Midweek around Glen Court

This is the Wednesday edition of the area roundup for anyone considering 6210 Glen Court in Heidelberg Township, published September 23, 2026. It leads with the biggest local government item of the week, tonight's special South Whitehall Township planning session on the proposed Project Atlas data center, then covers Northwestern Lehigh homecoming week, Parkland football, what is newly on the zoo's October calendar, and a few places to eat you may not have tried yet. As always, schedules and agendas shift, so please confirm details directly with the venues and districts linked below before heading out.

Tonight: The Project Atlas Special Planning Session Moves to Parkland High School

The South Whitehall Township Planning Commission holds its special meeting tonight, Wednesday, September 23, from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m., and recent reporting places the session in the Parkland High School auditorium rather than the municipal complex. The agenda is a continuation of the township's advisory review of Project Atlas, the proposed hyperscale data center campus of roughly 1.5 million square feet across three main buildings on about 410 acres at 2493 and 2747 North Cedar Crest Boulevard, directly across the road from Parkland High School. The commission is an advisory body and does not grant final approval; tonight continues the review that began with a public presentation on July 9, and three township advisory boards gave non-binding comments on September 10 after about 90 minutes of public comment.

What comes next matters as much as tonight. Township staff have said the developer's review extension runs through October 31, with the latest submission expected to appear in the October review-cycle planning packet, and once the commission wraps up, the application moves to the South Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners, which holds the formal public hearing and votes on the land development plan. Residents and the South Whitehall Civic Alliance have pressed for that public hearing. Check the township agenda page before attending, since meeting times and locations have shifted more than once this summer.

Northwestern Lehigh: Homecoming Week Is Here

It is homecoming week in New Tripoli, and the marquee game is Friday night: the Tigers host Saucon Valley at 7:00 p.m. in a Colonial League divisional matchup, the home game first flagged in Monday's edition. Around the game, the district's high school lists the Homecoming Dance for Saturday, September 26, from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m., and this year's homecoming court has been announced. For everyone following the other fall teams, varsity soccer, field hockey, volleyball, and cross country all have full midweek slates; the high school calendar and the MaxPreps Tigers events page are the reliable places to confirm match times, because schedules move.

Two dates worth putting on the calendar now: the Tigers play away at Jim Thorpe on Friday, October 2, and the Board of School Directors holds its regular monthly meeting Wednesday, October 7, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the District Board Room.

Parkland: Trojans on the Road, Then Home the First Week of October

Trojans varsity football is at Northampton Friday, September 25, at 7:00 p.m. in an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference road game. Looking past that, the next home game for Parkland football is against William Allen in the first week of October, with district calendars showing Thursday, October 1 at 7:00 p.m. and a few listings posting Friday, October 2 instead, so confirm before making plans. For the rest of the fall portfolio, the district's athletics calendar is the single best source for varsity soccer, field hockey, cross country, and volleyball dates and times through the season.

Fall Settles In: Ottertoberfest and the October Calendar

The autumn equinox arrived Tuesday evening, and the season is turning quickly around the listing: shorter light, mornings on the ridge, and farm stands at their best. At the Lehigh Valley Zoo in Schnecksville, Ottertoberfest lands Saturday, October 3, a roughly 20-minute drive from Germansville, with craft vendors, North American River Otter activities, food, local wine, and seasonal craft beer, and Boo at the Zoo returns later in October around its usual late-October weekends, so watch lvzoo.org for the 2026 date announcement. The Explore Lehigh Valley events page and the weekly Lehigh Valley Style things-to-do guide update weekly and are the easiest way to fill the rest of the season.

For the townships themselves: Heidelberg Township's Board of Supervisors next meets Thursday, October 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the municipal building at 6272 Route 309 in New Tripoli (April-through-October meetings run at that time), with Zoom attendance available, and North Whitehall Township's supervisors resume their second-Monday cadence on October 12 at 7:00 p.m. at 3256 Levans Road, Coplay.

Where to Eat Nearby

Two picks this week that have not shown up in earlier editions. The Thunderhead Lodge at 2520 West Penn Pike in Andreas, a mountain restaurant and lodge north over the Blue Mountain ridge, is the pick for a destination dinner as the leaves change. In the heart of New Tripoli, the New Tripoli Hotel at 6799 Madison Street, just off Route 309, is the long-running village tavern and restaurant, reachable at (610) 298-2777. And the Route 309 standbys that keep earning a place in every roundup: Katie's Family Restaurant at 6301 PA-309 and Two Kings Pizzeria a bit north at 7366 PA-309.

Event dates and details in this post were verified against public sources, including township websites and meeting agendas, school district calendars and athletics pages, festival and attraction listings, and local business listings, as of September 23, 2026, and are subject to change. Please confirm details directly with each organization before making plans.