2017 Lehigh Valley Fall Fun Guide

FOOD

September 9:
2nd Annual Allentown Beer Festival –
The Hamilton District Main Street Program, in partnership with Cork & Cage presents this afternoon block party full of beer, food and live music. 1 – 5 p.m. $34 online; $40 at door. 500 & 600 Blocks of Hamilton Street, Allentown. downtownallentown.ticketleap.com

September 12:
Brewology –
Ben Franklin said that beer was proof that God existed and here they’ll come together for a monthly discussion of all things spiritual and philosophical, designed for all beliefs. 7 p.m. Fegley’s Brew Works, 812 Hamilton St, Allentown. thebrewworks.com

September 16:
Chili Pepper Day –
Need some fire in your life? Visit the Easton Farmers’ Market as they test the limit of your taste buds with a Hot Pepper Eating Contest. For those who have a tender tongue, there’s less intense offerings all day long. 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Northampton and Third Sts. eastonfarmersmarket.com

September 16:
West End World of Food Festival –
19th Street comes alive with a world of flavors for this beer, wine and food festival that benefits the West End Alliance. 11 a.m. 19th St, Allentown. westendworldoffoodfestival.com

September 16:
Angel 34 and South Italy
Imports International Food & Wine Festival –
Food and drinks meets entertainment at this fundraiser festival that includes copious amounts of food, beer and wine, along with local and celebrity chefs and cooking demos. Benefits the Lehigh Valley Children’s Hospital and The Angel 34 Foundation’s Family Assistance Fund. Noon. $50; $25, designated driver. First St. and Founders Way, Bethlehem.
angel34.org/foodandwine

September 23:
Riegelsville Brewfest –
Enjoy great brews and food all in support of the Riegelsville Library. 4 – 8 p.m. $25. Mueller’s Country Store,
3205 S. Delaware Dr, Riegelsville.
riegelsvillelibrary.info

October 7 & 8:
Easton Garlic Fest –
Coworkers might avoid you come
Monday, but during the weekend festival indulge in all the pungent wonders of this culinary staple. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Free. Centre Square, 30 Centre Square, Easton. eastongarlicfest.com

October 14:
Saucon Harvest Festival –
Benefits the Saucon Valley Youth Sports Programs. Noon. Food, Beer and Wine Trail portion is ticketed, $20 in advance, $25 day of the event. Dimmick Park, 406 Constitution Ave, Hellertown.

October 21:
Apple Jam –
Please your doctor and overdo the apples at this harvest festival that includes an apple pie-eating contest and live music. 9 a.m. Easton Farmers Market, 30 Centre Square, Easton. eastonfarmersmarket.com

October 22:
Harvest Wine Festival –
Wine and food samples from over 40 vendors at this picturesque resort. Noon. Bear Creek Mountain Resort, 101 Doe Mountain Lane, Macungie. bcmountainresort.com

November 8:
Alton Brown Live: Eat Your Science –
The culinary mad scientist brings his act back to the Lehigh Valley with plenty of new concoctions, antics and food play. 7 p.m. $55-65. State Theatre Center for the Arts, 453 Northampton St, Easton.
statetheatre.org

November 18 &19:
27th Annual Great Brews Beer Festival –
Two-day indoor festival featuring samples of over 100 craft beers, games, giveaways and two stages of live music from Kartune and Pair of Nuts. Plenty of food for sale to pair with your beer. Tickets are $40 in advance, $45 at the door. VIP tickets are $60 in advance, $65 at the door and include access to VIP lounge and exclusive beer tastings and appetizers. All tickets include a complimentary tasting glass. Noon – 4 p.m. Split Rock Resort, 428 Moseywood Rd, Lake Harmony. splitrockresort.com/beerfest.

FAIRS

September 10:
Fall Sampler Family Fun Day –
Try out a new hobby at the JCC with a full day of free samplings of their programs. They’ll be everything from mini-workouts to cake decorating and the best part is complimentary babysitting will be offered from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Free. Lehigh Valley JCC, 702 N. 22nd St, Allentown. lvjcc.org

September 22:
Celtic Classic Highland Games & Festival –
Grab your kilt and get ready to flex some muscles with this day of revelry, competition and old world traditions. Marvel at the log throwing, the stone carrying and all the yards of tartan. Beyond the feats of strength there will also be plenty of bagpipes, fiddling and a Haggis competition. 5 – 11 p.m. 305 Conestoga St, Bethlehem. celticfest.org

September 23:
Lehigh Valley Fiber Festival –
Don’t let the name fool you, there’s more to this day than just wool. Stroll the boardwalk along Little Lehigh Creek with hiking trails and open meadows in the background and shop 50 fiber-related vendors, plus food trucks within this Wildlife Sanctuary. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Poole Wildlife Sanctuary, 3701 Orchid Place, Emmaus. lvfiberfest.com

September 23:
Lower Milford 15th Annual Fall Festival –
Smokin’ Smitty’s will be on hand to supply plenty of barbeque, along with bounce attractions for the kids, alpacas, carriage rides, arts and crafts vendors and live music throughout the day. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Lower Milford Township Grounds, 7607 Chestnut Hill Church Road, Coopersburg. lowermilford.org

September 23:
Mount Pocono HarvestFest –
Food, crafts, children’s activities and entertainment at the Pocono Mountain Volunteer Fire Company Carnival Grounds, 20 Murray Street, Mount Pocono.

October 6-8:
Lehigh River Fest-
Celebrate the Lehigh River with this full weekend of camping, boating (kayak, canoe, paddle, and rafting), shopping and dining. Other activities include guided whitewater rafting trips, inflatable kayaking, paintball games and target range, bike rentals and shuttles. 288 N Stagecoach Rd, Weatherly. lehighriverfest.com

October 6-8 & 13-15:
Oktoberfest at SteelStacks –
Experience an action-packed Oktoberfest with axe-wielding lumberjacks of the Great Lakes Timber Show, fringe festival acts, an elimination-style ice sculpting competition, dachshund races, and of course plenty of German food and beer. 5 – 10 p.m. Free. ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem. steelstacks.org
October 7 & 8:
Autumn Timber Festival –
Channel your inner lumberjack with live-action chopping and chainsawing, plus blacksmithing demos, live music and trick dog shows. Shawnee Mountain Ski Resort, 401 Hollow Rd, East Stroudsburg. $10-24. shawneemt.com

KIDS
September 9:
ArtsQuest Peas and Q’s Family Concert Series –
These weekly concerts are sure to have little feet movin’ and groovin’. Every week features a new local performer, a welcome relief for parents from Moana on loop. 11:30 a.m. Free. 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem. artsquest.org

September 9 & 10:
Apple Days –
Nothing says fall like some apple cider. This festival has fun in store for both grown-ups (hard apple cider tasting, cooking demos) and little ones, with doughnut-eating contests, sack races, colonial games, and plenty of crafts like model making, bandana design and pine cone bird feeder construction. $5 per car. Burnside Plantation, 1461 Schoenersville Rd, Bethlehem. historicbethlehem.org
September 10:
Family Fun Sundays –
Sundays are great for brunch, but why not add in some art, with a freebie stroll through one of the region’s best art collections. Noon – 4 p.m. Allentown Art Museum, 31 North Fifth St, Allentown. Free. allentownartmuseum.org

September 12:
Children’s Storytime –
Kids ages 1-7 will enjoy these weekly storytimes and coloring activities. 10:30-11 a.m. Barnes & Noble Lehigh Valley Mall,
801 Lifestyle Center, Whitehall.
stores.barnesandnoble.com/store/2323

September 13-16:
Just Between Friends –
Children’s Consignment Event. Prepare to back-to-school bargain hunt with three full days of kids’ clothes shopping — or make some quick cash by selling those too-small clothes and toys. 3-8 p.m. Wednesday is pre-sale day for sellers, first time parents and grandparents, military and teachers. $3 admission to shop Thursday (or register online for free admission) Friday and Saturday admission is free. Lou Ramos Center, 1344 N Sherman St, Allentown. allentownbethlehem.jbfsale.com

September 16:
Rodale Institute Annual Organic Apple Festival –
Rodale provides the baskets and the trees, you provide the picking. Work up an appetite in the orchard and feast on organic offerings while enjoying live music. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Free. 611 Siegfriedale Rd, Kutztown. rodaleinstitute.org/applefestival

September 17:
Model Train Show –
Train lovers young and old can marvel at the 5,000+ square feet of double decked HO scale model railroad depicting local areas of the Lehigh Valley and Northeastern PA as they may have looked in the ‘60s and ‘70s. 2-5 p.m. $7 adults, free for children under 12. Lehigh & Keystone Valley Museum, 705 Linden St, Bethlehem. (610) 868-7101.

September 30 & October 1:
Scarecrow Building and Pumpkin Painting Contests –
On Saturday get ready to stuff some hay and create a prize-worthy scarecrow at the zoo, while on Sunday, channel your inner artist with a family pumpkin painting contest. 5150 Game Preserve Rd, Schnecksville. lvzoo.org.

October 15th:
International Sloth Day
(Bean-nanza)-
Are you mad about sloths? Don’t just watch them on your laptop, get to know Bean, the Lehigh Valley Zoo’s slowest moving resident as they do special presentations throughout the day. 5150 Game Preserve Rd, Schnecksville. lvzoo.org

October 21:
Tales and Treats with Sugar
So Sweet-
Special monthly storytimes get yummy with a cupcake decorating session. Enjoy some stories and treats and leave the icing clean-up for someone else. 3 p.m. Registration required. $25 per ticket, $5 of which may be used towards anything in the shop. Cupcakes and frosting are peanut/tree nut free. Let’s Play Books, 244 Main St. Emmaus. letsplaybooks.com

November 18:
Seussical Jr. Experience-
Horton the Elephant hearing a Who live in person as the Cat in the Hat narrates this childhood favorite. 7-9 p.m. $15 Adult, $11 Child. Lehigh Valley JCC, 702 N. 22nd St, Allentown. lvjcc.org/stagemakers

Outdoors

September 4:
Saucon Rail Trail 10k-
For those looking to up the ante from 5ks to 10ks, this 6th annual run offers scenic views and benefits the HCM Foundation, a nonprofit helping local families affected by cancer. Registration begins at 7 a.m. Tickets are $30. Upper Saucon Park, 3231 Preston Lane, Center Valley. Srt10k.com

September 6:
That’s a wrap!
As summer winds down, so does the Summer Series 5k ending with a run through Lehigh Parkway at 6:30 p.m. Registration begins at 5:15 p.m. And best of all, it’s free! Lvrr.org

September 9:
Corner Store Country Run-
This family-friendly run takes place on the Lehigh Universit y campus at 123 Goodman Dr. Bethlehem. The race costs $25 for the competitive 5k (8:30 a.m.) or $20 for the fun run 5k (8:40 p.m.).

September 9:
Lehigh Valley Health Network Via Marathon 5k-
Starting and finishing at SteelStacks this race begins at 7 a.m. The fee is $25 to register. 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem. Viamarathon.org

September 16:
Dash for the Difference –
This 5k benefits the DeSales Free Clinic, a student-run medical clinic that provides free healthcare to homeless men at the Allentown Rescue Mission. The race begins at 11:30 a.m. At DeSales University. 2755 Station Ave., Center Valley

October 7:
Women’s 5k Classic –
This years marks 25 years of the Women’s 5k Classic in Allentown. Benefit local cancer research, the 5k promotes women’s fitness in a fun-filled event. Join the race at womens5kclassic.org

October 8:
DoranMania –
Benefiting the American Heart Association, Harrison-Morton Middle School and the Nicholas and Emily Doran Education Fund, DoranMania 5k takes place at 10 a.m. In Lehigh Parkway, Allentown.

Photo by Craig Roberts

October 8:
Yuengling Oktoberfest 5k –
Beer, SteelStacks and Oktoberfest! Race down Founders Way, through the Bavarian-themed course and earn that beer stein! Register at oktoberfestrace.com

October 15:
Sprint, Stroll and Roll to Recovery –
This 5k race partners with the Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania to help prevent brain injuries and improve quality of life for patients at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network. Biapa.org

October 21:
Runner’s World Kids Run –
This race gives kids an opportunity to explore running as a hobby and encourages fitness. The Kids race starts and ends at SteelStacks and begins at 12:40 p.m. The weekend also features a 5k, 10k and half marathon run for adults. Runnersworld.com

October 21:
Art Dart 5k Costume Run –
Don your favorite costume and hit the pavement! This race benefits the Arts Academy Charter Middle School. Runsignup.com

October 21:
COBScares 5k Costume Dash at DeSales –
Another great excuse to wear your favorite costume! This race takes runners around DeSales University’s campus in picturesque Center Valley.

October 21:
Crazy Campership Challenge 5k Adventure

October 22:
Halloween in Emmaus 5k

October 22:
Harvest 5k

November 4:
Lehigh Valley Pink Heels 5k

November 5:
Delaware and Lehigh Heritage Half Marathon