Catasauqua This Week: Book Festival, Farm Tours, and Parade Week

This week in Catasauqua and North Catasauqua is a busy one just outside the borough line. The Easton Book Festival fills downtown Easton Friday through Sunday, Lehigh County farms open their gates for a free self-guided tour weekend, the Rough Riders host Palisades at Alumni Field Friday night, and the joint Catasauqua/North Catasauqua Halloween Parade steps off Wednesday. Here is what is happening in and around the two boroughs this week, plus three places to eat that are new to this blog.

Local News and Community Happenings

The civic calendar picks up Monday night: Catasauqua Borough Council holds its monthly business meeting Monday, October 19 at 7:00 p.m. at Borough Hall, 90 Bridge Street, livestreamed via GoToMeeting, with the borough's planning commission following Wednesday, October 21 at 6:30 p.m. The third Monday of the month is the council's regular cadence, so residents with questions about trash, parking, or street work can tune in or attend in person.

The centerpiece of the week is the joint Catasauqua/North Catasauqua Halloween Parade on Wednesday, October 21 at 7:00 p.m., with a rain date of Wednesday, October 28, per the Morning Call's 2026 guide to Lehigh Valley Halloween parades. The route begins at Walnut and 14th streets, follows S. John Street, Church Street to Howertown Street, Howertown to Bridge Street, then Fourth Street to Buttonwood Street to Sixth Street, ending at the North Catasauqua Playground. The Astound community channel ATVN airs the parade Wednesday, October 21 at 10:00 p.m. and repeats it Thursday, October 22 at 9:00 p.m., with an encore in its Halloween Marathon on Friday, October 30 at noon.

The rest of Halloween season is already set in both boroughs: Catasauqua's Trunk or Treat runs Saturday, October 24 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the American Street parking lot, and both Catasauqua and North Catasauqua hold trick-or-treat on Halloween night, Saturday, October 31, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. On the gridiron, the Rough Riders return to Alumni Field Friday night in Colonial League Division B play, and the district's fall schedules for soccer, volleyball, and cross country keep posting to the athletics site as the season winds down.

At the Catasauqua Area School District

The district item to circle this week is the early dismissal on Wednesday, October 21, when all CASD buildings let students out early for a faculty meeting; the downloadable district calendar on cattysd.org lists the full year of holidays, in-service days, and board dates. The board of education held its October meeting Tuesday night, October 13, at the District Administration Office, 201 N. 14th Street, and its agendas and minutes stay posted on the district site.

Friday night, the varsity football team hosts Palisades at Alumni Field at 7:00 p.m. in Colonial League Division B play, a home date worth putting on the calendar before the season's late-October stretch. At Sheckler Elementary, Red Ribbon Week runs October 19-23, a week of drug-awareness activities coordinated with the school's PANDAS parent group. Fall schedules and any game changes for soccer, volleyball, and cross country post on the athletics site at roughriderathletics.org.

Things to Do in the Area

The big draw this weekend is the 8th Annual Easton Book Festival, a free, week-long celebration that culminates Friday through Sunday, October 16-18, across downtown Easton venues including the Sigal Museum, Easton Area Public Library, Centre Square, the Easton Farmers Market on Larry Holmes Drive, Nurture Nature Center, the Book and Puppet Co., and Quadrant Book Mart, with Lafayette College as lead sponsor. Highlights include Authors' Row meet-and-greet at the farmers market Saturday and Sunday mornings, a poetry and music open mic at Centre Square, and a Small Press Vendor Expo at the Sigal Museum Sunday afternoon. It is about a 15-minute drive from Catasauqua, and most programming is free.

Out in the county, the Lehigh County Open Gate Farm Tours run Saturday and Sunday, October 17-18, from noon to 5:00 p.m., with farms open free and self-guided. Confirmed stops include Heidel Hollow Farm in Germansville, open Sunday with a farm market, food court, and children's activities, and Lyon Creek Farm in New Tripoli with a corn maze, pumpkin patch, and pumpkin games. Eight Oaks Craft Distillers in New Tripoli, a family farm distillery that grows its own grain, is also on the tour, per the county's tour sites list. The Morning Call's October 14 weekend roundup flags Barktoberfest in the same lineup.

Closer to the borough, Boo at the Zoo continues its run at the Lehigh Valley Zoo in Schnecksville this weekend, October 17-18, then again October 24-25 and October 31, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with trick-or-treating and costume contests, about a 25-minute drive away. Grim's Orchard & Family Farms in Breinigsville keeps its Fall Festival going weekends through November 1 with apples, pumpkins, hayrides, and a corn maze. Foliage is near its usual mid-to-late-October peak, so a leaf-peeping drive through the Lehigh Valley or up toward Jim Thorpe in Carbon County makes a good afternoon outing.

Good Places to Eat Nearby

This week's picks are all new to the blog. The Burger Shack at 2011 N. 1st Avenue in Whitehall is a casual counter joint known for The Shack Burger, a gyro burger, and a pork burger, plus homemade pierogies, cheesesteak egg rolls, and onion rings with house chipotle mayo; it is well reviewed, about 4.4 stars on Yelp, open Tuesday through Saturday; call (610) 443-2077 or see theburgershackpa.com.

Hammerhead Hops & Grill at 326 Main Street in Northampton is the bar-and-grill attached to Hampton Lanes Bowling, serving American pub fare like burgers, chicken fingers, and boardwalk-style fries alongside a deep craft draft list, with pool tables, pinball, and live music on weekends; call (610) 262-6713 or see hammerheadhopsandgrill.com. And Eastern Chinese Restaurant at 1418 Main Street in Northampton is a long-running family spot offering American-style Chinese plus Cantonese, Mandarin, Szechuan, and Thai dishes, with lunch specials and takeout; call (610) 262-8985 or see easternnorthampton.com.