This is the newest Coplay community update, covering the week of October 12 through 18, 2026 with fresh local news, events, and school happenings in Coplay Borough and the surrounding Lehigh Valley. In this edition: the first Whitehall-Coplay school board meeting under the district's revised schedule, Postmodern Jukebox and Basement Yard Live at the Wind Creek Event Center, the final Jim Thorpe Fall Foliage Festival weekend, Boo at the Zoo and Dorney Park family weekends, and a pair of Halloween parade dates in the borough and township. Everything below was checked during web research on September 28, 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: the week of October 5 edition covered the Easton Garlic Fest, the Allentown Symphony season opener, and the confirmed Haunted Parkway ticket details, the early and mid-October edition lays out the Zephyrs' October slate and the Breakin' Clay for the Cure shoot, and the week of September 28 edition covers Oktoberfest season and the library's book sale. This post adds the newest items and fresh dates on top of those.
Whitehall-Coplay School District: First Meeting Under the New Schedule
Coplay is served by the Whitehall-Coplay School District, and this is the week the district's revised board meeting schedule takes effect. Under the revised schedule, posted on the district homepage, regular board meetings are held at 7:00 PM on the second Monday of each month in the Board Room at the Education Center on Zephyr Boulevard. That makes Monday, October 12 the first regular meeting under the new schedule, open to the public, with agendas posted on Keystone Agenda ahead of time.
The committee meetings follow on Monday, October 26 starting at 5:00 PM: Finance and Personnel first, then Education and Student Activities, then Operations and Transportation, as detailed in our early and mid-October edition. For families, the campus event to circle is athletics: the Zephyrs host William Allen on Thursday, October 15 at 7:00 PM at Zephyr Stadium in their 100th season, one of the home games noted in that same edition, and theater and activity tickets continue to sell through the district's HomeTown Ticketing box office.
Around the Valley: A Mid-Month Double Header at Wind Creek
Two shows bookend the week at the Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem, about twenty minutes from Coplay. Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox brings its vintage-pop revue to the stage on Saturday, October 17, and the comedy-podcast duo Basement Yard Live plays Friday, October 16, per the venue's official events page. Both shows are ticketed at the venue; the Friday slot is an easy post-work drive, and the Saturday show pairs with dinner in Bethlehem's SouthSide dining district.
The week sits between the two Oktoberfest weekends at SteelStacks, which wrapped its second and final weekend on October 11, and the busier late-October stretch with the Coplay and Whitehall Township parades, the Coplay trick-or-treat night, and the Allentown Hallo-weekend on October 30. It is a good mid-month week to catch a show or a foliage drive before the Halloween rush.
Foliage Finale: Jim Thorpe's Last Festival Weekend
Peak color in the Lehigh Valley typically lands around mid-October, and the marquee foliage event reaches its finale this weekend. The Jim Thorpe Fall Foliage Festival runs its third and final weekend Saturday and Sunday, October 17 and 18 in Historic Downtown Jim Thorpe, about an hour's drive north of Coplay. The festival fills the Victorian main street with craft and food vendors, free live music on multiple stages, and the scenic heritage train rides through the Lehigh Gorge that are the town's signature autumn draw, alongside ghost tours of the historic district.
The Jim Thorpe Visitors Center in the train station keeps extended weekend hours through October 25 for the season. Foliage weekends draw big crowds, so go early in the day and consider the train tickets ahead of time if you want a seat in the gorge.
Family Weekends: Boo at the Zoo and Dorney Park's Tricks and Treats
Two family-friendly Halloween events are perfect for the weekend of October 17 and 18. Boo at the Zoo at the Lehigh Valley Zoo in Schnecksville runs October 17 and 18 (with additional dates October 25 and 26 and October 31 through November 1), featuring trick-or-treating at candy stations, music, crafts, costumed mascots, and the zoo's animal residents. It is a daytime, stroller-friendly outing about twenty-five minutes from Coplay.
Closer to home, Dorney Park's Tricks and Treats runs on weekends from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM through November 1, with a trick-or-treat trail, costumed characters, costume contests, crafts, and fall food across the park. It is the tamer daytime counterpart to the park's scarier evening Halloween Haunt, so families with young kids can keep it to daylight hours and still get the full Halloween-park experience.
In the Borough and Township: Parades, Trick-or-Treat, and Council
Borough business stays on its monthly cadence: Coplay Borough Council holds its regular meeting Tuesday, October 13 at 7:00 PM in the municipal building, open to the public with agendas and minutes posted on the borough website. The Coplay Public Library's October programs continue through the month, including Story Time and Crafts on Friday mornings at 10:30 and the Wednesday afternoon crochet group, per the library's programs page.
Halloween season ramps up with two parade dates on the calendar. The Coplay Halloween Parade is set for Tuesday, October 20 at 7:00 PM, staging on Chestnut Street and routing toward the Saengerbund, and Coplay's trick-or-treat night is slated for Friday, October 30, typically 6:00 to 8:00 PM; both are carried on the Ironton Rail Trail events calendar, and you will want to confirm the borough's posted trick-or-treat hours as the date nears. Neighboring Whitehall Township holds its annual Halloween Parade on Thursday, October 22 at 6:00 PM at the Whitehall-Coplay School District complex on Mechanicsville Road, per the township's parks and recreation events page.
One note for families who had the township's fall festival on their September calendar: that September 27 event at the Whitehall Parkway was canceled this year, per the township's listing, so the October 22 parade is the marquee fall family event to plan around instead.
Things to Do: Corn Mazes, Pumpkin Patches, and Haunted Nights
Farm season is at its peak within a short drive. Grim's Orchard and Family Farm in Breinigsville runs its fall festival through November 1 from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM, with an eight-acre corn maze, hayrides to a 10,000-plus pumpkin patch, and a play corral for younger kids. Valley Fruits and Veggies in Bath keeps its pumpkin patch, corn maze, and hayrides going into Halloween, including a nighttime Glow Maze. And Yenser's Tree Farm continues its fall weekends 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM through October 25 with a corn maze, pumpkin patch, and free hayrides, the farm we covered at its opening in last week of September.
For those who like their October scarier, the Lehigh Valley Screampark in Orefield runs its haunted houses and haunted hayride on weekends, with a new "6 Feet Under" area this year, while the Haunted Parkway in Whitehall Township keeps its Friday and Saturday nights going through October 31 with the ticket details covered in our week of October 5 edition.
Autumn Living Near 117 S 9th St
Mid-October brings the first board meeting under the district's new schedule, two Wind Creek shows, the foliage finale in Jim Thorpe, family zoo and park weekends, and the first parade dates of the season, all within a short drive of this move-in-ready ranch twin on a mature corner lot. The covered patio is made for crisp-season coffee and the first fall evenings.