The best of the Lehigh Valley, every Thursday · Issue #3 · September 17, 2026
Happy Thursday, Lehigh Valley!
Summer is not going quietly. This weekend has three community days, a projection-light festival, a monarch send-off, and the first fried chicken line of the fall.
The weather is doing its part. Today has a chance of an afternoon storm, then Friday is sunny and 77. Saturday is mostly sunny and 79, with showers possible after 8pm, so the Forks fireworks are a coin flip. Sunday is partly sunny and 80 with a 30% shot at a shower.
In today's edition:
How to do Saturday in Emmaus, start to finish
Franklin Park in west Allentown is getting a $4 million makeover
A 1799 rebellion gets a plaque at the Buckeye Tavern
Homes of the Week: Emmaus, Bethlehem, and Palmer Township
Dave's Hot Chicken opens today in Lower Nazareth
Roadwork: Indian Creek Road bridge and Emmaus Avenue
The Walk to End Alzheimer's needs 1,000 more walkers
45+ things to do this weekend
- Joe Roller
News
How to Do Saturday in Emmaus, September 19
Food truck night beside the Emmaus mural on Main Street. Photo courtesy of Yergey Brewing
Two free things land on the same four blocks of Main Street this Saturday. Emmaus throws its Farewell to Summer Festival, and Yergey Brewing turns 10.
Here is the whole day, by the clock.
10am: Emmaus Historical Society. The museum on Main Street is open until 4.
11am: Free Pilates in Triangle Park. Alchemize runs a 30-minute mat class. RSVP on the festival page and bring your own mat.
11am to 3pm: The festival. 50+ craft vendors, inflatables, a free tie-dye station (bring a plain shirt), and a Scarecrow Trail passport with $50 gift cards up for grabs. Touch-a-Truck with the Emmaus fire and police departments fills the Wells Fargo lot.
Noon: Moana and Spider-Man meet-and-greet, 30 minutes, for the little ones.
Noon-ish: Lunch in Food Truck Alley. Between Buss Paints and Kappe Associates: Uno Taqueria, Beirut Bites, Grubnight, Easton Treatery, Hungry Hound Express, Cookie Crumbles, and a Mister Softee truck. Beer and cocktails, too.
12:30pm: The Goonies, free, at the Emmaus Theatre. Runs to 2. It holds up.
3pm: Walk down to YergFest. Yergey Brewing, 235 Main St, is celebrating 10 years with five days of bands and food trucks. Saturday runs noon to 11: Island Time 3 to 5, The Dishonest Fiddlers 7 to 10, Bodega Bistro on the truck. Free to walk in.
Sunday bonus: the YergFest stein-holding contest is 1 to 2pm (ticketed), Highest Bidder plays 2:30 to 5:30, and the Emmaus Farmers Market is back in Triangle Park 10 to 1.
Rather do a different town? Saturday has three community days at once:
Coopersburg Community Day, 10 to 5, rain or shine, free. A medevac helicopter lands at 11:45, the Craig Thatcher Band plays at 2, plus a 50+ car show, petting zoo, and a free shuttle every 3 minutes from the Lutron lot at 7200 Suter Rd.
Forks Township Community Days, Fri 5 to 10, Sat 11 to 10, Sun 11 to 7. Free tethered hot air balloon rides Saturday, rides, 78 vendor booths, and fireworks Saturday around 9:30. Admission is not posted.
East ON Fest, Fri and Sat 8 to 11pm, downtown Easton, free. A first-year festival that turns the buildings around Centre Square into 15 light installations.
Community Digest
Franklin Park Is Getting a $4 Million Makeover
Franklin Park is the 1.1-acre park between Chew and Turner, just west of 14th Street in Allentown. It is about to get a full rebuild.
The plan: two playgrounds, a full basketball court, a splash pad, a pavilion with restrooms, garden beds, exercise gear, a bike station, and more than 40 new trees.
The $4 million comes from a Bezos Earth Fund grant. Allentown was one of eight cities in the country picked for it. The design was shown last weekend; no finish date yet.
A 1799 Rebellion Gets Its Plaque in Macungie
The Buckeye Tavern on Brookside Road has a new 12-inch brass marker by the door.
Back when it was Shankweiler's Tavern, the men behind the Fries Rebellion met there in 1799. They were farmers refusing a federal house tax. Their leader, John Fries, was sentenced to death and then pardoned by the president in 1800.
The Lower Macungie Township Historical Society put it up last month. Worth a look on your next wing night.
One Woman Is Racing to Save a 100-Year-Old Christmas Barn
Dana Alyss, a Bethlehem content creator with 80,000 followers, wants to buy the Bethlehem Township barn that was a year-round Christmas shop from the late 1960s to 2007.
It is listed at $1.9 million. Her GoFundMe has raised more than $51,000 toward a $200,000 down payment, and Candace Cameron Bure chipped in.
One more: Coca-Cola Park becomes Jefferson Park for the 2027 season. Coke stays on as the ballpark's beverage partner.
Homes of the Week
Three homes, three budgets, three corners of the Valley. Live at send time.
UNDER $350K
$330,000 · Emmaus borough
2,106 sqft · 3 bed / 2 bath · Built 1880, remodeled 2023 · End-unit townhome with 10-foot ceilings, a quartz island kitchen, and an attached 2-car garage (rare downtown) · Listed by Real of Pennsylvania
$350K TO $550K
$435,000 · Northeast Bethlehem
1,556 sqft · 3 bed / 1.5 bath · Built 1991 · Cul-de-sac in The Oaks, brick fireplace with a pellet insert, covered patio, metal roof, and a clear city code inspection · Listed by Weichert Realtors
OVER $550K
$800,000 · Palmer Township, Easton
3,614 sqft · 5 bed / 3.5 bath · Built 1999 · 0.7 acre in Hillcrest Acres, walk-out in-law suite with a sauna, hot tub, gazebo, and a 3-car garage · Listed by Redfin
City Updates
Roadwork to Know About This Week
Indian Creek Road bridge, Upper Milford is closed between Route 29 and Brookside Road through the end of September. Detour: Route 29, Lower Macungie Road, Brookside.
Emmaus Avenue, 26th to 12th Street is down to one lane with flaggers today, 8am to 2pm.
Lower Macungie Road between Hamilton Boulevard and Ivy Lane in Upper Macungie gets flaggers Friday, 8 to 2.
Route 309 between East Hopewell Road and Center Valley Parkway has lane restrictions today and Friday, 8 to 2.
West Northampton Street in Bath, closed since December for the Route 248 work, is scheduled to reopen Saturday.
New in the Valley
Dave's Hot Chicken Opens Today
The Valley's first Dave's Hot Chicken soft-opens today at 3812 Easton-Nazareth Highway in Lower Nazareth (Nazareth Crossing), with the grand opening Friday.
Open 10:30am to 10pm (11 on Friday and Saturday). Seven spice levels, 37 seats. Expect a line.
Hobby Lobby is now open at Airport Center in Hanover Township (916 Airport Center Dr, the old Christmas Tree Shops), Monday to Saturday 9 to 8.
Coming soon: Forman Mills opens Thursday, September 24 at 9am in Whitehall Plaza, and the first 100 adults in line get a free gift card. Kyogre Kards, a Pokemon and trading card shop, cuts the ribbon Saturday, September 26 at 11am in the old GameStop at 3087 William Penn Hwy, Palmer, with free Pokemon pinball.
All month: the Vegan Chef Challenge runs through September at 12 Valley restaurants. Eat, then vote at veganchefchallenge.org/lehigh.
Do Some Good
One way to help the Valley each week, plus the nonprofit events worth knowing about.
The Walk to End Alzheimer's Is Saturday
Saturday morning, 1,059 people walk out of SteelStacks in Bethlehem for the Walk to End Alzheimer's. Registration opens at 8:30, the Promise Garden ceremony is at 9:30, and you can pick the 1.5-mile or 2-mile route.
It is free to sign up. The Lehigh Valley walk has raised $240,222 of its $350,000 goal, and the last $110,000 is the hard part. Show up, walk, or throw $20 at a team.
Wildlands Stream Team | Fri 8 to 11am, Mill Race Park, Easton
Tree tubes and invasive pulls, ages 16+. Tools provided, rain or shine.
Monarch Tagging | Sun 10am to noon, Louise Moore Park, Easton
Free, ages 10+. Three spots left as of last night; registration closes today.
Walk for Pancreatic Cancer Research | Sun 10:15am walk, Lehigh Parkway, Allentown
Three miles, dog and stroller friendly. $22,363 of a $50,000 goal, so every signup counts.
Find Your Type singles night | Fri Sept 25, 4 to 8pm, Miller-Keystone Blood Center, Bethlehem
Ages 18+, music, mocktails, raffles. Donating is encouraged, not required.
ALS United Walk | Sat Sept 26, 10am registration, 11am walk, Cedar Crest College, Allentown
$107,830 raised of $120,000.
Rotary Celtic Classic 5K | Sat Sept 26, 11:25am, Bethlehem Area Public Library to Sand Island
$35 through September 23.
Is your nonprofit doing something? | anywhere in the Valley
Fundraiser, walk, drive, gala: hit reply and we'll list it here, free.
Weekend Rundown: Sept 17-20
FREE means free. Prices are listed where the organizer posts them. Double-check times before heading out!
FAIR & FESTIVAL
Emmaus Farewell to Summer Festival FREE | Sat 11am to 3pm, Triangle Park, Emmaus
From today's story.
YergFest FREE | Thu to Mon, Yergey Brewing, Emmaus
Thu James Supra Trio (first beer free in lederhosen). Fri Deal, a Grateful Dead tribute, plus a silent disco at 10. Sun stein-holding at 1. Mon trivia and $1 off pints.
Coopersburg Community Day FREE | Sat 10am to 5pm, Southern Lehigh Living Memorial Park
From today's story.
Forks Township Community Days | Fri 5 to 10, Sat 11 to 10, Sun 11 to 7, Forks Community Park, Easton
From today's story.
East ON Fest FREE | Fri + Sat 8 to 11pm, Centre Square, Easton
From today's story.
Latin Festival Easton FREE | Sun 10am to 8pm, Riverside Park, Easton
Salsa, mariachi, a beer garden, and 25,000+ people expected.
Kutztown Fall Fest on Main | Sat 3 to 9pm, Main St, Kutztown
Live music, food trucks, kids' activities. Clover Hill is pouring.
MARKETS
Bethlehem Vintage & Harvest Market | Sat 10am to 4pm, Burnside Plantation, Bethlehem
The old Apple Days. 75 vintage vendors, apple dumplings, cider donuts. $4 at the gate, kids 14 and under free.
Cruise Into Fall Craft Fair + Wheels of Time Cruise Night FREE | Sat from 11am, cruise 4pm, Macungie Memorial Park
80+ craft vendors, then the classic cars roll in.
Macungie Farmers Market FREE | Thu 4 to 7pm, Lumber St, Macungie
Allentown Fairgrounds Farmers Market FREE | Thu 9 to 7, Fri 8 to 7, Sat 8 to 6, 1825 Chew St
Upper Macungie Farmers Market FREE | Sat 9am to noon, Grange Park
Easton Farmers Market FREE | Sat 9am to 1pm, Scott Park, Easton
Bethlehem Rose Garden Farmers Market FREE | Sat 9am to 1pm, W Raspberry St between 8th and 9th
Emmaus Farmers Market FREE | Sun 10am to 1pm, Triangle Park
LIVE & FREE MUSIC
Jazz Jam FREE | Thu 7pm, Williams Brew Stage, ArtsQuest Center, Bethlehem
Bring your horn. Open to all players.
Billy Bauer Band | Fri 7:30pm, Musikfest Cafe, Bethlehem
Dave Matthews tribute. $27 to $33.
Nyte Flyte | Fri 6 to 9pm, Shepherd Hills Golf Club pavilion, Wescosville
No cover listed. Fridgemagnet plays Saturday, same time.
Vynecrest live music | Sat + Sun 1 to 4pm, Breinigsville
Karl Eisenhart Saturday, Sharon Pires Sunday.
Emo Kids | Sat 7:30pm, Musikfest Cafe, Bethlehem
Live emo night party band. $24 to $52.
Clover Hill Sunday | Sun noon to 5pm, Breinigsville
Lobster truck, Jason Knorr 1:30 to 4:30, winery tour at 2 ($14).
Devon Gilfillian | Sun 7pm, Musikfest Cafe, Bethlehem
$34 to $40.
ARTS & CULTURE
Third Thursday at the Allentown Art Museum FREE | Thu 5 to 7pm, Allentown
Free admission until 8 and a free painting workshop with Jacy Rodriguez. Reserve a spot.
Civic Theatre: In Tandem | Fri + Sat 7:30pm, Sun 3pm, Theatre514, Allentown
Closing weekend. Two comedy one-acts. $35, $30 seniors and students, $13 kids.
The History of the Can | Sat 1 to 3pm, National Museum of Industrial History, Bethlehem
Yes, the can.
Clemente FREE | Sun 6pm, Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas, Bethlehem
The Roberto Clemente documentary. Free, but grab a ticket.
Shankweiler's Drive-In | Thu to Sun, gates 6:30, Orefield
Practical Magic 2 at 7:50, The Craft at 10:10. $12 adults, $8 under 12, both movies included.
FAMILY & OUTDOORS
Grim's Fall Festival | Sat + Sun 10am to 7pm, Breinigsville
Weekend three. Honeycrisp are ready. Last entry 5:30. $21.99 activity, $37.99 premium, $12 maze only.
Screamin' Green Hauntoween opens | Sat, Crayola Experience, Easton
Makeovers 11 to 3, characters at noon and 2. Runs through November 1. $27.99 online, $30.99 at the door. Stairs only for a few weeks (elevator out).
Dorney Park Halloween Haunt opens | Fri night, Dorney Park, Allentown
Haunt for the big kids Friday (not for under 13). Tricks and Treats for little ones starts Saturday, from $39 online.
Hawk Mountain Monarch Day | Sat 10am to 3pm, Kempton
Talk at 11, tagging demo at 1, native plant sale. Trail pass $10 adults, $5 kids.
Bridles & Badges Open House FREE | Sun noon to 3pm, 615 E Langhorne Ave, Bethlehem
New horses Fossor and Otto get their badges at noon, riding demo at 2, barn tours, food trucks.
Pups in the Park FREE | Sun 11am to 3pm, Macungie Memorial Park
50+ vendors and rescues, per the organizer's posting.
S.T.E.A.M. Adventures FREE | Sun 11am to 3pm, National Museum of Industrial History, Bethlehem
Free for kids 12 and under with an adult.
FOOD & DRINK
Grub and Groove FREE | Thu 5 to 8pm, Grange Park, Upper Macungie
Weekly food truck night. Free to walk in.
Bourbon, Bites & Stogies | Fri 6pm, Bear Creek, Macungie
Bourbon-paired dinner with two cigars. $85.
Dave's Hot Chicken | Thu soft open, Fri grand opening, Lower Nazareth
From today's story.
COMEDY
Rock Hard Buffalo | Fri 9pm, Bethlehem Visitor Center at SteelStacks
Interactive musical comedy. $13, ages 13+.
Ali Wong | Sat 8pm, Wind Creek Event Center, Bethlehem
COBRA improv | Sat 8pm, SteelStacks, Bethlehem
$12.
SPORTS
It's Family Weekend at Lehigh, so the Bethlehem side is busy.
Lehigh football vs Dartmouth | Sat noon, Goodman Stadium, Bethlehem
Muhlenberg football vs Wilkes | Sat noon, Scotty Wood Stadium, Allentown
Lafayette men's soccer vs Holy Cross | Sat 1pm, Gummeson Grounds, Easton
Alumni Day.
Lehigh men's soccer vs Army | Sat 6pm, Ulrich Sports Complex, Bethlehem
Lehigh vs Lafayette volleyball | Sun noon, Grace Hall, Bethlehem
The Rivalry, indoor edition.
The IronPigs are away in Syracuse.
WORTH THE DRIVE
Penn's Peak, Jim Thorpe | Thu 8pm Travis Tritt ($69.50 to $87.50); Fri 8pm Emerson, Lake & Palmer with Carl Palmer live ($27 to $37); Sat 8pm Damn the Torpedoes, a Tom Petty tribute ($25 advance, $30 door)
Circle the Date
Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band play the State Theatre in Easton Thursday, September 24.
Forman Mills opens in Whitehall September 24, and dd's DISCOUNTS is scheduled to follow on MacArthur Road September 25.
Celtic Classic takes over Bethlehem September 25 to 27, free. Same weekend: Passport to History, free admission at historic sites across the region.
Saturday, September 26: the Fall Wine Festival at the Zoo, opening day for the Seiple Farms corn maze ($10), and the ALS United Walk at Cedar Crest.
Oktoberfest at SteelStacks runs October 2 to 4 and 9 to 11, free. Register for the Oktoberfest 5K by tomorrow to guarantee a shirt.
October 3: the Lehigh Valley Buddy Walk at Cedar Crest College, the Women's 5K Classic in Lehigh Parkway ($45), and Easton Garlic Fest downtown.
Emmaus Halloween Parade is Saturday, October 17 at 7pm. Same day: ChiliFest turns 30 on the SouthSide ($35 passport).
The Lights in the Parkway 5K (Wednesday, November 25) sells out every year. $40 until September 28.
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That's the Loop. Know about something happening in the Valley? Hit reply, we read everything. See you next Thursday.