Saturdays at the Glenside Market, Thursday Nights in Jenkintown, and Abington Fest Across Three Parks: Your September Calendar for Rydal

Think Rydal quiets down once the kids head back to school? Never. September is when the neighborhood calendar fills up again. Saturday mornings you will find canvas bags and crates of peak-season produce at the Glenside Farmers Market right beside the train station. Thursday evenings a new night market with live music moves into the Jenkintown library lot. And in early October, Abington Fest takes over three parks for a whole weekend of family fun. Let us walk through each one.

Fall in Rydal and Abington Township is the season the quote-unquote hidden gem reputation starts to feel obvious. The markets are at their best, the evenings stay warm and golden, and the community events pull everyone out of their houses. Whether you are a longtime neighbor or a family house-hunting in the area, these three are the ones to put on the calendar right now.

🎬 Vlog direction: Hand-held walking shot down Glenside Avenue on a Saturday morning, white market canopies set up in the regional rail station parking lot, wooden crates of ripe tomatoes, peaches, zucchini, and cut flowers on fold-out tables, the historic Glenside train station in the background, morning sunlight raking across the awnings, early shoppers with canvas bags and coffee in hand, a neighbor stopping to chat with a farmer about the harvest, the low rumble of a SEPTA train pulling in behind the market. Text overlay: "SAT 9 AM-1 PM | GLENSIDE FARMERS MARKET."

01 Glenside Farmers Market: Saturday Mornings, Peak Season

Start your September weekends at the Glenside Farmers Market, running every Saturday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM in the parking lot right beside the Glenside Regional Rail Station, at Glenside Avenue and Easton Road. The market has been going strong since late spring and keeps its weekly rhythm all the way into the end of November, so this is the prime stretch for the best produce of the year.

This is a producer-only market in the truest sense. Farmers bring in what is ripening right then, so the tables shift with the season. In September that means heirloom tomatoes at their absolute peak, peaches and plums in the last of their run, sweet corn, peppers, and summer squash, plus the first of the fall apples, winter squash, and fresh-cut flowers. Honeys and local honey, fresh-baked bread, pasture-raised eggs, and cheeses round out the booths.

What makes it special is the setting. The market lives right in the shadow of the historic Glenside train station, so a Saturday trip can double as your errand run and a little neighborhood stroll along Easton Road. From Rydal it is a five-minute drive down Meetinghouse Road, or an easy SEPTA ride from Rydal Station to Glenside Station. Swing by with a coffee, fill a canvas bag, and say hi to a vendor. Mornings like this are what make a walkable, connected neighborhood worth it.

🎬 Vlog direction: Hand-held tracking shot along Route 611 near the Jenkintown library on a Thursday evening, string lights strung between trees in the parking lot, vendors under tents with fresh produce and baked bread as the sun drops, a small local band starting up, neighbors walking over with tote bags straight from work, kids running in the open space, warm golden-hour light on faces, an easy end-of-week energy. Text overlay: "THU 3-7 PM | JENKINTOWN FARMERS MARKET | ROUTE 611."

02 Jenkintown Farmers Market: The New Thursday Night Out

Here is the new one worth knowing about. The Jenkintown Farmers Market opened in 2026 as an evening market in the parking lot of the Jenkintown Library on Route 611, running every Thursday from 3:00 to 7:00 PM. It is the reborn, relocated version of the old Tuesday night market, and it slots perfectly into the end of the workweek.

The Thursday timing is the draw. Instead of giving up a weekend morning, you stop by on your way home, grab dinner ingredients direct from the farmers, and linger while a local band plays as the evening light goes golden. Bakers bring fresh loaves and pastries, and you will find seasonal produce, meats, cheeses, and the usual market staples, all within a few minutes of Rydal both by car and by SEPTA.

Pair it with the Jenkintown Summer Concert Series energy and you get a proper Thursday neighborhood outing. From Rydal, the library lot on Route 611 is a short drive down Huntingdon Pike. Bring a tote, pick up something for dinner, and let the music do the rest. If you have not been yet, this is the month to make it your new routine.

🎬 Vlog direction: Wide pan across Alverthorpe Park on an early-fall evening, the lake catching warm light, white vendor tents and food trucks spread across the lawn, kids with balloons everywhere, a Touch a Truck display, families settling onto blankets, a big outdoor movie screen being raised as dusk falls, the smell of festival food on the air, golden foliage over the green space. Text overlay: "OCT 2-4 | ABINGTON FEST | THREE PARKS."

03 Abington Fest 2026: One Weekend, Three Parks

Put the biggest one on the calendar first. Abington Fest returns for its second year from Friday, October 2 through Sunday, October 4, and this year it grows to a full three-day celebration spread across Roslyn Park, Crestmont Park, and Alverthorpe Park. After a hugely successful first year, the township is expanding the weekend and adding a brand-new movie night under the stars.

The festival packs a lot into the weekend. There is a 5K race and Kids’ Dash for the active crowd, a fall-festival hall of activities along the park trails, Touch a Truck for the vehicle-obsessed little ones, Trunk or Treat to kick off the fall spirit, and a parent-child golf tournament for families that want something a little quieter. Add vendor tents, food trucks, lawn games, and carnival energy, and you have a proper town-wide celebration that draws thousands of neighbors.

Best of all, one of the parks, Alverthorpe, is basically in your Rydal backyard. With the 5K, the kids’ dash, the movie night, and the family events spread across the weekend, you can pick your day or settle in for all three. Mark October 2 through 4 and watch the township’s news page for the full schedule as it comes together. This is the weekend that makes you feel how connected a neighborhood can be.