Art Behind Bars Opens at the Abington Art Center, Cheap Trick Under the Keswick Marquee, and Abington Fest Across Crestmont Park: Your Mid-September Guide for Rydal

Think Rydal winds down once the pools close and the leaves start turning? Not this September. On Thursday, September 10, a striking new exhibition called Art Behind Bars opens its doors at the Abington Art Center, sharing the galleries with the Center’s Faculty, Staff, and Member Show through mid-October. On Monday, September 21, rock legends Cheap Trick light up the historic Keswick marquee. And a week into October, Abington Fest turns Crestmont Park into the township’s biggest block party of the fall. Let us run through all three.

Mid-September in Rydal and Abington Township is that golden stretch when the evenings hold onto their warmth and the oaks start showing their first color. Whether you have been here for years or you are a family weighing whether to call this area home, these three make a strong case. They are free to low-cost, all within a few minutes of Rydal, and all built around neighbors actually showing up. Here is the rundown.

🎬 Hand-held walking shot up the gravel path toward the Abington Art Center’s stone manor house on a Thursday afternoon, gallery doors standing open with warm light spilling out onto the lawn, contemporary sculptures scattered in the grass, visitors mid-browse in front of a canvas through the doorway, golden light filtering through the old oaks, no readable faces. Text overlay: "THU SEP 10 | ART BEHIND BARS + FALL SHOWS | ABINGTON ART CENTER."

01 Art Behind Bars at the Abington Art Center: Opens Thursday, September 10

Start with something worth lingering over. On Thursday, September 10, the Abington Art Center opens its fall exhibitions at 515 Meetinghouse Road, Jenkintown: Art Behind Bars, alongside the Center’s Faculty, Staff, and Member Show, both on view through October 19. The two shows anchor the Center’s fall exhibition program in the galleries of the historic Alverthorpe estate, pairing a featured exhibition with a wide-open showcase of the work of the Center’s own artists, teachers, and members. Full descriptions of both shows are on the Abington Art Center website.

The setting is part of the draw. The Art Center occupies the historic Alverthorpe estate, one of the most beautiful properties in the area, with galleries in the manor house and sculpture stepping off the lawn in every direction. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, and Saturday 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, with occasional closures for private events, so it is worth a quick check of the Center’s site before you go. From Rydal it is a five-minute drive, and it pairs beautifully with a Saturday morning at the Glenside Farmers Market in the same corridor.

It is the kind of exhibition that gives you something to actually look at and something to think about, and it is the perfect intro to what a school year at a neighborhood art center looks like.

🎬 Hand-held tracking shot along Easton Road in Glenside on a Monday evening, the Keswick marquee glowing up ahead through the early autumn dusk, guitar riffs just audible through the closed doors, a crowd gathering beneath the canopy, warm light washing over the 1920s brick, a quick push-in on the marquee before you head through the doors. Text overlay: "MON SEP 21 | CHEAP TRICK | KESWICK THEATRE."

02 Cheap Trick at the Keswick: Monday, September 21

For a proper night out, point yourself at the Keswick Theatre. On Monday, September 21, rock ’n’ roll legends Cheap Trick bring their hits to the historic Glenside stage: the anthemic sing-alongs of “I Want You to Want Me,” “Surrender,” and “Dream Police” fill the room, and after decades on the road the band still plays like they mean it. It is the rare show where three generations end up singing the same chorus.

The Keswick is the crown jewel of Glenside, a restored 1920s movie palace at 291 N. Keswick Avenue with a marquee that lights up Easton Road. From Rydal it is a five-minute drive, and the theater sits right beside the Glenside Regional Rail Station if you would rather ride in. Tickets are on the Keswick website and do move ahead of big-name nights, so grab them if this one calls to you.

A Monday night of classic rock steps from Rydal is proof the neighborhood keeps its calendar full all the way into fall. It is the kind of show that makes you glad you live here.

🎬 Hand-held golden-hour pan across a packed Crestmont Park, white vendor tents and strings of lights, a row of decorated car trunks with pumpkins and hay bales for Trunk-or-Treat, kids with balloons darting between booths as distant silhouettes, families crossing the 5K finish line on the grass, a movie screen standing ready for Friday night, warm autumn light, no readable faces, that big community-event hum. Text overlay: "OCT 2-4 | ABINGTON FEST | CRESTMONT PARK."

03 Abington Fest: Friday, October 2 through Sunday, October 4

The month’s centerpiece is Abington Fest 2026, running Friday, October 2 through Sunday, October 4 at Crestmont Park, 2595 Rubicam Avenue, Abington. The second annual township-wide celebration is the one weekend everyone has circled, and it stacks the calendar high: a family movie under the stars on Friday night, a 5K and Kids’ Dash on Saturday morning, plus the fall festival with Touch-a-Truck and Trunk-or-Treat filling the park with costumed kids.

It is the classic small-town scene at its peak: fire trucks for the little ones to climb, decorated trunks and pumpkins every way you look, festival food, and a crowd of neighbors out enjoying the last of the warm weather. Abington Fest is free to attend and built for families, and after last year’s debut filled the park from end to end, the second annual edition has even more planned. From Rydal it is a short drive, and it is the easiest weekend of the year to meet the township face to face.

A festival like this is the neighborhood at its best: a park closed to cars, everyone out walking, and the whole township feeling like one big block party. It is a perfect taste of what living in this area is actually like, and a great weekend to show prospective neighbors.