What's Happening in Whitehall: Week of October 5

A township park path lined with carved pumpkins and hay bales leading toward trees just starting to show autumn color under early evening light

The first full week of October brings a fresh batch of local color: a new Spooky Car Show and trunk-or-treat in Egypt Memorial Park this Saturday, a Whitehall Township bus trip to Jim Thorpe on Sunday the 11th, the second weekend of Oktoberfest at SteelStacks, the Phantoms' first hockey home weekend of the season, and the Zephyrs on the road at Emmaus for Friday-night football. This roundup, researched Wednesday, September 30, 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 anchor of the local fright season is back: the haunted hayrides run every Friday and Saturday night, October 2 through October 31, from 7:00 to 11:00 PM at the Whitehall Parkway (4689 South Church Street). Tickets are cash only and sold on site: $15 for ages 13 and up, $7 for ages 5 to 12, and free for children under 5, with proceeds benefiting the Whitehall Fire Department. The season opens this Friday, so there are plenty of openings across the month.

New on the township calendar this weekend: the Spooky Car Show and Trunk-or-Treat Night at Egypt Memorial Park (4548 Main Street) on Saturday, October 3. The car show runs from 12:00 to 6:00 PM, and trunk-or-treat takes over from 5:00 to 6:00 PM. It is an easy early-fall family stop right in town, and it pairs nicely with an evening hayride at the Parkway.

Over in Coplay, the Whitehall Historical Preservation Society hosts Cash Bingo on Friday, October 2 at St. Peter's Catholic Church (4 South 5th Street), with doors opening at 5:30 PM. It is a fundraiser for the historical society and a relaxed way to kick off the fall weekend.

For a day trip, Whitehall Township's adult bus trip to Jim Thorpe departs Sunday, October 11 at 9:00 AM from the Whitehall Parkway and returns around 5:00 PM, open to Whitehall residents. Contact the township recreation office for reservations and the exact cost. It is a scenic way to see the fall foliage in the Poconos foothills without driving.

Two township dates already on the fall calendar: the annual Halloween Parade steps off Thursday, October 22 at 6:00 PM with no rain date, and Whitehall Recreation's fall family night runs Friday, October 30 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM with an October 31 rain date. The township Fall Festival was canceled this year, so October centers on the hayrides, the car show, the parade, and the family night.

The Whitehall Township Public Library keeps a full October calendar even while its building is closed to the public, with curbside pickup and events only. The Basket Raffle presale runs September 28 through October 29 (five cards of 15 raffle tickets for $20), the Plant a Row fresh-produce drop-off continues Mondays through October 5 from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and the Second Chapter Café hosts its "Suit Yourself" program Thursday, October 1 from 12:00 to 3:00 PM, with a movie matinee on Friday, October 2 (registration required for programs). Confirm details on the library's event page before heading over.

Around the Lehigh Valley This Week

Oktoberfest at SteelStacks in Bethlehem opens its second weekend October 9 to 11, after the first weekend kicked off October 2 to 4. The free festival at the ArtsQuest Center (101 Founders Way) runs Fridays 5:00 to 10:00 PM, Saturdays 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM, and Sundays 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM, with German-style food and brews, live music, local artisans, dachshund races, and the Pennsylvania State Stein Holding Championship. Runners can join the companion Yuengling Oktoberfest 5K on Sunday, October 4 at 10:30 AM, starting at SteelStacks.

Hockey is back in Allentown: the Lehigh Valley Phantoms host the Hartford Wolf Pack at the PPL Center on Saturday, October 10 at 7:05 PM, then the Cleveland Monsters on Sunday, October 11 at 7:00 PM. It is the first home hockey weekend of the season, about a 15-minute drive from Whitehall.

The Allentown Art Museum's "Idyllic Vision: The Hudson River School and American Landscape" stays on view through October 11, a fitting pairing for the season as the region's fall color peaks and 19th-century American landscape painting fills the galleries.

The Morning Call's weekend guide highlights a Fall Movie Night at Hopewell Park in Center Valley on Friday, October 2 from 5:00 to 9:00 PM, hosted by the Southern Lehigh Chamber of Commerce and Upper Saucon Township with a Disney movie on the lawn. And the weekend of October 10 brings Harvest Fest 2026 to Historic Downtown Bethlehem on Saturday, October 10 from 12:00 to 5:00 PM, a free street festival with live music, local shopping, and family activities.

Closer to home, the Lehigh Valley Mall in Whitehall hosts CANstruction from October 10 to 24, as teams of architects, engineers, and students build large sculptures out of canned food, with the cans donated afterward. Halloween Haunt at Dorney Park keeps running select nights through October 31, while the daytime, family-friendly Great Pumpkin Fest returns on weekends.

Fall farm trips are in full season: Seiple Farms in Bath (5761 Nor-Bath Boulevard) runs Fall Fun weekends through November 1 and Friday afternoons in October, with a free hayride to the pumpkin patch, a $10 corn maze, and a flashlight corn maze on Friday nights. Grim's Orchard and Family Farms in Breinigsville (9875 Schantz Road) keeps its Fall Festival going through November 1, with pick-your-own apples and pumpkins, hayrides, and a corn maze.

A small-town main street in early October with brick storefronts, potted mums, and stacked pumpkins beside a shop door under warm late-afternoon light

Whitehall-Coplay School District: What's On

The Zephyrs varsity football team is on the road again this week: Friday, October 2 at Louis E. Dieruff in Allentown, then Friday, October 9 at Emmaus, both 7:00 PM kickoffs. The team returns to Zephyr Stadium on Thursday, October 15 to host William Allen under the lights, followed by trips to Parkland (October 23) and a home finale against Allentown Central Catholic (October 30).

On the district calendar, the first marking period ends Friday, October 9, and fall break, with no school, runs Monday and Tuesday, October 19 and 20. The board-approved 2026-2027 calendar at whitehallcoplay.org is the authoritative source for early dismissals, marking-period dates, conferences, and holidays, so confirm there before making plans.

The school board operates under a revised meeting schedule effective October 12: committee meetings now land on the fourth Monday of the month at 5:00 PM, followed by the regular board meeting at 7:00 PM in the Board Room at the Education Center, 2932 Zephyr Boulevard. The next meeting under the new rhythm is Monday, October 26. Fall soccer, field hockey, cross country, golf, tennis, and volleyball teams are all in season across the district; schedules live on the Zephyrs athletics site.

Stadium light towers glowing over the turf and empty bleachers at a suburban Pennsylvania high school field on an October dusk

Good Places to Eat in and Around Whitehall

Hayride nights, car shows, and game nights call for easy dinners, and the area around Whitehall is well stocked. A current lineup of local favorites:

  • Angel's Pizza & Italian Restaurant, 5511 MacArthur Rd, Whitehall: a long-running slice-and-Italian spot right on the corridor.
  • Whitehall Diner, 3026 MacArthur Rd, Whitehall: the all-hours standby on the corridor, easy before or after a game.
  • Maraschino Diner, 1162 MacArthur Rd, Whitehall: the family-run newcomer in the former Lehigh Valley Diner building, worth trying if you have not yet.
  • Samuel Owens Restaurant & Bar, 128 Chestnut St, Coplay: a proper sit-down dinner in the neighboring borough for a relaxed evening out.
  • Assante Ristorante Italiano, 2050 Main St, Northampton: Italian dining with a comfortable room right up Main Street.
  • Santa Fe Taco Co, 2022 Main St, Northampton: tacos and street-style Mexican food, quick and reliably good.
  • Mario's Pizza Shop, 851 Main St, Northampton: dependable pizza and Italian basics a few minutes up the road.
  • Palermos Italian Grill, 11 E 24th St, Northampton: a sit-down Italian dinner on the way home from a fall festival.
  • Northampton Diner and Family Restaurant, 1205 Main St, Northampton: dependable family-style breakfast and lunch.

The Quick List: Current Things to Do

"From the Spooky Car Show and trunk-or-treat at Egypt Memorial Park to the second weekend of Oktoberfest, a home-opening weekend for Phantoms hockey, the Jim Thorpe bus trip, and Zephyrs football on the road at Emmaus, the first full week of October gives Whitehall families a full calendar: car shows, hayrides, hockey, farm trips, and the first real color of the season. It is a wonderful month to be out and about in the Lehigh Valley."

Tim Tepes, Associate Broker

If you are house hunting in the Lehigh Valley, October is an ideal month to visit Whitehall: hayrides nearly every weekend, Phantoms hockey down the road, the schools in their fall rhythm, and the parks at their most colorful. 4365 Spruce St sits a few minutes from the township parks, Zephyr Stadium, the schools, and the MacArthur Road dining corridor. Come see the neighborhood while the calendar is full, and let's talk about whether it is the right fit for you. Event dates, times, and prices can shift, so confirm details on the township, district, and venue pages linked above before you make plans.

Tim Tepes
Tim Tepes
Associate Broker · PA AB062628L

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