
Individual local governments set trick or treating to whatever day they want (this seems to be pretty much a Lehigh Valley/surrounding area thing - I've heard that places slightly north and, presumably, west, and maybe south of here act normal and Halloween occurs when it is supposed to.
Moving the trick or treating to other days just sucks the life out of it for me - it's fine when trick or treating happens (for us, the last Wednesday of October), but it makes Halloween itself... just seem like another day.
Bah, humbug.
You'd think after a dozen years of this crap I'd be used to it.
Allentown had its Halloween on some other schedule - I only experienced that my first year here: bought tons of candy and made ready to greet all the kids - the place gets into Halloween even more than Salem, MA, so I thought it was going to be great; turns out the kids were out and about while I was out getting the candy the day before. WTF?
Bethlehem also has it on some other schedule, and after 5 years of it, I have no clue. You just listen to when others say it is. Maybe it's the last Friday of the month. I don't know.
You really have to check the paper.
No, seriously.
They publish a schedule each year, because otherwise no one knows what day trick or treating will be on. Move from out of the area and don't read the paper, well, you're SOL.
People who aren't from this area don't understand this concept. People from here seem to accept it.
I think, in a dozen years, there's been trick-or-treating on Halloween maybe once.
For entertainment purposes, here's this year's schedule - with Halloween falling on a Friday, there's an abnormally high number of days on the actual day (some of them do have trick-or-treating on Halloween; others go with the last Friday, which happens to work out this year...):
Alburtis: 6-8 p.m. Friday . No rain date.
Allentown: 6-8 p.m. Friday.
Allen Township: 6-8 p.m. Friday. Rain or shine.
Bath: 6-8 p.m. Friday.
Bethlehem: 6-8 p.m. Friday.
Bethlehem Township: 6-8 p.m. Friday. No rain date.
Bowmanstown: 6-8 p.m.Wednesday.
Breiningsville: 6-8 p.m. Friday. Rain date, 6-8 p.m. Saturday .
Bushkill Township: 6-8 p.m. Friday. No rain date.
Coopersburg: 6-8 p.m. Friday. Rain date, Saturday.
Coplay: 6-8 p.m. Friday. Rain date, Saturday.
East Allen Township: 6-8 p.m. Friday. Rain or shine.
Easton: 6-8 p.m. Friday.
Emmaus: 6-8 p.m. Thursday.
Fleetwood: 6-9 p.m. Thursday and Friday. No rain date.
Forks Township: 6-8 p.m. Friday.
Fountain Hill: 6-8 p.m. Friday. Rain or shine.
Freemansburg: 6-8 p.m. Friday. Rain date, Saturday.
Hamburg: 6-9 p.m. Thursday and Friday.
Hanover Township, Lehigh County: 6-8 p.m. Friday.
Hanover Township, Northampton County: 6-8 p.m. Friday.
Jim Thorpe: 6-8 p.m. Wednesday.
Kutztown: 6-9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.
Lehighton: 6-8 p.m. Wednesday. No rain date.
Lehigh Township: 6-8 p.m. Friday. No rain date.
Lower Macungie Township: 6-8 p.m. Friday. No rain date.
Lower Milford Township: 8 p.m. Friday.
Lower Nazareth Township: 6-8 p.m. Friday.
Macungie: 6-8 p.m. Friday.
Moore Township: Friday(no official time).
Nazareth: 6-8 p.m. Friday.
Northampton: 6-8 p.m. Friday.
North Whitehall Township: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31. Rain date, Saturday.
Palmer Township: 6-8 p.m. Friday.
Palmerton: 6-8 p.m. Wednesday.
Perkasie: 6-9 p.m. Friday. No rain date.
Quakertown: 6-9 p.m. Friday. No rain date.
Phillipsburg: 5-7 p.m. Friday.
Roseto: 6-9 p.m. Friday.
Salisbury Township: 6-8 p.m. Friday. No rain date.
Slatington: 6-8 p.m. Wednesday.
South Whitehall Township: 6-8 p.m. Friday. Rain date, Saturday.
Springfield Township: 6-8 p.m. Friday.
Stockertown: 6-8 p.m. Friday.
Stroudsburg: 6-8 p.m. Friday.
Tamaqua: 6-8 p.m. Thursday.
Tatamy: 6-8 p.m. Friday.
Topton: 6-8 p.m. Friday.
Upper Macungie Township: 6-8 p.m. Friday. No rain date.
Upper Milford Township: 6-8 p.m. Friday. No rain date.
Upper Nazareth Township: 6-8 p.m. Friday. No rain date.
Upper Saucon Township: 6-8 p.m. Friday. Rain date, Nov. 1.
Walnutport: 6-8 p.m. Wednesday.
Washington Township, Lehigh County: 6-8 p.m. Wednesday.
Whitehall Township: 6-8 p.m. Friday. Rain date, Saturday.
Wilson: 6-8 p.m. Thursday.