"People want a place to hang out," Jen Kurland told The Philadelphia Inquirer in September. She was standing among paint cans and plywood in the Forrest Avenue storefront that was about to become Jeneral Store. She was describing a shop, but the same line could stand for the Narberth Business Association's whole fall schedule. Over the next two weeks, almost every event on the borough's calendar starts at, ends at, or winds past a downtown storefront. The two newest projects on the business strip were also designed from the start as places to stay a while, not just places to buy something.
That shared purpose is the thread running through late October in Narberth. Here is the schedule, followed by what sits behind each date.
The Dates, From This Week Through Early November
| Date | Event | Where it starts |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday, Oct. 22, 3 p.m. | Narberth Farmers Market | 1 Station Circle |
| Saturday, Oct. 24, 1 to 4 p.m. | Witches of Narberth | Forrest and Haverford Avenues |
| Monday, Oct. 26 | Scavenger Hunt team registration deadline | Online |
| Thursday, Oct. 29, 3 p.m. | Final Narberth Farmers Market of the season | 1 Station Circle |
| Friday, Oct. 30, 6 to 6:15 p.m. meetup | Halloween Parade | 100 block of N. Narberth Avenue |
| Saturday, Nov. 7, 6 p.m. registration, 7:30 p.m. kickoff | Narberth Scavenger Hunt for adults | Briefing behind Greeks Next Door |
Every event page from the Narberth Business Association ends with the same line. It says the events are "brought to you by the NBA, its members, and community volunteers," and asks people to show their appreciation "by making local shopping and dining a part of your regular routine."
The Witches Hunt Works as a Tour of the Storefronts
The Witches of Narberth takes place Saturday, Oct. 24. It is free, and it starts at 1 p.m. at the corner of Forrest and Haverford Avenues. Kids pick up a clue card and walk downtown looking for witches, getting a stamp from each one they find and collecting treats along the way. Once the card is full, they bring it back to the start to trade for a Halloween prize. The hunt runs until 4 p.m. or until the prizes are gone, and costumes are welcome but optional.
The setup is the point. A treasure hunt across the business district takes a few hundred small feet past the windows of the shops that pay for it. Among the photos on the event page is Sweet Mabel, which also usually hosts the activity at the NBA's First Friday evenings, 6 to 9 p.m. Since the first prize can go to whoever finishes first and the last one can run out before 4 p.m., arriving closer to 1 p.m. is the safer bet.
Forrest Avenue Has a New Stop on the Route
The hunt's starting corner now has a new neighbor a few doors up Forrest Avenue. Jeneral Store was scheduled to hold its grand opening on Friday, Oct. 16, with opening-weekend events through Oct. 18, as Patch reported on Oct. 2. The space was previously Danny's Guitar Shop, an independent guitar store and lesson center that closed in May after 17 years when owner Dan Gold retired.
Kurland is a Narberth resident and a former corporate events leader. The Inquirer described what she has built:
- A craft counter set up like a deli counter, where shoppers can order craft supplies à la carte
- Pick-your-own flower bouquets in upcycled vases
- Curated vintage and new household goods, plus penny candy
- Drop-in crafts, workshops, and DIY projects you can make in the store or take home
Patch reported that Kurland wants the shop to be a welcoming "third place" for people to create and connect. She told The Inquirer that all net proceeds will go to organizations supporting LGBTQ+ individuals. A guitar shop was a place you went with a purpose. A craft counter where you can sit and make something is the kind of storefront that gives people a reason to linger, and that is the same thing the NBA's events are designed to do.
GET Café Is Moving Down Haverford Avenue to Do More of the Same
GET Café, at 246 Haverford Ave., is run by the nonprofit GETincluded, which Brooke Goodspeed founded. According to Montco.Today, the café creates paid jobs, training, and social opportunities for neurodiverse people and people with disabilities. As of Montco.Today's Sept. 26 report, it was getting ready to move down the block to 301 Haverford Ave. The bigger space will add a full commercial kitchen, a larger menu, and room to employ more people.
GETincluded's build page collects ideas from the community through building and menu surveys and links to donations. It does not give a move-in date. For now, the café's own page still lists 246 Haverford Ave., open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekends. A Saturday Witches hunt that wraps up by mid-afternoon fits inside those weekend hours, as long as the coffee stop comes first.
The Market and the Parade Close Out the Same Week
The Narberth Farmers Market runs Thursdays from 3 to 7 p.m. at 1 Station Circle. Montgomery County lists the 2026 season as May 7 through Oct. 29, which leaves today and next Thursday. Main Line Parent identifies Honey Brook Harvest Collective, a network of family farms, as the market's anchor.
The final market falls the night before the Halloween Parade on Friday, Oct. 30. Families meet on the 100 block of N. Narberth Avenue between 6 and 6:15 p.m. The page puts the next part in bold, warning people not to be late because the march starts right at 6:30. Volunteers from the Narberth Fire Department lead the way with an engine or two. The route runs down Haverford Avenue and ends at the basketball courts in Narberth Park, often followed by trunk-or-treating. The borough calendar lists the evening as "Halloween Parade & Trunk or Treat" at 6 p.m.
So the parade covers the same Haverford Avenue blocks the Witches hunt crossed six days earlier, this time after dark and behind a fire engine. That stretch takes in both of GET Café's addresses, 246 and 301 Haverford.
The Adult Hunt on Nov. 7 Pays for Trees
The NBA's First Friday page lists November among its months and describes those evenings as shops staying open late, with live music and specials. Early November also brings the event that runs latest on the calendar.
The Narberth Scavenger Hunt is for adults and takes place Saturday, Nov. 7:
- Registration and team photos begin at 6 p.m.
- The hunt briefing is at 7 p.m. behind Greeks Next Door.
- Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m., and teams finish back behind Greeks Next Door at 9 p.m.
- Karaoke at GAP follows.
Only the team captain needs the Eventzee app on their phone, and teams have to register by Monday, Oct. 26. The entry fee covers helmets and the app that records and scores the hunt. Proceeds after expenses go to Friends of Narberth Green Initiatives and are earmarked for the Shade Tree Commission's tree replacement work. Questions go to organizer Cyndi Rickards at [email protected].
This event follows the same model as the kids' hunt in October, with a briefing behind a restaurant, a party at a bar afterward, and the money going to the street trees that shade the business district. The deadline is the one date on this calendar you have to act on ahead of time. It lands four days after this post goes up.
For me, the borough's storefronts and its calendar are part of the same story, because the shops that sponsor a Saturday witch hunt are also the reason a downtown holds its appeal year after year. If you'd like a local's view of how Narberth's business district has changed, or what a walkable downtown means for your own plans, Nora DeCristofano is happy to talk it through. Let's Connect.
