Donny Osmond Summer 2024 Tour - Windcreek Event Center; Bethlehem, PA

I never considered myself a big Donny Osmond fan, but I knew my mom (Mama Needs-to-Sit) was. For all you fellow Millennials - Donny was Mama's *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys and in my case, Billy Gilman. You know your average teenie-bopper magazine cover boy band. Imagine my surprise when last year I was driving home from work and a contest came over the local radio to win Donny Osmond tickets! I had no idea that he was coming to a local venue (Windcreek Event Center) and had a feeling Mama didn't know either. I knew if she got wind of it (ha wind...Windcreek...puns) she would have mentioned it to me. I quickly texted my dad (once I was safely home), asking if I should try and secure tickets of my own. Within ten minutes I had tickets in hand and was ready to surprise Mama! Her reaction to a super early and unexpected birthday gift of tickets to see her teenage popstar crush will always be priceless to me. Pst, if you're reading this Mama Needs-to-Sit, I love you a million red M&M's!

I knew when I ordered the tickets that I would probably only recognize one song Donny Osmond sang: Let's Get Down To Business. To defeat. The Huns. HUUUUH! Any Disney kid just sang those lines in their head, don't deny it. I was so excited when Donny actually performed the iconic song from Mulan, complete with a kick-arse dance number. But the point being I went into the concert knowing barely any of Donny's music, and came out a fan (I am now the proud owner of a Donny tour t-shirt and multiple song on iTunes...yes, I still use iTunes). The show was spectacular and I enjoyed every bit of it so much that when I heard Donny was coming back this year, to the very same venue, I immediately went on Stubhub to search for seats.

I've seen a few shows at the Windcreek Event Center over the years. These have ranged from concerts, to comedians to tattoo conventions (and goes back to before Windcreek took over, when the complex was known as The Sand's). I remember when they were building the hotel, casino, event center and shopping outlet complex. It's near the old Bethlehem Stee where you can now go and walk the remains of the steel plant, complete with signs to tell the story behind what was once one of the areas largest employers. I'm proud to say my grandfather was an employee of the Bethlehem Steel and his name is honored at the SteelStacks building that resides next to the Windcreek complex. The shopping outlets that are located on the complex have dwindled extremely since it was first built. Ax throwing, an escape room, and more family-friendly activities have taken over what used to be a nice selection of outlet stores.

Enough about the event center, back to the man himself, Donny! His show in comparison to last year was relatively the same. However I enjoyed last year's show so much that this was actually a good thing! In both shows he takes around 30-45 minutes to take song requests from the fans in attendance. This part of the show is probably my favorite because you get to hear stories about each song from Donny himself, as well as a varied selection of his hit's throughout his career. This year he got even closer to his fans than last years, literally! Upon taking a request for a song from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Donny brought up the young fan and his mom onstage to sing with him. Another fan was lucky enough that Donny hopped off the stage to dance with her (this to me was a bit of an extreme ask from the fan, but to each their own). Once offstage, Donny took notice to a woman near the aisle who appeared to have been battling cancer. He sang a beautiful song directly to her, holding her hand and dancing with her before ending the experience with a hug. It was heartwarming to see, and after this (much to security's relief) Donny headed back to the stage to continue the show. This moment solidified Donny Osmond as one of the few artists in the entertainment industry that truly care about their fans in my eyes. You can bet I'll be keeping an eye on his tour schedule for another show near me soon!

Please note I will be reviewing the venue accommodations only for the area where the concert was held (Windcreek Event Center), not for the Windcreek casino, hotel or any of their other attractions onsite.

Lady Needs-To-Sit's Starfish Guide

Restroom Rundown

Full disclosure, I was battling a wicked bladder infection when I attended this concert. For obvious reasons, this made the bathroom situation extremely important to me. Luckily I had an aisle seat for the show, so slipping out if I had to use the facilities was easy enough. The only problem was there was one bathroom area for the entire Event Center, and it was located outside of the main concert itself. Let me explain, to enter the concert venue you first had to walk through security which was located in the shopping outlet area, completely separate from the event center. Once you were through what was extraordinarily similar to airport security, you were led down a hallway by crowd control ropes (you know those things every child needs to play with that work like a seat belt), past where the only bathrooms were located, to a bar/lounge. Here you could purchase adult beverages, snacks and any tour merchandise. Past this area was the actual stage were Donny would perform. If you had to use the restroom during the show, you had to walk from your seat, back through the bar/lounge, back to the hallway to reach them. Quite the trek! No wonder there was never a line, no one wanted to have to journey that far for a pee!

Seating Situation

Much to my suprise, there was a good amount of seating available in the bar/lounge area to enjoy before the official doors opened to our ticketed seats. There were padded benches along most of the walls, and high topped tables to lean against while sipping your drink of choice. If all of these options were taken, a small loft area was available with additional seating. Inside the concert venue itself, the seats were folded chairs. Not the metal folding chairs that hurt your tush after a half hour either, these chairs were rubbery (and quite bouncy!). The chairs lacked armrests, so my hips weren't pinched by a limited amount of space. The chairs weren't secured down to the floor however, so they were prone to shift with movement. There was a good amount of space between the makeshift rows, and I didn't find myself feeling cramped at all (even being a tall mermaid myself!).

Railing, Ramps & Elevators (Oh My!)

Everything that I had to access was on one floor level (shocking, right?). Meaning once I was through the Windcreek hotel entrance, each area did not require stairs for me to worry about climbing. There may have been two or three steps down to the seating for the concert itself, but nothing intimidating for me personally. There were many other fans in attendance that had mobility aids (motorized wheelchairs, walkers, canes, manual wheelchairs) and it didn't seem that they found it cumbersome to reach their ticketed seats. Please take this part of my review with a grain of salt, since I did not need to climb any flights of stairs myself, I did not take much of a note to the accessibility of an elevator. My apologies readers!

Parking Lot Party

Remember how I mentioned it was a trek to get to a bathroom? In this case the trip to your car in the parking lot was a pilgrimage. The employees who were directing traffic into the parking lot were having cars park farther and farther away, and we arrived an hour before the doors to the event center even opened! Thankfully Mama had the mindset to slowly drive through the rows that were already "full". Lo and behold she was able to zip into a spot that wasn't offensively far of a swim for this mermaid to reach the entrance of the Windcreek complex. There were a lot of older patrons for the concert, and I can't even imagine how far they may have had to park. The hotel lobby is used to access the event center, which does offer valet parking (I'm not a fan of valet - but that's a personal preference). BUT I am unsure if this amenity is only offered to hotel guests.

Will I Return?

The Windcreek Event Center is a local venue that I will continue to frequent. They are relatively small in comparison to arena venue, which as am empath I prefer. Less people = less hectic. All of the areas of the venue were clean, and security was plenty that I felt safe inside. I highly recommend checking out the different entertainment options that will be held at the Windcreek Event Center!

Swimmingly yours,

LNTS