December 15, 2025 – The City of Allentown is providing an update following this weekend’s vandalism at Lights in the Parkway.

Move It Monday will proceed tonight as planned, featuring a Hanukkah Night theme in partnership with the Jewish Community Center of the Lehigh Valley, from 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Police will be present throughout the event to help ensure a safe and welcoming experience for all attendees.

At this time, there is no public criminal update related to the vandalism investigation. We continue to assess the full scope of damage. While the final valuation is still being tallied, the City is currently projecting a minimum loss of $100,000, which includes staffing costs, damaged and destroyed displays, and lost revenue.

Several signature displays have been confirmed as total losses and are not salvageable, including Old Man Winter, Penguin with the Top Hat, and Fishing Penguins, with a combined estimated value of $60,000.

Despite the damage, the City is grateful to share that Holiday Outdoor Decor reached out immediately after learning about the incident and visited the site this morning. In a remarkable show of support, the company has loaned 22 display pieces to help replace those that were damaged. City crews are actively removing vandalized displays, and thanks to this generosity, the attraction will be restored and ready to reopen to vehicle traffic tomorrow night, provided there are no additional setbacks.

Lights in the Parkway is a fundraiser benefiting local nonprofit organizations. Due to last night’s closure, the featured nonprofit, Allen High School, lost a day of donations. The City will still provide the organization’s stipend for the impacted day, and additional donations are encouraged.

Those interested in supporting the program and helping replace damaged displays can contribute through The Parknership at: https://givebutter.com/25lights. Donations will be used directly to replace destroyed light displays.

We also extend our sincere thanks to the sponsors who support Lights in the Parkway year after year, as well as the many community members who have expressed encouragement and support.

The City will continue to provide updates as the damage assessment and investigation progress.

Information provided to TVL by:

Genesis Ortega