the walking tours on the Hoover-Mason Trestle will continue through December. Combo tickets for the walk and National Museum of Industrial History admission are now being offered.

The fall Steeples and Steel bus tours went well and more will be scheduled for the spring.

“We are becoming a town of renters and not homeowners,” lamented Zettlemoyer. He described traffic tie-ups caused by trash collectors dealing with overloaded bins.

Zettlemoyer mentioned minority tenants are becoming frustrated with AI rental application services discriminating against them.

Santoro ran down a list of announcements from City Hall and community partners.

Among these, she said the Annual Climate Action Plan Update can be found on the We Build Bethlehem website and the South Bethlehem Community Center Feasibility Study is nearing completion with a meeting to take place in January or February 2025.

A Blue Zones Activate Bethlehem Community Built Environment meeting is happening Dec. 4 at 6 p.m. at the Banana Factory Arts & Education Center.

Santoro mentioned the city police department continues to seek recruits and there are open seats on several authorities, boards and commissions. Open positions at City Hall need to be filled, as well.

The Mayor’s South Side Task Force regularly meets on the last Tuesday of the month. Santoro announced that there will be no December meeting due to holidays aligning on the last two Tuesdays of the month. The next meeting will be Jan. 28.