What's Happening in Coplay: Last Week of September 2026

This is the newest Coplay community update, covering the final days of September 2026 and the first weekend of October from Coplay Borough and the surrounding Lehigh Valley. In this edition: the Lehigh Valley Space Fest at Lehigh University, the Whitehall Township Fall Festival at the Parkway, the opening weekend of Yenser's Tree Farm Fall Fest, the Whitehall-Coplay School Board's September meeting, and a pair of October concerts worth a short drive. Everything below was checked during web research on September 23, 2026; times and venues can change, so confirm with the organizers before heading out.

If you are planning the week ahead, the recent guides still point the way: our week of September 21 edition covered the American Club's cash and gift card bingo, the Celtic Classic, and the Saengerbund's Friday concerts, the week of September 28 edition carries the library's Book and Bake Sale and the SteelStacks Oktoberfest opening weekend, and the early and mid-October edition lays out haunted season and the Zephyrs' October slate. This post adds the newest items and fresh details on top of those.

Saturday at Lehigh: Space Fest Returns to the University

The Lehigh Valley Space Fest takes over the Lehigh University campus in Bethlehem on Saturday, September 26 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, per the university's events calendar. It is a family-friendly space and science festival that has become an annual fixture in the valley, and it is free of charge to attend. With the Celtic Classic wrapping up its final weekend in historic Bethlehem just blocks away (see our week of September 21 edition for the festival rundown), one trip to the city can cover both in a single day. Program details and the day's schedule are posted on the Lehigh University events calendar.

Sunday at the Parkway: Whitehall Township Fall Festival

The outdoor event of the week is the Whitehall Township Fall Festival on Sunday, September 27 at the Whitehall Parkway, 4689 South Church Street, minutes from Coplay. Free to enter, it runs from 2:00 to 7:00 PM with a DJ from 2:00 to 4:00 PM followed by The Castaway Band from 4:00 to 7:00 PM, plus food and beverage trucks and local vendors, per the township's parks and recreation calendar at whitehalltownship.org. The Parkway is where the Ironton Rail Trail runs through Whitehall, so a walk along the trail before or after the music is an easy add-on.

Earlier in the day, the American Club of Coplay hosts its cash and gift card bingo at 11:00 AM on Cherry Street, covered in the week of September 21 edition. It is possible to do the bingo and still make the afternoon set at the Parkway, which makes Sunday the busiest one-day calendar of the week close to home.

Fall Fest Season Opens, and Two October Concerts to Circle

The region's pumpkin patches flip into high gear this weekend. Yenser's Tree Farm's Fall Fest in Lehighton, in the Mahoning Valley about 25 minutes north of Coplay, opens Saturdays and Sundays beginning September 26 with its pumpkin patch, hayrides, and concessions, and it runs through the fall. Pennsylvania's wider fall festival calendar, including farm events across the Lehigh Valley, is rounded up in the Visit PA fall festival guide.

Two concerts bookend the first days of October. Blues guitarist Selwyn Birchwood plays the Mauch Chunk Opera House in Jim Thorpe on Thursday, October 1, and Ann Wilson, the voice of Heart, brings her Tripsitter band to the Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem on Friday, October 2 at 8:00 PM. The shows are listed in The Morning Call's fall arts preview and on the Wind Creek Event Center schedule; both venues release ticket details on their own sites.

Whitehall-Coplay School District: Board Meeting Monday, Budget Context, and Fall Programs

Coplay is served by the Whitehall-Coplay School District, and the week's big governance date is Monday, September 28: the regular school board meeting convenes at 7:00 PM in the Board Room at the Education Center, 2932 Zephyr Boulevard, per the district's homepage at whitehallcoplay.org. Residents are welcome to attend, and agendas post on Keystone Agenda, the district's public meeting platform. The revised meeting schedule takes effect October 12, with board committee meetings moving to the fourth Monday; the October committee sessions are set for Monday, October 26 at 5:00 PM, starting with Finance and Personnel followed consecutively by Education and Student Activities, then Operations and Transportation.

Context worth knowing: the district's adopted 2026-27 budget of about $110.7 million carries the maximum property tax increase allowed under the state's Act 1 Index, 4.7%, to help close a roughly $6 million gap, with possible staff reductions discussed through the spring. WFMZ has followed the plan's impact on residents, and the legal challenge demanding restored bus service for charter school students, first reported September 19, continues to move through the courts with coverage in The Morning Call. Families should watch the district homepage for any updates.

For active families, Whitehall Township's Aqua Aerobics Fall Session runs Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Whitehall High School Natatorium on Mechanicsville Road, through November, with details on the township's recreation programs page. And on the field, the Zephyrs keep their 100th season going into October; the district's athletics calendar is the reliable source for home and away game times as they are finalized.

Borough Rhythm: What Is Already on the Books

A few dates close to home are already well covered in earlier editions, so here is the five-second version. The Coplay Saengerbund's Friday concert series closes September with Stereotype on Friday, September 25, gates at 5:00 PM (our week of September 21 edition has the full lineup). The Coplay Public Library's fall Book and Bake Sale is Friday and Saturday, October 2 and 3, 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM both days, per our September 28 edition. And on the far side of the month, the Coplay Halloween Parade is set for Tuesday, October 20 at 7:00 PM, with details in the late-September and October guide.