"We loan Santa's house for the night and we have a witch in there," Frank Pulli of the Palmyra Lions Club told borough council in October 2024, describing the club's trick-or-treat night on the square.
That one sentence explains a lot about how Palmyra handles the stretch from late October to the week before Christmas. The same small house at Main and Railroad streets hosts both the witch and Santa. It's the base for nearly every event on the square this season, and volunteers staff all of them. On Sept. 22, Palmyra Borough Council voted unanimously to let the Palmyra Area Lions Club use the square for four events in 2026: Trick-or-Treat at the Square on Oct. 29, the opening of Santa's House on Nov. 27, the Holiday Tree Lighting on Dec. 5 and Reindeer Night on Dec. 19.
If you live here, those four dates plus one Saturday parade make up your calendar for the next ten weeks. Here's how each one works and what it depends on.
The Witch Works Out Of Santa's Front Room
At Trick-or-Treat at the Square, nobody hands out candy. In past years kids played games, and the witch in Santa's House poured chocolate milk and apple cider. Pulli called it her "special brew," adding that there's "nothing scary" about it.
Palmyra doesn't pick its own trick-or-treat date. Council agreed to follow the date set by the Lebanon County Chiefs of Police Association. For 2026 that's Thursday, Oct. 29, from 6 to 8 p.m., rain or shine unless the weather turns severe. In 2024 the club's plan for the square was stricter, and the event was called off in case of rain. The 2026 approval doesn't spell out the square program. Borough trick-or-treat goes ahead in the rain this year, but the games and cider could still depend on the weather.
The Lions list the Halloween night on the same projects page as the Christmas Tree Lighting and Santa House on the Square. It's one club with one building, getting a costume change in October.
October Has A Few Lead-Ins Before The Square Wakes Up
The Lions don't start until late in the month, so most of October's earlier events happen elsewhere in town. Thursday, Oct. 8 has two of them:
- Smokey's Trunk or Treat at Seltzer's, 5 to 8 p.m., has a costume parade led by Smokey, trunk-or-treating, food and shopping vendors, music and Lebanon bologna. The event listing gives two different addresses, so check the location with Seltzer's before you head over.
- Funck's Palmyra, 664 W. Main St., is holding a give-back night from 3 to 9 p.m. and donating 10% of food sales to Palmyra Soccer.
On Tuesday, Oct. 20, Palmyra Public Library holds a Spooky Season Book Fair from 4 to 7 p.m. Book Bar will sell mystery, thriller and horror books plus bookmarks and bookish merch, and half of all profits go to the library.
Book Bar then has two nights of its own around Halloween. Its Horror Book Club meets Friday, Oct. 30, from 6 to 7 p.m. to discuss She's a Doll by Barbara Truelove. The next day, Saturday, Oct. 31, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., the shop holds a Birthday Bash for its second anniversary.
If you've searched for a Palmyra Halloween parade, you've probably found the one in Palmyra, New Jersey. Borough, library and county event listings show no Halloween parade in Palmyra, Pennsylvania. Here, Halloween means the square on the 29th and the costume parade at Seltzer's on the 8th.
The One Saturday The Square Isn't The Center
The holiday parade on Saturday, Nov. 14, follows a different route than the Lions events. It starts at West Cherry and South Mark streets and passes Palmyra Area Middle School on West Cherry. From there it runs east on East Cherry, north on South Green, west on East Main and south on South Locust, then breaks up back at the middle school. Western Lebanon County Regional Police Chief Andrew Winters said roads will start closing at 8:30 a.m. and stay closed until about 12:30 p.m. If you live on Cherry, Green or Locust, plan to move your car before 8:30, not after.
The local VFW and Rotary Club organize the parade, not the Lions. Area businesses, groups and individuals are invited to march. The 2025 parade started at 11 a.m. and ran the same Cherry, Green, Main and Locust loop. The 2026 coverage gives a closure window but no start time, and that 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. window matches the same late-morning pattern.
Santa Keeps Evening Hours
Two weeks after the parade, the house changes over. Santa's House opens Friday, Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving. The Lions host free visits with Santa there, and donations are welcome.
The 2026 hours aren't posted yet. The most recent schedule we found is from 2024. That year, Santa was in the house on Fridays and Saturdays from 5 to 8 p.m., from Nov. 29 through Dec. 21. The club asked families to bring their own phones because no photographer would be there, and said Mrs. Claus would stop by when she wasn't busy at the North Pole. A 2018 listing showed longer hours, with Saturdays running from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The schedule has changed over the years, so check the Lions' announcement before planning a weekday or daytime visit.
Two December Nights Pull The Biggest Crowds
The tree lighting comes next, on Saturday, Dec. 5. The 2026 approval gives the date but not the time or program. In 2024 it started at 6 p.m. with caroling, a talk by American Legion commander Eric Bucher, and Santa and Mrs. Claus greeting children. Pulli had also told council the club hoped to bring in a band and a chorus.
Reindeer Night on Saturday, Dec. 19, is the big one. It draws about 800 people a year, the largest crowd the Lions cited in their presentation to council. In 2024 it ran from 6 to 8 p.m. Santa brought one of his "reindeer in training" for petting and photos, and there were food trucks, games, costumed characters and Mrs. Claus. In 2019 the reindeer was named Thunder. The 2026 attractions haven't been announced, so treat this list as what past years offered.
A crowd that size needs help from more than the Lions. In 2024, Reindeer Night needed a separate council vote to close South Railroad Street at the square. Then-borough manager Roger Powl said these events usually need fire police for crowds and traffic, and that fire police volunteers had become harder to find. That's the weak spot in the season. The Lions run the house, but the busiest night also depends on a second group of volunteers keeping traffic safe.
The Season At A Glance
| Date | Event | Who runs it | What's confirmed for 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Oct. 8 | Smokey's Trunk or Treat | Seltzer's | 5 to 8 p.m. |
| Thu., Oct. 8 | Give-back night for Palmyra Soccer | Funck's Palmyra | 3 to 9 p.m., 10% of food sales |
| Tue., Oct. 20 | Spooky Season Book Fair | Palmyra Public Library with Book Bar | 4 to 7 p.m. |
| Thu., Oct. 29 | Trick-or-Treat at the Square | Palmyra Area Lions Club | Borough trick-or-treat 6 to 8 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Birthday Bash | Book Bar | 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Holiday parade | VFW and Rotary Club | Roads closed about 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. |
| Fri., Nov. 27 | Santa's House opens | Palmyra Area Lions Club | Date only, hours not yet posted |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Holiday Tree Lighting | Palmyra Area Lions Club | Date only |
| Sat., Dec. 19 | Reindeer Night | Palmyra Area Lions Club | Date only |
Where To Warm Up On Railroad And Main
Most of these events happen in the evening, so it helps to know what's open nearby. All four places below are on North Railroad Street or East Main Street.
- Book Bar, 50 N. Railroad St., is a bookstore and beverage bar serving coffee, tea and mocktails.
- Lazzaro's Italian Bistro, 49 N. Railroad St., is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday and closed Monday and Tuesday. It offers reservations, dine-in and take-out. Every Lions event this season except Trick-or-Treat falls on a Friday or Saturday, so Lazzaro's will be open for those nights. On Thursday, Oct. 29, it's open too.
- Sweet Velvet Macarons, 56 E. Main St., is open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, with fall flavors through October.
- Corner Cafe, 132 E. Main St., is listed as open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday, which works for the morning of the Nov. 14 parade. Those hours come from a directory listing, so check with the cafe before you go.
Jennifer Jablonski follows this calendar along with the rest of Palmyra's year. If your home is on Cherry, Green, Locust or one of the blocks near the square and you've wondered what it would be worth, Jennifer Jablonski can put a number on it. Get a Free Home Valuation now, and you'll have it in hand before Santa's House opens on Nov. 27.
