Trick-or-treat around here: who goes Friday, who goes Saturday

Every October somebody in my group chat asks "wait, which night is trick-or-treat?" and every October three people give three different answers. This year they might all be right. Halloween falls on a Saturday, and the Lehigh Valley couldn't agree on what to do with that. Some towns kept trick-or-treat on Halloween night. Others moved it to the Friday before, which is what a few of them do every year anyway.

So this guide is the answer to the group chat. It covers all twelve towns this newsletter covers, plus the neighboring townships that confuse everybody, and the parades that land the same weekend.

The split, town by town

Almost every town runs trick-or-treat from 6 to 8pm. The only question is which night.

Friday, Oct 30, 6-8pm

• Allentown. Citywide trick-or-treat is Friday night. It's part of what the city calls Hallo-weekend, with a walking parade Saturday and Día de los Muertos Sunday.
• Bethlehem. The city holds trick-or-treat every year on the Friday before Halloween, so this one doesn't move.
• Emmaus. Friday.
• Whitehall. Friday, with a rain date of Saturday Oct 31.
• Coopersburg. Friday.

Saturday, Oct 31, 6-8pm

• Easton. Saturday, and the city says rain or shine.
• Catasauqua. Saturday, throughout the borough, and the borough asks participating houses to turn their porch lights on.
• Northampton. Saturday.
• Nazareth. Saturday.
• Bath. Saturday. The borough has it on its own events calendar.
• Hellertown. Saturday, the same day as its afternoon Halloween parade.

Check with the borough

• Macungie. I've seen the borough listed on both nights, so check with Macungie Borough before you head out. More on Macungie below, because it's the one that trips people up.

If your town isn't on this list, the WFMZ roundup linked at the bottom covers dozens of townships in both counties.

The township trap

Here's the thing about living around here. Your mailing address and your municipality aren't always the same place. Plenty of people with a Bethlehem or Easton address actually live in a township, and townships set their own trick-or-treat night.

Macungie is the best example. Lower Macungie Township goes Saturday, but it runs 6 to 9, so its kids get a bonus hour. Upper Macungie Township goes Friday. And Macungie Borough? I've seen it listed both ways, so I'd check with the borough before you head out. Three municipalities share the name and they couldn't agree on one night.

A few more that matter if you're near the cities:

• Bethlehem Township goes Friday 6-8, rain or shine, so it matches the city.
• Hanover Township goes Friday 6-8.
• South Whitehall and North Whitehall go Friday 6-8. South Whitehall's rain date is Oct 31.
• Lower Saucon Township, around Hellertown, goes Saturday 6-8.
• Palmer and Forks townships, outside Easton, go Saturday 6-8.
• Upper Saucon Township, near Coopersburg, goes Friday 6-8.

Not sure which one you're in? Your property tax bill or your voter registration card will tell you. Or check which township building your trash schedule comes from.

The porch light rule

There's no sign-up anywhere around here. If your porch light is on, you're in. If it's off, kids should skip you. Bethlehem says it directly: participating households turn the porch light on for the whole event, and trick-or-treaters should only visit homes with the light on. Whitehall's events page says the same thing in fewer words: "If Participating, Please Leave Your Light On!"

Bethlehem also posts a short safety list every year that's worth reading once. Make costumes easy to see and skip the masks. Cross at crosswalks and watch for cars. Little kids stay with an adult, and everybody walks in groups. Take treats at the door and never go inside. And a parent checks the candy at home before anybody eats it. None of that is new, but on a Friday night with people rushing home from work, the crosswalk part matters.

If you're handing out on a Friday, plan dinner early. 6pm comes fast at the end of a work week.

Rain dates

Most towns don't move for weather. Easton says rain or shine. Bethlehem Township says rain or shine too. Whitehall and South Whitehall both list Saturday Oct 31 as their rain date, so if Friday gets washed out, those neighborhoods could end up trick-or-treating the same night as Easton. If the forecast looks bad, check your town's website or Facebook page the morning of.

Parades the same week

Trick-or-treat is the main event, but plenty of towns throw a parade too, and a few of them land this week.

• Bethlehem, Sunday Oct 25 at 2pm. The 105th annual parade starts at West Broad and 9th Ave, runs east on Broad and south on Main, and ends at Main and Spring. The rain date is Sunday Nov 1.
• Phillipsburg-Easton, Sunday Oct 25 at 3pm. It starts in Phillipsburg, crosses the Free Bridge, comes down Northampton Street, and ends in Centre Square.
• Hellertown, Saturday Oct 31 at 2pm. The Main Street detour starts at 1:30, and there's no rain date. This year's theme is "Celebrating 250 Years of Freedom." Trick-or-treat follows that night at 6.
• Allentown, Saturday Oct 31 from 11am to 2pm. It's a walking parade on Hamilton St from 9th to 12th with no moving vehicles. The rain date is Sunday Nov 1. Then on Sunday Nov 1, Día de los Muertos takes over the Arts Park from 2:30 to 7:30.

Whitehall already had its parade on Oct 22, so if you missed that one, there's always next year.

The two-night family

If you've got grandparents in Bethlehem and you live in Nazareth, congratulations, your kids just found out about this guide. Friday in one town, Saturday in another. I'm not here to judge. I'm only saying that a costume worn twice is a costume that paid for itself.

Whatever night you're on, turn the light on if you're stocked, and save me a peanut butter cup.

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Times are from town websites where we could find them and from WFMZ's regional trick-or-treat list and the Lehigh Valley Press Halloween roundup. Towns sometimes change plans for weather, so check your municipality's page the day of.