At 11 a.m. Saturday, a Native American trio called PAZA, Tree of Life, opens the first Downtown Allentown Marketplace at DLP Plaza, 835 W. Hamilton St. Seventeen hours later, at 4 a.m. Sunday, Hamilton Street between 9th and 7th streets closes to traffic so the St. Luke's D&L Marathon can start there at 7:30 a.m.
Both events use the same few downtown blocks, but they ask opposite things of anyone coming downtown. On Saturday the job is getting in and finding a place to park. On Sunday the job is knowing which streets, bridges and trail sections stay closed, and until what time. Here is the weekend in order.
Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.: The First Marketplace
The Downtown Allentown Alliance is presenting the marketplace with the Allentown Chamber of Commerce. Admission is free, families and pets are welcome, and it runs rain or shine. The Morning Call's weekly Retail Watch column listed it on Nov. 7 as the first Downtown Allentown Marketplace.
lehighvalleylive.com named the food vendors, all of them local:
- Spice Route
- Kou Kitchen
- La Cocina del Abuelo
- Cozy Crumbs Cafe
- Beestar Tanghulu
Local farmers and artisans will also be selling produce and handmade goods. The Alliance says local artists and makers will also offer live art, demonstrations, crafts and hands-on activities.
The stage schedule takes up the whole afternoon, and each act represents a different cultural tradition. If you're coming for a particular act, here is when it plays:
| Time | Performer | Tradition |
|---|---|---|
| 11:00 a.m. | PAZA, Tree of Life | Native American music and culture |
| 11:30 a.m. | Janosik Polish Dance | Polish folk dance |
| 12:05 p.m. | Carmen Belly Dance | Belly dance with Arabic drumming |
| 1:00 p.m. | The Pilgrims of Deep Run | Traditional Irish music |
| 2:10 p.m. | Afrobeats LV and DJ Romeo | Afrobeats |
| 3:15 p.m. | Clave Legacy | 12-piece Latin jazz and salsa ensemble |
The timing gives you two simple choices. If you want lunch with live music, plan on 11:30 to 1, when the Polish dance, belly dance and Irish sets play one after another. If you'd rather come later in the afternoon, the 3:15 Clave Legacy set closes the day. A 12-piece band is the largest act on the bill.
Lisa Finkelstein, executive director of the Downtown Allentown Alliance, told lehighvalleylive.com that the day would offer "fresh produce and prepared foods to live music, local artists and artisans, hands-on activities, and downtown businesses." In the same article, Brittney Ciardi, senior vice president of Allentown initiatives for the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, called the event "an opportunity to celebrate the people who make our community special, support our Allentown businesses, and bring people together."
Organizers plan a second marketplace for spring 2027. That makes Saturday the start of a twice-a-year event rather than a one-off.
Where Saturday's Cars Go
Parking for the marketplace is split across four decks, and each charges differently. According to lehighvalleylive.com:
- Eighth and Walnut Garage, 777 Walnut St. City Center Group is offering free parking for the event.
- 940 Deck, 940 Linden St. The Allentown Parking Authority is charging a flat $5 event rate from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Spiral Deck, 836 Linden St. Standard hourly rates apply.
- Maple St. Deck, 920 W. Maple St. Standard hourly rates apply.
The 940 Deck's flat rate covers 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., an hour on either side of the marketplace. That window lets you get set up before the 11 a.m. opening act and stay through the 3:15 set without feeding a meter.
Sunday is the reason Saturday's timing matters. The block you parked near on Saturday is the first section of downtown to close on Sunday morning, and it stays closed longest.
Sunday, 4 a.m.: Hamilton Street Becomes a Start Line
The St. Luke's D&L Marathon and the Marathon Relay start near 8th and Hamilton at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 15. The race is run by the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, and this is its fourth year.
The organizer's Allentown detour page lists closures with different start and end times. On Sunday morning, the time matters more than the street name:
| Street or segment | Closed |
|---|---|
| Hamilton Street, 9th to 7th streets | 4 a.m. to 10 a.m. |
| Hamilton Street, 7th to 4th streets | 7 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. |
| 4th Street, Hamilton to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive | 7 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Drive east of St. Elmo Street, all intersections | 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. |
| Lehigh Parkway East across Schrieber's and Kline's bridges onto Lehigh Parkway North | 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. |
| Union Street from S. 4th over the Hamilton Street Bridge, north lane | 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. |
| N. Albert Street into Canal Park | 7 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. |
The 9th-to-7th stretch of Hamilton, which includes the marketplace's block, closes three and a half hours before the start and reopens at 10 a.m. The stretch east of 7th is closed for only an hour and a quarter, because the runners are gone by then. Further out along the course, closures run later. Canal Park, the last one on the list, reopens at 10:45 a.m.
Crossing MLK Drive While It's Closed
Martin Luther King Jr. Drive is closed east of St. Elmo Street, including all of its intersections, from 7 to 10 a.m. That cuts off the usual crossings between the downtown grid and the neighborhoods south of the Little Lehigh. The organizer says to use the 15th Street or 8th Street bridges to get over the drive during those hours.
The marathon route explains the closure pattern. Runners leave 8th and Hamilton and head west on MLK Drive into the Little Lehigh Parkway. They come back east on MLK, cross the Hamilton Street Bridge, and follow Albert Street to Canal Park, where they join the D&L Trail heading east. MLK stays closed until 10 a.m. because runners use it twice, out and back. The Hamilton Street Bridge's north lane stays closed until 10:30 a.m. because it is the course's way out of the city.
The Walking Routes That Close Too
Trail and park paths close on Sunday too. That morning, the Little Lehigh Parkway path between Lehigh Parkway North and the pedestrian bridge is closed to the public. So is the D&L Trail between Allentown and Easton.
If you usually start Sunday with a loop through the Little Lehigh Parkway or a stretch of the D&L Trail from Canal Park, that route belongs to the race that morning. On the roads, the Lehigh Parkway East closure across Schrieber's and Kline's bridges ends at 9 a.m., and N. Albert Street into Canal Park reopens at 10:45 a.m.
What Leaves Allentown at 7:30
The marathon begins downtown, but most of the race happens elsewhere. The 26.2-mile course is USATF-certified and a Boston Marathon qualifier. It runs from downtown Allentown along the D&L Trail through Bethlehem to the finish in Easton, so the course passes through all three of the Lehigh Valley's major cities.
The relay also starts in Allentown. Teams have up to five runners, with legs from 3.4 to 7.1 miles, so the race has room for people who would never sign up for a full marathon. The D&L Heritage Half Marathon, which has both a run and a walk division, starts in historic downtown Bethlehem instead. The race registration page lists every division starting at 7:30 a.m.
Within minutes of the 7:30 start, the downtown crowd heads west and then east along the river. The post-race celebration happens in Easton, at the confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh rivers, not on Hamilton Street. If you want to watch the start, be at 8th and Hamilton just before 7:30. You can be back home before the 9th-to-7th block reopens at 10.
The organizer has also added a Weekend Passport for Nov. 13 to 15, with deals and experiences at participating Lehigh Valley businesses. Because the passport window includes Saturday, the marketplace and the race fall on one connected weekend.
The Weekend by the Clock
| When | Where | What |
|---|---|---|
| Sat. 10 a.m. | 940 Deck, 940 Linden St. | $5 event parking begins |
| Sat. 11 a.m. | DLP Plaza, 835 W. Hamilton St. | Marketplace opens with PAZA, Tree of Life |
| Sat. 3:15 p.m. | DLP Plaza | Clave Legacy closes the stage |
| Sat. 4 p.m. | DLP Plaza | Marketplace ends |
| Sun. 4 a.m. | Hamilton, 9th to 7th | Road closes |
| Sun. 7 a.m. | MLK Drive, 4th Street, Union Street, Parkway | Course closures begin |
| Sun. 7:30 a.m. | Near 8th and Hamilton | Marathon and relay start |
| Sun. 10 a.m. | Hamilton, 9th to 7th; MLK Drive | Reopen |
| Sun. 10:45 a.m. | N. Albert Street into Canal Park | Last Allentown closure lifts |
Weekends like this one, with a free marketplace on Hamilton Street on Saturday and a Boston-qualifying start line on the same block Sunday morning, are part of what living near downtown Allentown looks like in 2026. If you're thinking about how close to the center of things you want your next home to be, Shabana Pathan Group can walk you through the neighborhoods within reach of 8th and Hamilton and what daily life looks like in each. Schedule a Confidential Consultation.
