Events Calendar for the Lake Wallenpaupack Region

For a lake this size, Lake Wallenpaupack's calendar punches far above its population. The 13-mile reservoir in the Pocono Mountains anchors a year-round event rhythm that starts with spring canal tours and a downtown Hawley 5K, builds through a summer of lakeside concerts, fireworks over the water and county fairs, peaks with a three-day, 60-event end-of-summer festival, and closes out with a fall harvest festival and a small-town Christmas weekend running since 1999. Most of it is free, most of it is walkable from downtown Hawley, and nearly all of it is put on by the same handful of organizations year after year.

The two biggest names to know are the Chamber of the Northern Poconos, which runs Wally Lake Fest and has produced the Fourth of July fireworks over the lake since 1975, and the Downtown Hawley Partnership, which runs the Hawley Harvest Hoedown each October and Hawley Winterfest each December. Beyond those, the Wayne County Historical Society programs history events at its museum and at D&H Canal Park at Lock 31, the Ritz Company Playhouse has staged community theater every summer since 1973, and Harmony in the Woods and the Dorflinger-Suydam Wildflower Concert Series give the area two open-air music venues running full summer seasons.

2026 is a landmark year: Lake Wallenpaupack officially opened on July 31, 1926, making 2026 its centennial, with a dedicated Centennial Celebration on top of the normal calendar. Festivals here tend to lock to a weekend pattern (first weekend of October, second weekend of December) rather than a fixed calendar date — always confirm exact dates with the organizer before booking.