Radnor's November Happens on the Villanova Side of Town

On Friday, the last stop of Radnor's October is the Township Building at 301 Iven Ave. in Wayne, where trick-or-treating runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. After that, the township's dated calendar moves west and south for five weeks. Between Nov. 1 and the first weekend of December, most of the listed events are around Villanova's campus, at Finneran Pavilion and the Mullen Center, or at the Willows at 490 Darby Paoli Road, with a few weeknight talks at Radnor Memorial Library. Downtown Wayne doesn't return to the center of things until Christmas in Wayne on Dec. 4 and 5.

That split decides where a November weeknight in Radnor goes, and it rewards anyone who plans by week instead of by weekend.

Seven Home Dates at Finneran Pavilion

The densest part of the month is basketball. Villanova's men and women play a combined seven home games on campus in November, and four of them fall on weeknights.

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving is the campus doubleheader. The women play La Salle at 11:30 a.m., and the men tip against Coppin State at 7 p.m. that evening.

One marquee game is off campus. The men play Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 7 p.m., at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, not on campus. The same goes for the Big Five Classic. The men's game is Saturday, Dec. 5, at Xfinity Mobile Arena, and the women play Sunday, Dec. 6, at the Palestra. As of this week, the men's schedule lists no tip time or opponent for that Dec. 5 game. The program's schedule announcement said times and TV details would follow.

The campus run picks up again in December. The women host DePaul on Thursday, Dec. 3, at 7 p.m., and the men host FDU on Wednesday, Dec. 9. Athletics schedules change through the season, so check the Villanova men's schedule and women's schedule the week of any game.

The Willows Has Been Hosting All Fall

Campus covers the weeknights. The Willows covers the outdoor side of the season, and it has done so since early October. The township's Fall Harvest & Great Pumpkin Patch was held there on Oct. 4. The Radnor Conservancy's TREEtoberFest came back to the Willows Mansion on Oct. 25 with its annual free-tree pickup, food, music and a family hike.

November moves it after dark. Radnor Parks & Recreation runs an Owl Encounter & Night Hike at the Willows on two Fridays, Nov. 13 and Nov. 20. Each session runs 7:30 to 9 p.m. and starts at the Willows Mansion before heading onto the Skunk Hollow Trails. Here's how the program is set up:

• $25 per person, and residents and nonresidents pay the same
• Ages 6 and up, and anyone 17 or younger has to come with a registered adult
• Bring your own flashlight
• The trail can be uneven and muddy, and proper shoes are required
• The group moves through the woods quietly, so the hike calls for patience

Look at Nov. 20 before you register. The owl hike starts at 7:30 p.m. the same Friday that Villanova's NOVAnoise Fall Tap Ensemble Showcase runs from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Court Theatre at the John & Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts. The two spots are a short drive apart, but a household can only make one of them. The Nov. 13 session doesn't overlap anything on the campus calendars above.

Radnor's other wooded park isn't ready for the season. The Fenimore Woods Improvement Project is converting the old stable into restrooms and storage and replacing the pavilion, with parking lot work to follow. The project's tentative completion target was summer 2026. The township's facilities listing still shows the Fenimore Woods Pavilion as closed, with the pavilion and stable under construction and no reopening date. For a group outing this month, the Willows is the option that's actually open.

The Radnor Trail is in its last days of October programming. The township's Pumpkin Path Adventure hid 10 pumpkins along the trail, and the Inquirer's Radnor newsletter reported that it runs through the end of the month, which makes Saturday, Oct. 31, the last day to look for them. The trail itself runs 2.4 miles from Radnor-Chester Road to Sugartown Road, with an entrance at 492 Conestoga Rd. The township's last round of road resurfacing, which started Sept. 2, was estimated to wrap up on Tuesday, Oct. 27, so November drives to the trailheads should have fewer work zones.

Weeknights in the Winsor Room

Two Radnor Historical Society talks fall on weeknights in the same stretch, and one of them lands on a game night. Both are in the Winsor Room at Radnor Memorial Library, and neither requires registration.

On Wednesday, Nov. 11, Veterans Day, the Society presents "Wings of Courage, Wills of Iron: The Tuskegee Airmen and the Legend of Captain Luther Smith" at 6:30 p.m. On Tuesday, Nov. 24, it hosts "The Distinctive History of Carpenters' Hall" at 7 p.m. That second talk starts at the same hour the men tip off against Coppin State, so the Tuesday before Thanksgiving has three things on it: a morning women's game, an evening men's game, and a history lecture.

The library's own book clubs land between those dates. The Radlit Book Club meets Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 6:30 p.m., the same evening as the La Salle men's game. The Pageturners Book Club meets Thursday, Nov. 19, at 11 a.m. In December, Radlit meets again on Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 6:30 p.m., and Gentle Yoga and Meditation is on Wednesday, Dec. 9, at 10 a.m. Full listings are on the Radnor Historical Society events page and the library's calendar.

Dinner Between Campus and the Willows

The restaurant news on this side of the township is a reopening. 333 Belrose, which first opened in 1999 off King of Prussia Road in St. Davids, closed in June 2025 for a renovation expected to take six or seven months. It reopened in late June 2026 instead, Delco.today reported, drawing on Philadelphia Inquirer coverage.

The renovation swapped the rooms. The old dining room is now a dark 13-seat bar with green wallpaper and a backlit spirits display. The old bar became a bright dining room with a vaulted paneled ceiling, white millwork and a checkerboard wood floor. Full-length doors connect the bar to the patio in what Delco.today described as a 3,870-square-foot former stable, and the nachos stayed on the menu. For a household that's spending November weeknights at Finneran Pavilion and Friday nights at the Willows, it's the closest new table to both. This will be its first holiday season in the new layout.

How the Calendar Moves Back to Wayne

The move back to Lancaster Avenue takes one week, and it starts on campus. In order:

1. Wed., Dec. 2, 5 to 7 p.m. Villanova's University Christmas Tree Lighting at the Riley Ellipse. The university calls it an annual community event, with festive treats, a Blessing of the Children, performances by the Villanova Voices & Singers, a holiday light show, firepits and s'mores, and a visit from Santa.
2. Thu., Dec. 3. The women host DePaul at 7 p.m. at Finneran Pavilion, and the Dance Co. & Ensemble Concert runs 7:30 to 10 p.m. in the Mullen Center's Topper Theatre.
3. Fri. and Sat., Dec. 4 and 5. Christmas in Wayne, listed on the township's community events page for both days.
4. Sat., Dec. 5, 3 to 5:30 p.m. The Light Up Wayne Hanukkah Festival & Menorah Lighting at North Wayne Avenue and Station Road, near Wayne Train Station. The same day, Villanova's men play the Big Five Classic in Philadelphia, with the tip time still to be announced.
5. Sun., Dec. 6. Santa's Delivery, which the township lists with 2026 details coming soon. Its page still shows last year's instructions, so wait for the update before you plan around it.

Two restaurants announced for Wayne may also be open by then. The Inquirer reported in August that Old Friend, at 166 E. Lancaster Ave. in the Apartments at Wayne Station, was aiming for a late-fall opening. Martini & Roz, going into the former Bertucci's at 523 W. Lancaster Ave., had a late-summer or early-fall target when Philly Grub shared the announcement on May 20, and the Inquirer's September restaurant preview still listed it as upcoming. Neither has a confirmed opening date yet. Until Dec. 2, most of Radnor's dated calendar stays on Darby Paoli Road and the Villanova campus.

Which side of Radnor a home sits on changes what a weeknight looks like, from a short drive to Finneran Pavilion or the Skunk Hollow Trails to a walk to the Wayne train station for the menorah lighting. If you're wondering how that location shows up in your own home's value, Ainlay Dixon can walk you through it with the same street-level attention. Get your instant home valuation to start.