Autumn on the Avenue

Autumn on the Avenue returns to Germantown Avenue on Thursday, October 22, from 3:30 PM to 6:00 PM. It's Mt. Airy's neighborhood pre-Halloween trick-or-treat, run by the Go Mt. Airy Business Association as a way for residents to get to know the local shops. The main event is simple: you dress up in costume and collect treats from more than 30 businesses along the stretch of Germantown Avenue between Grocery Outlet and Lovett Library. Traffic keeps moving down the Avenue while you work your way from one end to the other, so it's a walk through the neighborhood rather than a closed-street fair.

There's plenty more to do than just the candy. The afternoon includes kids' crafts and a spooky story time held at St. Michael's graveyard on the corner of E. Phil Ellena and Germantown Avenue. The Philadelphia Fire Department will have fire trucks on display for kids to check out, and over at Lovett Library, Friends of Lovett are hosting a book sale and nature bracelet-making. If you're looking for something for the adults, there's a Tired Hands Beer Garden on site. The Philly Rhythm Youth Drum Line will be performing, too, so there's a live soundtrack to the whole thing.

Behind the scenes, the event is part of the wider work of the Mt. Airy CDC, which has been around since 1980 and focuses on housing counseling, real estate and infrastructure, business services, and community programs. Autumn on the Avenue is one of those neighborhood traditions that brings the business community and the residents together before the actual holiday rolls around.

It all takes place along the 6600-6900 blocks of Germantown Avenue in Mt. Airy, Philadelphia, on Thursday, October 22, from 3:30 PM to 6:00 PM. Admission is free.