October is the month for fire prevention awareness, Halloween and the beginning of the church festival/bazaar season.

The Vera Cruz Halloween parade will take place 7 p.m. Oct. 12. The rain date is Oct. 13.

A group of local churches is again sponsoring a Light in the Night block party to provide a safe space for children and families to enjoy Halloween. It will be held 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 30 in the Upper Milford Township building.

Trick or Treat night in Upper Milford Township will be 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 31.

Trick or Treat night in Lower Milford Township will be 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 28.

The Ladies Auxiliary of the Vera Cruz Fire Company will hold a fire prevention open house and craft show 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 15 at the fire company.

Salem United Methodist Church will hold its Harvest Fest 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 8, at the church, 6440 Powder Valley Road, Zionsville. There will be a flea market, bake sale, light lunch available and painted pumpkins to purchase. For more information, call 610-965-6796.

St. Peter’s Union Church is holding its fifth annual baskets (and more) fundraising event Oct. 23. Doors open for lunch 11:30 a.m. and bingo games begin 1 p.m. To purchase or reserve tickets in advance, call Joy Weida at 610-845-9822 or the church at 610-966-3030.

Another fundraiser for St. Peter’s is family fun night at Friendly’s Restaurant in Trexlertown. From 5 to 8 p.m. Oct. 18, 10 percent of all sales will go to the church.

St. Peter’s is hosting its monthly community meal 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 7. St. Peter’s started this ministry two years ago. The free meal is intended to help those who are struggling and to stretch the food supplies they get from the Zionsville Food Pantry.

This has proved to be a great time of fellowship for the community, averaging between 75 and 85 meals served each month.

Old Zionsville UCC will have its bazaar and filled basket auction Nov. 12, but organizers are taking orders now for quarts of chicken potpie to be picked up the day of the bazaar. Orders must be placed by Oct. 30. Call the church office at 610-966-3601 to order or for more information.

The Upper Milford Historical Society will meet 7 p.m. Oct. 27 at the Upper Milford Township building. Patrick Donmoyer of the Pennsylvania German Heritage Cultural Center will give a presentation on barn stars and differentiate that term from hex signs. All are welcome.

There will be an electronics and appliance recycling day 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 15 at the Southern Lehigh Library on Route 378 in Center Valley. For information on what items will be accepted and which will involve a cost, go to the link on the Lower Milford Township website.

Upper Milford Western District Fire Company will serve an all-you-can-eat breakfast 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Nov. 6. There are senior, adult and children’s prices. For information, call the fire company at 610-966-3541 or Carol Shade at 610-966-3902.

The Upper Milford Fire Company’s ladies auxiliary meets 7 p.m. Nov. 7. New members are always welcome.

Vera Cruz senior citizens meet 1 p.m. Oct. 6 and 20 at the Vera Cruz Fire Company. All are welcome.

Upper Milford supervisors will meet 7 p.m. Oct. 6 and 20.

The Emmaus-Upper Milford Joint Environmental Advisory Council will meet 7 p.m. in Emmaus Oct. 24.

The Upper Milford Open Space Committee meets 7:30 p.m. Oct. 12. The Upper Milford Planning Commission meets 7:30 p.m. the Monday prior to the first Thursday of every month unless that is a holiday.

The recreation commission meets 7:30 p.m. Oct. 17.

Lower Milford Township board of supervisors will meet 7:30 p.m. Oct. 19 in the township building.

Following is the schedule of other Lower Milford meetings in October. All meetings are 7:30 p.m. in the township building unless otherwise noted: historical commission, Oct. 11; recreation and open space committee, Oct. 12; zoning hearing board 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 20.

If you have news or information for this column, which runs the first Wednesday of every month, please call me at 610-838-8923 or email me at bruce.swan@rcn.com.