What's Happening in Whitehall: Week of November 16

A quiet tree-lined residential street in a small Pennsylvania town on a frosty mid-November afternoon, bare-limbed maples, warm porch lights beginning to glow in low golden light

The week of November 16 is the calm before Thanksgiving in Whitehall: the library closes out its fall story-time session, the township's boards hold their regular November meetings, and the holiday season hits full swing around the Lehigh Valley with Christkindlmarkt's second weekend, the opening of Christmas City Village in Bethlehem, and a Pennsylvania-rivalry hockey weekend at the PPL Center. This roundup, researched Wednesday, October 21, covers things to do in Whitehall, what is on at the Whitehall-Coplay School District, good places to eat in and around town, and a dated list of current events to plan around.

Things to Do in Whitehall Right Now

The library anchors the week in town. The Whitehall Township Public Library (3700 Mechanicsville Road) is in the final week of its fall story-time session, which runs September 28 through November 19. Preschool Story Time (ages 3 to 5) meets Tuesday, November 17 at 11:00 AM, and Toddler Story Time (ages 1 to 3) meets Thursday, November 19 at 10:00 AM, both with registration required on the library's events page. For adults, the "On the Same Page" book club discusses Long Bright River by Liz Moore on Thursday, November 19 from 6:30 to 7:30 PM, a fitting way to close out the fall programming and get a good book finished before the holidays arrive.

The township's civic calendar adds its regular November meetings this week, all open to the public with agendas posted ahead of time on the township's pages. The Whitehall Township Authority Board meets Monday, November 16 at 1:00 PM at the Authority building (1901 Schadt Avenue) on its third-Monday schedule. Back at the Municipal Building (3219 MacArthur Road), the Zoning Hearing Board meets Tuesday, November 17 at 7:00 PM, and the Planning Commission holds a workshop at 6:30 PM followed by its regular meeting at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, November 18. They are quieter evenings on the public calendar, but the kind of meetings where the township's near-term plans get discussed in the open.

Around the Lehigh Valley This Week

The holiday market season hits its stride this weekend. Christkindlmarkt at SteelStacks in Bethlehem runs its second of six market weekends: Friday, November 20 from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Saturday, November 21 from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, and Sunday, November 22 from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, with free admission on Friday evenings from 5:00 to 8:00 PM. The weekend's extras include a beer tasting Saturday at 4:00 PM at Volks Haus and Breakfast with Bluey and Bingo Sunday at 9:00 AM at the Musikfest Café. Just across town, Christmas City Village, the free outdoor holiday market in north-side Bethlehem's Sun Inn Courtyard and along Main Street, opens Friday, November 20 from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM and then runs Fridays through Sundays through December 20.

The dinner-and-show circuit is in holiday mode too. Christmas at the Pines at the Pines Dinner Theatre in Allentown plays Thursday, November 19, Saturday, November 21, and Sunday, November 22, part of a run on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays through December 27. Allentown's drive-through holiday lights display, Illumination at Coca-Cola Park, continues nightly through January 2, 2027, an easy car-based evening outing from Whitehall. In Easton, the State Theatre presents Get The Led Out, the Led Zeppelin tribute, on Friday, November 20 at 7:30 PM (tickets $44.75 to $85.50), and the Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem hosts Wynonna Judd, The Hard Truth Tour, on Thursday, November 19 at 8:00 PM.

A small-town Pennsylvania park at dusk in late November, bare trees strung with warm white lights, frost on a park bench, and an American flag hanging loosely on its pole in still cold air

Hockey fans get a Pennsylvania-rivalry weekend at the PPL Center in Allentown, about 15 minutes from Whitehall. The Lehigh Valley Phantoms host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday, November 20 at 7:05 PM and the Hershey Bears on Saturday, November 21 at 7:05 PM, the night featuring the Balboa Night promotion, the first in-state matchups of the season on home ice. Between the markets, the lights display, and two puck drops, there is plenty to choose from without leaving the valley.

Whitehall-Coplay School District: What's On

The board's calendar picks up again right after this week: under the revised schedule effective October 12, committee meetings convene Monday, November 23 at 5:00 PM in the Board Room at the Education Center (2932 Zephyr Boulevard), with Operations/Transportation first, followed by Finance/Personnel and Education/Student Activities, and agendas posted on the district's school board page. The October committee night and the November 9 regular meeting covered in earlier roundups are behind us, which keeps this week light on board business.

On the student calendar, no confirmed no-school or early-dismissal days are listed for the week of November 16 in available sources, so classes are expected to run on a normal schedule; the definitive day-by-day listing is on the district calendar at whitehallcoplay.org. Families planning Thanksgiving travel should watch that calendar closely: Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 26, and the district's schedule around the holiday is confirmed there.

On the athletic side, the Zephyrs remain in the District XI Class 6A playoffs, their first postseason at the highest class after winning the 2025 District XI 5A title. Under District XI's published 2026 playoff calendar, the 6A semifinals landed the weekend of November 12-14, with the championship scheduled in the November 19-21 window; recent 6A finals have been played at BASD Stadium in Bethlehem. If Whitehall won its semifinal, the title game lands in that Thursday-to-Saturday window, so confirm the matchup, date, time, and venue on the district athletics calendar at whitehallcoplay.org/athletics1/calendar. Fall soccer, field hockey, cross country, and volleyball have wrapped or are in their final postseason pushes, so the athletics calendar is the place to check the week's full slate.

Good Places to Eat in and Around Whitehall

With Thanksgiving a week away, this is the stretch when dinners out start turning into holiday planning conversations. The MacArthur Road corridor and the neighboring boroughs are well stocked with long-running local favorites, plus one nearby pub worth the short drive:

  • Thai Diner, 910 Chestnut St, Coplay: the highest-rated spot in the area (about 4.9 stars on Google), family-style Thai and Asian cooking a few minutes from the Whitehall line.
  • Assante Ristorante Italiano, 2050 Main St, Northampton: family-run Italian dining in a comfortable sit-down room, about 4.4 stars.
  • Whitehall Diner, 3026 MacArthur Rd, Whitehall: the long-running all-hours standby on the corridor.
  • City View Diner, 1831 MacArthur Rd, Whitehall: a neighborhood diner further down MacArthur Road.
  • Samuel Owens Restaurant & Bar, 128 Chestnut St, Coplay: a proper sit-down dinner in the neighboring borough for a relaxed evening out.
  • Coplay Eatery, 1214 Chestnut St, Coplay: a dependable neighborhood spot for burgers, sandwiches, and quick meals in the borough.
  • Santa Fe Taco Co, 2022 Main St, Northampton: tacos and street-style Mexican food, quick and reliably good.
  • Bonefish Grill, 901 Lehigh Lifestyle Center, Whitehall: seafood and a comfortable sit-down room near the mall.
  • Palermos Italian Grill, 11 E 24th St, Northampton: a sit-down Italian dinner on the way home from a holiday market.
  • Wild Turkey Grill, 3625 Shankweiler Rd, North Whitehall: a modern American pub just over the Whitehall line with a dependable kitchen, about 4.3 stars on OpenTable.

The Quick List: Current Things to Do

  • Whitehall Township Authority Board meeting: Monday, November 16 at 1:00 PM, Authority building, 1901 Schadt Ave, Whitehall.
  • Preschool Story Time: Tuesday, November 17 at 11:00 AM, Whitehall Township Public Library, 3700 Mechanicsville Rd (registration required).
  • Zoning Hearing Board: Tuesday, November 17 at 7:00 PM, Municipal Building, 3219 MacArthur Rd, Whitehall.
  • Planning Commission: Wednesday, November 18, workshop 6:30 PM, regular meeting 7:30 PM, Municipal Building, 3219 MacArthur Rd, Whitehall.
  • On the Same Page book club: Thursday, November 19, 6:30 to 7:30 PM, Whitehall Township Public Library; discusses Long Bright River by Liz Moore.
  • Toddler Story Time: Thursday, November 19 at 10:00 AM, Whitehall Township Public Library (registration required).
  • Wynonna Judd, The Hard Truth Tour: Thursday, November 19 at 8:00 PM, Wind Creek Event Center, Bethlehem.
  • Christmas at the Pines: Thursday, November 19, Saturday, November 21, and Sunday, November 22, Pines Dinner Theatre, Allentown (runs through December 27).
  • Get The Led Out: Friday, November 20 at 7:30 PM, State Theatre Center for the Arts, Easton; Led Zeppelin tribute.
  • Christkindlmarkt: Friday, November 20 through Sunday, November 22, SteelStacks, Bethlehem; free admission Fridays 5:00 to 8:00 PM.
  • Christmas City Village: opens Friday, November 20 at 11:00 AM, Sun Inn Courtyard and Main Street, north-side Bethlehem; free outdoor market Fridays through Sundays through December 20.
  • Phantoms home hockey: Friday, November 20 at 7:05 PM vs Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and Saturday, November 21 at 7:05 PM vs Hershey Bears (Balboa Night), PPL Center, Allentown.
  • Illumination at Coca-Cola Park: continues nightly through January 2, 2027, Allentown; drive-through holiday lights.
  • Zephyrs District XI Class 6A championship watch: title window November 19-21 if the Zephyrs advance; confirm the matchup, date, and venue on the district athletics calendar.
  • Coming up: school board committee meetings Monday, November 23 at 5:00 PM at the Education Center; Thanksgiving week ahead, with the district's schedule around November 26 confirmed on the district calendar.

"The week before Thanksgiving is when the Lehigh Valley starts to glitter: market lights go up at SteelStacks, Bethlehem's north side opens its Christmas City Village, the Phantoms bring Pennsylvania rivals to the PPL Center, and Whitehall's own week is quieter, all library story times and township board rooms. It is a good, honest stretch to feel what everyday neighborhood life in Whitehall is like before the holiday rush fully lands."

Tim Tepes, Associate Broker

If you are house hunting in the Lehigh Valley, the week of November 16 is a great time to feel Whitehall's pre-holiday rhythm: story time and book club at the township library, board meetings open to the public in the Municipal Building, dinner spots within a few minutes' drive, and the holiday season switching on just up the highway in Bethlehem and Allentown. 4365 Spruce St sits a few minutes from the township parks, the library, the school campus, and the MacArthur Road dining corridor, in a neighborhood that enters the holiday stretch the way the whole township does. Come see the street as the season turns, and let's talk about whether it is the right fit for you. Event dates, times, locations, and prices can shift, so confirm details on the township, district, library, and venue pages linked above before you make plans.

Tim Tepes
Tim Tepes
Associate Broker · PA AB062628L

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