Issue 6
Retired roof goats and a grave two armies share
Halloween hours town by town, the Route 322 roof goats retired, your Nov 3 ballot questions, and a grave two armies share.
Hot picks
This weekend's best bets around here.
Halloween lands on a Saturday this year, so the whole week turns into Halloween. Oxford gets a parade Thursday night, the grown-ups get a wine walk all weekend, and Kennett spends Saturday afternoon on Día de los Muertos before anybody rings a doorbell.
Kennett Square · Sat Oct 31 · 2-10pm
Día de los Muertos in Kennett Square
Casa Guanajuato throws its 11th Day of the Dead on Halloween itself, and this year it's a tribute to the state of Guerrero. Think ofrendas, marigolds, dancing, and food, with the community altar front and center. The organizer lists 2 to 10pm, and I've seen other times floating around, so trust Casa Guanajuato's page. The exact spot isn't posted there yet either (last year it was at The Creamery), so check before you head over. Go early, then get the kids home for porch lights. (https://www.casaguanajuatoks.org/events/day-of-the-dead-2026)
Chadds Ford · Fri-Sun Oct 30-Nov 1 · $45 · 21+
Adult Trick or Treat at Chaddsford Winery
It's the final weekend of "Ghost of the Grape" at 632 Baltimore Pike. You walk five costumed tasting stations that travel through time, and one of them is "1980s Chadds Ford," which pairs a dry rosé with Cool Ranch Doritos. I need to know who pitched that, because they nailed it. Starts run hourly: Friday 4 to 8, Saturday noon to 8, Sunday 11 to 3, about an hour each. It's $45, or $38 non-alcoholic, reservations only and non-refundable. Bring a physical ID, and grab a slot if tickets remain. (https://www.chaddsford.com/pages/adult-trick-or-treat-2026)
Oxford · Thu Oct 29 · 6:30pm · free
Oxford Halloween Parade
Oxford calls this the best Halloween parade in Chester County, and Thursday is your chance to fact-check them. Floats, dance groups, and a lot of costumed kids step off at Third and South, head up Third, and finish at Oxford Memorial Park. Candy gets handed out at the curb instead of thrown from floats, and political entries aren't allowed, which honestly might be the most relaxing thing on the calendar this week. Parking is free 5 to 9. Rain date is Friday. Stake out Locust and Third, where the judges sit. (https://oxfordpa.org/halloween-parade/)
Field guide
One useful guide to living around here.
Downingtown · Elverson · Coatesville · East Bradford · Marshallton · West Chester · Phoenixville · Malvern
How Halloween works around here (and the extra hour after)
Halloween is on a Saturday for the first time since 2020. Nobody has school, nobody's racing home from work, and the busy borough blocks are going to be packed. I wanted the actual hours, so I went town by town.
Where towns have posted hours, it's mostly 6 to 8pm. That's Downingtown, Elverson, and East Bradford, and Marshallton's fire company hands out treats from the Conservation Trust in that same window. The City of Coatesville starts early at 5. As of Tuesday, West Chester Borough and Phoenixville haven't posted 2026 hours (last year was 6 to 8 and 6 to 9). Plenty of townships never set hours at all, so the porch light makes the call.
Sunset Saturday is right around 6. Malvern's Boo-Tique Bash on King Street runs 1 to 3 if your little ones want to be done early. Then the clocks fall back at 2am Sunday, so you get an extra hour to recover. The full guide has every town I could confirm, porch-light etiquette, and what changes Sunday.
The scrap
The best stuff you missed in the area's social media world.
The best stuff you missed around here on social this week. Short takes.
Concord Twp · Pepper's Promise at Bush Hill Farm
The Route 322 roof goats, retired
Per neighbors on Reddit, the Route 322 roof goats retired here. Walking anywhere at this sanctuary is now a negotiation. (https://www.tiktok.com/@pepperspromise/video/7698412200645676302) via @pepperspromise
West Chester · W Gay St, outside the post office
To park, or not to park
One pole on Gay Street wants your ParkMobile money for a spot you're also not allowed to park in. (https://www.reddit.com/r/westchesterpa/comments/1x9voi3/to_park_or_not_to_park_that_is_the_question/) via u/dxk224 on r/westchesterpa
Delco · a Wawa (store not named)
Gobbler season, and the annual complaint
Gobbler bowls are back, and so is the Delco tradition of insisting they were bigger last year. (https://www.reddit.com/r/Delco/comments/1wvggru/wawa_gobbler_bowl_what_happened/) via u/steve2166 on r/Delco
What's building
What's going up, getting paused, or getting fought over.
Election Day is next Tuesday, and three towns around here have local questions on the ballot. Here's what each one changes, plainly. And tonight East Goshen planners go over the county's notes on their data-center rules.
Malvern · East Whiteland · Tredyffrin · Tue Nov 3 · polls 7am-8pm
Your Nov 3 ballot questions, explained
Three local questions are on the ballot in Chester County this year, and none of them is a tax or a bond, so there's no dollar amount to fund anything. In Malvern, voters decide whether Borough Council shrinks from seven members to five starting in 2028. A yes makes it five, and a no keeps seven. In East Whiteland, the question is whether to elect two more supervisors. A yes takes the board from three to five, and a no keeps three. Tredyffrin's question bundles 40 Home Rule Charter amendments into one yes or no. They include raising supervisor pay from $1,500 to $3,000 a year, swapping the elected auditor for an appointed independent one, and dropping the elected tax collector article. A yes adopts all 40 together, and a no keeps the current charter. The official wording is on the county's list. (https://www.chesco.org/DocumentCenter/View/85854/CHESTER_2026-GENERAL_OFFICIAL-LIST-OF-REFERENDUMS)
East Goshen · 1580 Paoli Pike · tonight, Tue Oct 27 · 7pm
Data-center rules get the county's notes
East Goshen's draft only allows data centers as a conditional use in the small I-1 light-industrial strip along Airport Road. They'd have to sit at least 300 feet from homes, with full screening and rules on noise, water, and backup generators. Chester County planners sent notes on Oct 23 and endorsed the effort, with a few asks, like renderings from nearby roads and neighborhoods. Tonight the Planning Commission reviews those notes on the 2nd floor. It's a review with no vote, and the supervisors haven't scheduled their hearing yet. Want to follow it? Show up tonight. (https://eastgoshen.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Planning-Commission-Meeting-Agenda-Packet-October-27-2026-REVISED-002.pdf)
Correction: Last week we said East Goshen's Planning Commission would take up Aqua's PFAS tanks on Oct 27. It isn't on tonight's agenda. Planners already recommended approval back on Sept 22, and the supervisors' decision is expected later in November.
Makers
Local makers nights and market tables worth hitting.
Halloween weekend is also a sneaky good weekend to knock out holiday gifts. West Chester has 60-plus juried makers indoors, and Phoenixville has a costume-friendly market in the park.
West Chester · Sat-Sun Oct 31-Nov 1 · Sat 10-4, Sun 11-4 · free
Chester County Craft Guild Fall Fine Craft Fair
More than 60 juried local artists take over the Chester County Art Association at 100 N. Bradford Ave. Pottery, glass, fiber, jewelry, turned wood, and painting, and the person who made it is standing right there. Merle Slyhoff's pottery and John and Nancy Buford's glass are on the list. It's free and it's indoors, so it works rain or shine. I'm going Saturday morning, and the candy can wait till tonight. (https://chestercountycraftguild.org/event/fall-fine-craft-fair/)
Phoenixville · Sat Oct 31 · 11am-4pm · free
Orion Wellness Halloween Harvest Market
Reeves Park at 401 Main St fills up with local artisans, food trucks, a Levante beer garden, and live music. There's a Halloween craft station, face painting, and moonbounces for the kids, and costumes are encouraged. The organizer says 11 to 4, and the borough calendar says 11 to 5, so plan on the earlier one. Shop while the kids burn off energy, and you're all home before the porch lights come on. (https://theorionwellness.com/blogs/news/orion-wellness-harvest-market)
Deep cut
One local history leftover worth knowing.
Birmingham Twp · Birmingham Friends Meetinghouse, 1245 Birmingham Rd
Birmingham Friends Meetinghouse
It's Halloween week, the time of year we think about the dead. A few miles south of West Chester there's a quiet Quaker graveyard where British and American soldiers have shared one grave since 1777. You don't need a ghost story for this one.
Birmingham Friends Meetinghouse went up in stone in 1763, on ground where Quakers had worshipped since about 1690. On Sept 11, 1777, the Battle of Brandywine rolled right over it. The low burial-ground wall, built to keep cattle out of a cemetery, became the American first line, and the meetinghouse became a hospital.
When the fighting was done, the dead of both armies went into the ground together inside the Quaker burial ground. After 9/11, members turned that common grave into a public Peace Garden, dedicated in 2005. People whose faith kept them out of the fight have tended a war grave for almost 250 years. That part gets me.
The garden is open to the public, and Friends still meet there every Sunday at 10. It's an active place of worship, so go quietly. The full story is in the longer cut.
Season
What's in the air right now. Farm stands, orchards, peak harvest.
Sunday is the first evening it's dark by 5. So spend Saturday morning outside with the birds, and spend your extra hour of sleep on 120 farm stands under one roof.
Kimberton · Sun Nov 1 · 11am-4pm · $10 at the door
Good Food Fest
More than 120 local farmers and food makers pack the Kimberton Fairgrounds at 762 Pike Springs Rd, off Route 113. It's all in the barn, a big tent, and two pavilions, so rain doesn't matter. There's a demo kitchen, food trucks, a pouring room, and farm animals for the kids. Kids under 12 are free, and $25 VIP gets you in at 10. Cell service is weak out there, so save your ticket to your phone ahead of time. Bring a cooler bag, because you're going to buy cheese. (https://www.goodfarmsgoodfood.com/)
Glen Mills · Sat Oct 31 · 8am · free
Halloween-morning bird walk at Newlin Grist Mill
Newlin Grist Mill, a short drive into Delco at 219 S. Cheyney Rd, runs a free guided bird walk with Wild Birds Unlimited. Meet at the Log Cabin at 8. Beginners and families are welcome, and they have a few loaner binoculars. Late October is a good time to catch migrants passing through. Wear boots and bring coffee. Then go home and start on the costumes. (https://newlingristmill.org/bird-walks/)
That's the week
See you around the valley.
Drop your email. I'll show up Tuesdays.