Thursday, October 15 in Nazareth and Easton: the last West Ward Market tonight, an Oktoberfest Sunday, and a Witches’ Walk week ahead

Tonight: the last West Ward Market and the budget keeps moving

The West Ward Market plays its final Thursday of the season tonight, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Community Garden at 10th and Pine Streets in Easton, so this evening is the last chance to catch the small, neighborly garden market until it returns next year. It is a short stop that rewards showing up: produce from a handful of vendors, a few prepared-food stands, and the easy, unhurried feel of a neighborhood market in its last week.

At the same hour, Forks Township Supervisors hold their regular meeting at 7:00 p.m. at 1606 Sullivan Trail, the second public pass at the 2027 budget after Tuesday's workshop, and the Easton Public Market runs its monthly Trivia Night on the third Thursday. Budget season is officially underway across the townships, so expect budget workshop and hearing notices to keep showing up on the municipal calendars through the fall.

The Easton Book Festival: a poetry night tonight, a vendor expo Sunday

The 8th Annual Easton Book Festival is in its final stretch, running through Sunday, October 18 with roughly 140 participating authors across panels, open mics, story-times, and author expos around downtown. Tonight's signature adult program is Wicked Brew, a poetry night from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Connexions Gallery. The festival closes Sunday with the Small Press Vendor Expo at the Sigal Museum on Northampton Street, noon to 4:00 p.m., where independent presses and their authors set up alongside a school tour that is delivering children's authors and free books to all eight Easton elementary schools. If you like your October bookish, this is the week to spend an afternoon in downtown Easton.

Friday the 16th: Crayola After Dark and a road football night

The adults' night lands Friday, October 16. Crayola After Dark: Halloween Edition runs 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at 30 Centre Square, a 21+ evening with Halloween-inspired creativity, a live DJ, cocktails and bites, and a costume contest; early-bird tickets are $39.99 plus tax, space is limited, and a valid photo ID is required at the door. The State Theatre has comedian Bobby Collins at 7:30 p.m. the same night, and the Easton Public Market runs its Friday Acoustic Kitchen series from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., presented by Fitzpatrick, Lentz & Bubba and Martin Guitar.

On the field, the Easton Red Rovers play their second straight road game, at Bethlehem Liberty at 7:00 p.m., looking to bounce back from last week's 23-21 loss to Northampton. In Nazareth, Friday is picture makeup day for district students, a small housekeeping item on the school calendar.

Saturday the 17th: the parade, the festival, and Apple Jam

Saturday, October 17 stacks the season's biggest day in both towns, and the forecast-friendly plan is a full one. The Nazareth Halloween Parade, presented by Vigilance Hose Co. #1, steps off at 1:00 p.m. from Belvidere and Liberty Streets, proceeds west on Belvidere to Main, north to the circle, then east on East Center Street, ending at Nazareth Senior High School. Cash prizes go out in individual, small group, and large group categories, and hot dogs and soda are provided for participants at the high school; the parade runs rain or shine with no rain date. The Nazareth Fall Festival, presented by the Nazareth Area Chamber of Commerce, follows at 2:00 p.m. on South Main Street between Belvidere and Walnut, with 40-plus craft and artisan vendors, food trucks, live music, and downtown shops open for browsing.

In Easton, Apple Jam fills Scott Park from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., the market's annual apple celebration with 20-plus apple and pear varieties for sampling, apple pie, caramel apples, cider donuts, fresh-pressed cider, an apple pie eating contest, and live music on the park stage. The Crayola Experience adds a "Draw with a Comic Book Inker" session from 10:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. during its Superheroes Week, and the Easton branch of the AAUW marks its centennial with a celebration at Lafayette's Pfenning Alumni Center at 1:00 p.m.

Night falls on the football field and the stage: the Nazareth Blue Eagles play a rare Saturday game at Bethlehem Catholic at 7:00 p.m., and The Rocket Man Show takes the State Theatre stage at 7:30 p.m. It is also the final day of Forks Restaurant Week, so a parade-and-festival day can end with a prix-fixe dinner in Forks before the promotion closes.

Sunday the 18th: Easton Oktoberfest and the Book Festival finale

Sunday brings something new to the riverfront: Easton Oktoberfest fills Scott Park from noon to 8:00 p.m., a celebration of autumn and community with music, food, and vendors on the banks of the Delaware, the 2026 edition presented by the producers behind Easton's summer festival circuit. It lands on the same day the Book Festival's Small Press Vendor Expo closes out the week at the Sigal Museum, noon to 4:00 p.m., so downtown Easton can hold both a bookish afternoon and a bratwurst-and-music evening in one day.

The week ahead: municipal meetings and a Witches' Walk weekend

Monday, October 19 opens a busy week of boards. Palmer Township Supervisors meet at 7:00 p.m. at 3 Weller Place on the first-and-third-Monday round, and Lower Nazareth Township's Planning Commission sits at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 20, the Easton Area School Board holds its regular meeting at 7:00 p.m. at the Easton Area Education Center on Bushkill Drive, with the agenda in the district's BoardDocs portal. Upper Nazareth Township Supervisors meet Wednesday, October 21 at 7:00 p.m. at 100 Newport Avenue on the first-and-third-Wednesday round.

Then comes the Halloween stretch. The 2nd Annual Witches' Walk takes downtown Easton Friday, October 23 from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Centre Square and Saturday, October 24 at Scott Park, a free, family-friendly walking festival with artisan and food vendors, trick-or-treating, face painting, live music, a costume contest, and fire spinning. Friday night is also a home football night in Nazareth, where the Blue Eagles host Northampton at Leh Stadium at 7:00 p.m., while the Red Rovers head to Bethlehem Freedom. The 4th Annual Knauss Homestead Harvest Festival runs Saturday, October 24 from noon to 4:00 p.m. with 30-plus craft and vendor booths, food, kids' activities, horse-drawn carriage rides, and tours of the 1777 farmhouse and barn. And Sunday, October 25, the 44th Annual Phillipsburg-Easton Halloween Parade steps off at 3:00 p.m., crossing the Free Bridge from Phillipsburg into Easton and ending at Centre Square, with a Chick-fil-A Lower Nazareth Trunk or Treat at noon the same day.

Vote by November 3: registration closes Monday

The November 3 general election is 19 days out, and the next deadline is close. The voter registration deadline is this Monday, October 19, and mail-in and absentee ballot applications must be received by the county election office by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 27. In-person ballot-on-demand voting continues at the Elections Office on the lower level of the Government Center at 669 Washington Street in Easton, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturdays 9:00 a.m. to noon, through October 27, and ten secure drop boxes have been accepting ballots since October 5, including the Northampton County 911 Center at 100 Gracedale Avenue in Nazareth, open 24/7 until 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.

The headline local race remains the 137th District, where Republican Representative Joseph Emrick, a former Upper Nazareth Township supervisor, faces Democrat Jeffrey Warren, a race that covers Nazareth, Tatamy, Lower Nazareth and Upper Nazareth townships, and parts of Palmer Township. The county's press releases and elections office remain the authoritative list for drop-off locations and hours.

School notes: pictures today, boards next week

In the Nazareth Area School District, Friday is picture makeup day and the next general board meeting is Tuesday, October 27 at 7:00 p.m., with agendas on the Keystone Agenda platform. The athletics calendar keeps moving toward the October 23 home game against Northampton, the final home Friday of the regular season, and the rivalry finale at Easton on October 30. In the Easton Area School District, the elementary parent conference window continues through the month, the board meets Tuesday, October 20, and the Red Rovers' regular season winds down with road games at Liberty this Friday and Freedom next Friday before hosting Nazareth on October 30.

Things to do: Crayola, Martin Guitar, and the harvest stops

The Crayola Experience runs Screamin' Green Hauntoween through November 1, included with general admission at 30 Centre Square: weekend trick-or-treating stations, themed crafts, scavenger hunts, and photo ops, plus the Creepy Critter Visit with Arachno-Showbia. Superheroes Week runs through October 18 with DC/Marvel Comics artist Scott Hanna making appearances. Fall hours are 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. weekdays, 10:00 to 6:00 Saturday, and 10:00 to 5:00 Sunday, with general admission at $30.99.

At C.F. Martin & Co. on Sycamore Street in Nazareth, the free museum, the 1833 Shop, and the Pickin' Parlor stay open weekdays, and the guided one-hour factory tour runs Monday through Friday with departures between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., small groups only, booked in advance on the tour scheduler. The Martin Guitar Charitable Foundation's raffle draws again on Halloween morning, October 31, at the Nazareth Farmers Market at 2 South Main Street. The Nazareth Farmers Market keeps its every-Saturday run on the circle at Main and Center Streets, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., through October 31, and the Easton Farmers Market continues every Saturday at Scott Park on Larry Holmes Drive, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., through December 19, closing the month on October 31 with Pumpkins & Pooches and its dog costume contest.

The Nazareth Center for the Arts keeps the HAUNTED gallery exhibit on the walls through the end of October, open Fridays 3:00 to 6:00 p.m., Saturdays 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and Sundays 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. The Eerie Easton Walking Tours keep their weekend evening runs from the Sigal Museum at 342 Northampton Street, $20 per person with registration through Eventbrite, and Olde Stone Farm's Harvest Nights at 1350 Raubsville Road in Williams Township runs Fridays and Saturdays 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. through October 31, with the flashlight corn maze, moonlight hayrides, fire pits, and pumpkin patch at a $10 entry. Up the valley, Seiple Farms in Bath keeps its 2026 autumn season going through November 1 with hayrides to a 35-acre pumpkin patch and a 20-acre corn maze, while Raub's Farm Market on Tatamy Road in Easton sells pumpkins, mums, and corn stalks alongside its maze.

Where to eat this week

Restaurant Week closes Saturday, so the prix-fixe excuse is good through the 17th, but the regulars are the reason any week. In Nazareth, the Nazareth Diner on South Broad Street covers breakfast any hour, Birthright Brewing Company at 57 South Main pours its own beer with a full menu, Pizza Joe's at 550 South Main is the dependable Italian stop, and Sicily Pizza and Los Compadres on East Lawn Road round out the quick-dinner end. Downtown Easton keeps its own rotation: Billy's Downtown Diner on South 3rd Street for the classic breakfast, 3rd & Ferry Fish Market for seafood on the corner by the square, Thyme Rooftop Grille on Northampton Street for a view of the circle, ThreeBirds Coffee House for the coffee end of the street, and the Easton Public Market two blocks in when the square is shoulder-to-shoulder. In Forks and Stockertown, SURV is worth the short drive for its scratch kitchen and wood-fired pizza, and Widow's Tavern in Stockertown is on the Restaurant Week list, so this is the week to try both.

On the horizon

Circle these dates: the final West Ward Market and Forks Supervisors tonight; Crayola After Dark, Bobby Collins, and Easton football at Liberty on Friday the 16th; the October 17 super-Saturday with the parade at 1:00 p.m., the Fall Festival at 2:00, Apple Jam at Scott Park, the comic book inker session at Crayola, Nazareth football at Bethlehem Catholic, and The Rocket Man Show; Easton Oktoberfest and the Book Festival expo on Sunday the 18th; the voter registration deadline and Palmer Supervisors on Monday the 19th; the Easton school board on the 20th; Upper Nazareth Supervisors on the 21st; The Bronx Wanderers at the State Theatre on the 22nd; the Witches' Walk and Nazareth's home game against Northampton on the 23rd and 24th; the Knauss Homestead Harvest Festival on the 24th; and the Phillipsburg-Easton Halloween Parade on the 25th. Then the rivalry finale is Nazareth at Easton on Friday the 30th at Cottingham, Halloween morning brings the Martin Guitar grand-prize drawing, the final Nazareth market of the season, and Pumpkins & Pooches at Scott Park, and PA Bacon Fest celebrates its 15th anniversary November 7 and 8. For anything dated, the Easton city events page, Downtown Nazareth's listings, and the Easton Main Street Initiative stay more current than any single post can, so give them a glance before you head out the door.