9/11 Flags of Remembrance at Kutztown University

September 9, 2026 · 5:00 PM · DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton Reading, 701 Penn Street

The Champions of Care Awards gathers the Berks County community to recognize local healthcare leadership and to raise support for the work of Reading Hospital and Tower Health. Funds raised stay in the area, helping expand critical care services at the hospital and supporting care for patients and families close to home. Three honorees are recognized at this year's program. Customers Bank receives the Legacy of Health Partnership Award for its philanthropic leadership and its longstanding partnership with Reading Hospital and the wider community. Joanne Judge, Esq., General Counsel of Tower Health, receives the Visionary Health Leadership Award for her service on the Tower Health Leadership Team and her work advancing patient-centered, ethically grounded care. Charles F. Barbera, MD, receives the Spirit of Reading Hospital Award for his stewardship of Reading Hospital and his commitment to innovation and to the people who deliver care every day. The evening offers a chance for neighbors, colleagues, and supporters to celebrate the people shaping healthcare in the region and to contribute to services that reach patients throughout Berks County.

September 9, 2026 · 6:45 PM · 1950 Centre Ave

The Reading Fightin Phils host the Erie SeaWolves at FirstEnergy Stadium on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, with first pitch set for 6:45 PM. Reading is the Double-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, while Erie represents the Detroit Tigers, so both rosters are stocked with prospects working their way toward the majors. September baseball in Reading carries a little extra weight, as standings tighten and lineups feature players making their case for a promotion. The ballpark on Centre Avenue remains one of the most familiar gathering spots in Berks County, with sightlines that keep you close to the action and the between-innings entertainment the Fightin Phils are known for. Whether you follow the farm system closely or simply want an evening out at the ballpark, it is a straightforward way to spend a late summer night. Gates and promotional details are announced by the club as the date approaches.

Hosted by Reading Fightin Phils

September 9, 2026 · 7:00 PM · 136 N 6th St

Actress and author Candace Cameron Bure brings her live tour to the Santander Performing Arts Center for an evening built around conversation, storytelling, and faith. Known to television audiences from decades of family comedy and holiday films, she keeps the tone of the night close to catching up with a friend, mixing laughter with encouragement. The program runs about two hours and includes interactive games with prizes, personal stories, and reflection meant to send the audience home motivated. Joining her is Dr. Tabatha, a triple board certified physician whose work focuses on helping women connect body, mind, and soul. Doors open at 6:00 PM, an hour before the show begins. The theater sits at 136 North 6th Street in downtown Reading, within walking distance of area restaurants and parking, and a pre-show Dinner on the Mezz buffet upgrade is offered for performances at this venue.

Hosted by Santander Performing Arts Center

September 10, 2026 · 11:00 AM · GoggleWorks, 201 Washington St · Family-friendly, all ages

The Reading Roots Market brings farm vendors and fresh local produce to GoggleWorks Center for the Arts in downtown Reading for a midday Thursday gathering. Shoppers can pick up ingredients for the week while the surrounding space fills with free activities for all ages. Alongside the produce tables, the market offers free art demonstrations, Story Time presented by the Reading Public Library, movement activities, and live animal talks that appear on a rotating basis. From noon to 1 PM there is rotating entertainment, with performances and activities that change from week to week. It makes an easy stop whether you are shopping, bringing the kids along, or simply looking for somewhere pleasant to spend a lunch hour. Vendors accept SNAP/EBT, FMNP, cash, and cards. Activities and participating vendors are subject to change.

Hosted by GoggleWorks Center for the Arts

September 11–12, 2026 · William DeLong Memorial Park, Bowers · $4 admission

The Chile Pepper Food Festival in tiny Bowers is one of Berks County's strangest and most beloved traditions: two days each September when a village of a few hundred people becomes Pennsylvania's capital of heat. The 2026 festival is the 30th annual. Vendors from across the region pack William DeLong Memorial Park with hot sauces, salsas, pepper-infused everything, and pepper plants by the thousands, most of it available to sample before you buy. The centerpiece is the jalapeno eating contest, scored by the weight of peppers eaten in thirty seconds, with cash prizes for the bravest stomachs. Admission is $4, parking is in a farm field, and the crowd is a mix of serious chiliheads chasing rare varieties and families who came for the food and stayed to watch someone regret the eating contest. It sells out nothing and hurries nowhere - that's the charm.

September 11–13, 2026 · Historic Joanna Furnace, Geigertown · Ticketed

The Hay Creek Festival is three days of living history at Historic Joanna Furnace, the 18th-century ironmaking community in southern Berks County that the Hay Creek Valley Historical Association has spent decades restoring. It's the association's flagship event and one of the region's best windows into how an iron plantation actually worked. Joanna Furnace made iron from 1791 into the Industrial Revolution, and during the festival the 26-acre site runs the way it once did: blacksmiths shaping iron in the smithy, the casting house explaining the furnace's ten-plate stoves, woodworkers cutting timber on a pit saw, plus a laundress, weaver, potter, tinsmith, gunsmith, and open-fire cooks working through the day. Threshing demonstrations, a working sawmill, and military encampments round out the grounds, alongside a contemporary craft market and festival food. It's ticketed, family-friendly, and paced for wandering - the kind of festival where kids watch a broom get made and adults leave knowing what a furnace moulder did. Proceeds fund the ongoing restoration of the furnace complex.