Fall around Gilbertsville ends on November 1, the last day Frecon Farms opens its UPick orchard. As of Thursday, October 22, that leaves two weekends of open fields, hayrides and outdoor music. After that, most of what's on the local calendar happens indoors and a few miles up the road in Boyertown: pie inside a restored 1938 diner, a veterans program in a church sanctuary, and two restaurants getting ready to open their doors.
So you have to plan the next ten days in order. The best outdoor events are packed into the next nine days, and one Saturday has three of them lined up.
Saturday, October 24, from afternoon to dark
Two municipalities scheduled Halloween events for the same evening, with staggered start times. Add Frecon's weekend music and the day lays out like this:
| Time | Where | What's happening |
|---|---|---|
| 1–4 PM | Frecon Farms orchard, Poplar Road & Edgehill Road, Boyertown | UPick with live music from River Bones Band |
| 4–8 PM | Boyertown Community Park | Haunted Trails and Trunk-or-Treat, hosted by the Boyertown Park & Recreation Board |
| 6–8 PM | New Hanover Community Park, 2766 Gail Drive, Gilbertsville | The New Hanover Haunt, free |
The Boyertown event starts earlier and runs longer, which makes it the natural first stop for families with younger kids who'd like to finish trick-or-treating before full dark.
The New Hanover Haunt is the township's Fall Frolic under a new name. It centers on a haunted barn the township describes as family-friendly, with "mild eeks and shrieks." Local businesses will hand out treats, costumes are encouraged, and the park's rink will be open for family skating, so pack skates if anyone in your group has them. Admission is free. The township is also looking for community members to build a display or act in the barn, and the event page lists a contact for volunteers. The spring township newsletter listed a 5 PM start, but the current event page says 6 to 8 PM, so go by the event page.
The Haunt is also a good reason to see the park itself. In July, New Hanover Township highlighted new playground equipment at New Hanover Community Park and at Swamp Creek Park on Reifsnyder Road, paid for by the Pottstown Regional Community Foundation.
Six orchard days left
Starting Friday, October 23, Frecon's orchard has six open days left: October 23, 24, 25, 30 and 31, and November 1. Orchard hours are 9 AM to 8 PM on Fridays, 9 AM to 7 PM on Saturdays and 9 AM to 5 PM on Sundays. The orchard is about 2 miles from Frecon's Farm Market, Bakery & Cafe, and the farm tells UPick guests to put the orchard address at Poplar and Edgehill Roads into their GPS, not the market's.
Friday Happy Hour in the Orchard runs 4 to 8 PM, and the season ends October 30, so two Fridays are left. Manatawny Creek Ramblers play on October 23, and the October 30 act hadn't been announced as of this writing. Happy Hour entry is $5 for guests over 5 and free for younger kids. The farm also advertises half-price entry during Happy Hour, so check the current terms before you go.
Weekend music runs 1 to 4 PM. After River Bones Band on the 24th, Kim & Paul play October 25, and the last two dates are still marked TBA. Lineups on a live farm page can change, so look again the morning you go.
Everyone over age 5 needs one of these to get into the orchard:
- Apple Picking Bag, $14 to $49
- Flower Jar, $18, seasonal
- Blackberry Quart, $13, seasonal
- Pumpkin Patch Ticket, $10, redeemable at checkout
- Orchard Pass, $12
Every option includes the tractor ride, live music, kids' play areas, yard games and access to 20 acres of orchard. The Orchard Pass costs $2 more than the Pumpkin Patch Ticket, and the pumpkin ticket comes back to you at checkout. If you were going to buy a pumpkin anyway, that's the cheaper way in.
November 1, when the season changes over
The last orchard day falls on a Sunday. That same afternoon, from 2 to 4 PM, the Boyertown Area Historical Society holds Souls Aglow on Fairview Cemetery. It's the first event on the local calendar to look back at history instead of ahead to the harvest, and the two overlap by only a few hours. For many households, the historical society's listing will be the easier way to spend that last fall Sunday, since the orchard's music that day hasn't been announced.
From here on, the calendar runs through institutions in Boyertown's borough streets, not through fields.
A nickel coffee on South Walnut Street
On Saturday, November 7, from 10 AM to 1 PM, the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles holds Diner Day inside Fegely's Reading Diner, the preserved diner on the museum grounds at 85 S. Walnut St. Coffee and homemade pie sell at 1938 prices, a nickel a cup and a quarter a slice. The museum's regular contribution rates still apply, so the nickel coffee comes with museum admission. The listing calls it "back by popular demand."
The museum spent its big outdoor day earlier in the season. The 60th annual Duryea Day car and truck show filled Boyertown Community Park on September 5. Diner Day is the same museum moving indoors at the time of year everyone else does.
The next afternoon, Sunday, November 8, from 3 to 4 PM, St. John's Lutheran Church in Boyertown hosts "A Salute to Our Veterans." Boyertown Rotary sponsors the program. Singers from Boyertown Middle School will perform, and retired Coast Guard Commander John Greason gives the keynote. Details are posted on the community calendar at Building a Better Boyertown.
Two new kitchens for the indoor months
Once the orchard closes, a reason to go out to eat counts for more, and two are on the way.
Taqueria Las Vias is expected to open in November at 116 E. Philadelphia Ave. in Boyertown, the space that used to be Carmelo's Pizza and Italian Ice. "Coming Soon" signs are already up in the windows. Owner Pablo Cruz also runs Taqueria El Habanero in Ambler. According to WhatNow Philadelphia, the menu will include tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, tostadas and tortas. As of Travels With The Post's October 7 report, no opening date had been announced.
Lorenzo's Steaks & Hoagies, which already has locations in West Chester, Manayunk and Southampton, is adding Boyertown as its fourth. WhatNow Philadelphia reported on October 1 that the owners expected to open within three weeks. Some customers had been driving from eastern Berks and western Montgomery counties to the West Chester shop, and that demand helped prompt the expansion. As of October 7 the street address still hadn't been announced. Lorenzo's had run a Facebook contest asking people to guess the new town, and it gave a free cheesesteak to everyone who picked Boyertown. Among the 133 entries, other guesses included Phoenixville, Collegeville and Harleysville. The menu is known for 14-ounce hand-cut ribeye steaks and 2-pound made-to-order hoagies.
Closer to home on the Berks side of the line, the 724 Bistro is in the works at 2295 E. Main Street in Douglassville, the former Kelsey O'Shay's and Tipsy Times. It comes from Chef Sam Abbas and plans to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. As of October 13 it was hiring, with a projected fall opening and no date announced.
The chore that lands in the middle of it all
If you live in Douglass Township, curbside leaf collection runs from Monday, October 26 through Friday, December 11, weather permitting. That's the Monday after Haunt night, so the first pickup week comes before the last orchard weekend. The full schedule is in the township's spring 2026 newsletter.
If you're out at the Haunt or the orchard and start wondering what the season means for your own home's timing, The Glen Russell Team is just down the road in Limerick and glad to talk it through, without any pressure. Contact Us whenever it suits you.
