Around the Valley
Friday, October 2 in Nazareth and Easton: Garlic Fest Preview Night tonight, the festival weekend, and the week ahead
This is the Friday, October 2 roundup for Nazareth, Easton, and the townships in between, checked this morning against live district, municipal, and venue calendars. Today is the curtain-raiser for the season's biggest food weekend: Garlic Fest Preview Night fills South 3rd Street from 5:00 to 9:00 this evening, the full festival takes Centre Square Saturday and Sunday, and the Easton Farmers Market sits out Saturday so its vendors can staff it. Nazareth's Blue Eagles are on the road at Stroudsburg tonight, the week ahead brings a two-town home football night on the 9th, board meetings in three municipalities, and the first-ever Forks Township Restaurant Week.
Tonight: Garlic Fest Preview Night on South 3rd Street
The Easton Garlic Fest opens tonight with its second annual Preview Night, Friday, October 2 from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. on South 3rd Street between Centre Square and Ferry Street. It is free and all ages, rain or shine, with a live concert from Buttercream, a CAKE cover band, plus The SoundSmiths, and a limited number of food and beverage vendors for a lighter, easier kickoff before the big weekend. Details are on the festival's Preview Night page.
If the street festival is not your scene, the State Theatre across the river has So Good, the Neil Diamond Experience starring Robert Neary at 7:30 p.m. tonight, and Nazareth's varsity Blue Eagles kick off at 7:00 p.m. at Stroudsburg, so the evening has options in every direction.
The festival weekend: Centre Square, Saturday and Sunday
The main event runs Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. both days on Centre Square, the intersection of 3rd and Northampton Streets. Admission stays free and the festival runs rain or shine, with more than 120 vendors, chef cooking competitions on the Stinkin' Culinary Stage, and live music on two stages, organized by the Easton Main Street Initiative. New for 2026: a Saturday Afterparty from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. keeps the square going after the festival day closes.
One logistics note for market regulars: the Easton Farmers Market takes Saturday, October 3 off and returns to Scott Park on Saturday, October 10, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. October's market calendar fills in fast after that: Apple Jam on the 17th and Pumpkins & Pooches on the 31st.
Saturday in the Nazareth area: market, Touch-a-Truck, and the Martin raffle
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., operated by the Nazareth Economic Development Commission through the final Saturday of October, with live music from the Martin Guitar Charitable Foundation on market mornings and maker vendors rotating in, including Maka Made on October 3 and again October 17 per the commission's vendor list. For families with younger kids, the Memorial Library of Nazareth and Vicinity holds its annual Touch-a-Truck Festival Saturday, October 3 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Bushkill Township Recreation Fields, 1114 Bushkill Center Road, rain or shine, with trucks large and small to climb on, a quiet hour from 10:00 to 11:00 for children who need a low-stimulation setting, and proceeds supporting the library. Tickets are sold at the event.
The Martin Guitar raffle keeps its market-morning cadence at 2 South Main Street on Saturdays in October, with drawing days confirmed for October 3, 10, and 31 and the grand-prize drawing pinned to Halloween morning. And at C.F. Martin & Co. on Sycamore Street, 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., limited to small groups with tickets required in advance. Online pre-registration is required and tickets are not sold in person, so book ahead on the tour scheduler.
The county also runs its Household Hazardous Waste Collection Saturday, October 3 at Northampton Community College, with free registration that opened in September through Eventbrite; the city news flash page carries the hours and accepted materials.
Football: Nazareth at Stroudsburg tonight, and a two-town home date on the 9th
The Nazareth Blue Eagles are on the road tonight, Friday, October 2 at 7:00 p.m. at Stroudsburg in an EPC Class 6A matchup. Tickets stay digital through the district's online box office on Hometown Ticketing, so buy ahead and skip the line. The Easton Red Rovers played an unusual Thursday game at Pocono Mountain East last night and now come home to Cottingham to host Northampton on Friday, October 9.
Nazareth is home the same Friday night, October 9, against Bethlehem Liberty at Leh Stadium, which makes the 9th the two-town home date to circle: both teams kicking off at 7:00 p.m. in their own stadiums. One schedule quirk for mid-month: Nazareth plays at Bethlehem Catholic on Saturday, October 17 at 7:00 p.m., a rare Saturday kickoff that lands the same day as the Nazareth Fall Festival, the Halloween parade, and Apple Jam in Easton. The regular season closes with the rivalry finale at Easton on Friday, October 30.
The week of October 5-9: boards, councils, and the State Theatre
Monday, October 5 opens the week with two meetings in the Nazareth area: Nazareth Borough Council holds its October business meeting at 6:00 p.m. in Council Chambers at Borough Hall, 159 West Center Street, and Palmer Township Supervisors meet at 7:00 p.m. at 3 Weller Place, lower level, on the first-Monday round of their first-and-third-Monday schedule. Nazareth council has been working through grants, sponsorships, and ambulance-funding requests in recent sessions per Home News PA, and its September session approved Action Karate's trunk-or-treat at Nazareth Borough Park on Sunday, October 11 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Agendas for both bodies post on nazarethboroughpa.com and palmertwp.com.
Tuesday, October 6 the Easton Area School District runs its standing committee meetings from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Easton Area Education Center, 1801 Bushkill Drive. Wednesday, October 7 is an early-dismissal day tied to the district's fall elementary parent-teacher conferences: the adopted calendar sets conferences from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., with elementary students dismissed around 11:45 a.m. and middle and high school at noon. Wednesday also brings Upper Nazareth Township Supervisors at 7:00 p.m. at the Township Building, 100 Newport Avenue, the first of their October 7 and 21 sessions.
The State Theatre keeps the week interesting: Meredith Willson's The Music Man is on tour Thursday, October 8 at 7:30 p.m., and Lewis Black is live Friday, October 9 at 8:00 p.m. Any one of them makes a full downtown evening, and October 9 already has the two football games to build a day around.
School district notes
The Easton Area School District keeps a full October. Standing committee meetings run Tuesday, October 6 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.; Wednesday, October 7 is the early-dismissal conference day; Monday, October 12 is off for the full district, listed as Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples' Day on the adopted calendar; the regular board meeting lands Tuesday, October 20 at 7:00 p.m. at the Easton Area Education Center with the agenda in the district's BoardDocs portal; and elementary parent conferences with early dismissals run Monday through Wednesday, October 26 to 28.
On the Nazareth side, the Nazareth Area School District also keeps Monday, October 12 off for students and staff. The school board runs its Committee of the Whole on Tuesday, October 13 at 6:00 p.m. and the general regular meeting on Tuesday, October 27 at 7:00 p.m., with agendas on the Keystone Agenda platform the district moved to over the summer and Zoom links posted ahead of each meeting. Fall athletics stay busy through the month, with cross country, field hockey, soccer, tennis, and volleyball on the district athletics calendar, where live game schedules live.
The municipal month keeps moving
Rooms and times do move in the fall, so give the office a call before driving over, and check each municipality's own site for agendas posted in the days ahead.
- Nazareth Borough Council meets Monday, October 5 at 6:00 p.m. in Council Chambers, Borough Hall, 159 West Center Street, agendas on nazarethboroughpa.com.
- Palmer Township Supervisors meet Monday, October 5 and Monday, October 19 at 7:00 p.m. at 3 Weller Place, lower level, with agendas on the township's NovusAgenda system via palmertwp.com.
- Upper Nazareth Township Supervisors meet Wednesday, October 7 and Wednesday, October 21 at 7:00 p.m. at the Township Building, 100 Newport Avenue, on uppernazarethtownship.org.
- Lower Nazareth Township Supervisors meet Monday, October 12 at 7:00 p.m. at 623 Municipal Drive, Suite 200. Note the date: it lands on the same Monday the schools have off. The township's yearly schedule PDF is on lowernazareth.com.
- Forks Township Supervisors meet Thursday, October 15 at 7:00 p.m. on the third-Thursday round. Forks wrapped two September budget workshops on the 21st and 28th, so the October session continues the 2027 budget discussion; agendas post in the Forks Agenda Center.
- Bushkill Township Supervisors wrapped their first-Thursday session last night, October 1 at 6:00 p.m. at 1114 Bushkill Center Road; the next regular session is the November 5 first-Thursday round, with agendas on bushkilltownship.com.
- Easton City Council meets Wednesday, October 14 and Wednesday, October 28 at 6:00 p.m. in Council Chambers on the third floor of City Hall, 123 South 3rd Street, streamed on the city site with agendas in the Agenda Center.
- Stockertown Borough posts council agendas on stockertown.org; it does not publish a fixed monthly calendar, so confirm dates with the borough office.
Things to do: Crayola, Martin Guitar, and the State Theatre
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. Two October add-ons are already posted: Crayola After Dark, the adults-only 21+ Halloween edition with Halloween-inspired crafts, bites, cocktails, music, and a costume contest, on Friday, October 16 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., and Draw with a Comic Book Inker, a hands-on art session, on Saturday, October 17 from 10:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., both on the Easton events calendar, which also lists a Creepy Critter Visit with Arachno-Showbia for the fall season plus the ongoing Toddler Tuesdays and Sensory Sundays.
Beyond this weekend, the State Theatre stacks its month: Bobby Collins on Friday, October 16, The Rocket Man Show on Saturday, October 17, The Bronx Wanderers on October 22, Cinderella by the United European Ballet Company on October 23, a Phil Collins tribute on October 24, and Hollywood Squares on October 27. And at C.F. Martin & Co., the free museum and 1833 Shop stay open weekdays on Sycamore Street in Nazareth, with factory tours by advance reservation Monday through Friday.
Area news worth folding into your week
The Route 33 bridge replacement over Bushkill Creek between the Tatamy and Stockertown interchanges keeps moving: the northbound span reopened in August, and the southbound span is under replacement now, bringing single-lane restrictions and delays on northbound Route 33 for the next several weeks per WFMZ. If you commute toward Stockertown or Tatamy, build in extra time and watch the posted signs. Saturday, October 3 the county runs the Household Hazardous Waste Collection at Northampton Community College, and Penn State Extension announced an in-person workshop on solar energy trends in Nazareth for Friday, October 30, per the PA Environment Digest.
For food and business news: Dave's Hot Chicken is now open at Nazareth Crossing, the first Lehigh Valley location of the Nashville-style hot chicken chain, in the former SaladWorks space at 3812 Easton-Nazareth Highway (Route 248) in Lower Nazareth Township, seating about 40 with no drive-thru; it held its grand opening in mid-September. The couple behind the Fruitella Crepes stand at the Trolley Barn Public Market closed that stand this weekend to open a new Mediterranean restaurant, Olive It, at 954 Pembroke Road in Freemansburg within the next few months, per WFMZ. And La Piazza Italia Ristorante is coming to the Forks Towne Center on Sullivan Trail, taking over the spot of a longtime family pizzeria, and it should land in time for or shortly after Restaurant Week.
Forks Township Restaurant Week debuts October 11 to 17
The first-ever Forks Township Restaurant Week runs Sunday, October 11 through Saturday, October 17, organized by the Forks Business Association with the Easton Area Chamber of Commerce, with prix-fixe menus at about a dozen dining spots across the township. It is a new fall tradition worth knowing about now, especially if you are house-hunting in Forks or Palmer and want to sample the local dining scene in one week. SURV, the scratch-made New American spot with wood-fired pizza on Sullivan Trail, is one of the anchors of that scene.
Good places to eat around the weekend
In Nazareth, Bella Bean Coffee Shop on South Broad is the dependable pre-market stop, the Nazareth Diner covers any meal, and Paradise Dogs handles the casual end near the circle. The Circle Cafe on Main sits right at 2 North Main Street on the market circle itself, Birthright Brewing Company pours at 57 South Main, and Pizza Joe's on South Main does the pizza-and-pasta side. The newest option in the area is Dave's Hot Chicken at Nazareth Crossing on Route 248 in Lower Nazareth, already drawing lines for its Nashville-style tenders and sliders.
Downtown Easton for the Garlic Fest weekend: Josie's New York Deli on the square is the fast, no-nonsense option, Pearly Baker's Alehouse pours the classic circle pint, The Bayou Easton brings Cajun off the square, Rios Brazilian Steakhouse does the rodizio, and ThreeBirds Coffee House anchors the coffee end of Northampton Street. When the square is shoulder-to-shoulder, the Easton Public Market is the easy indoor backup, two blocks in, with everything from noodles to pastry under one roof. And in Forks, SURV is worth the short drive for its scratch kitchen and wood-fired pizza, especially during Restaurant Week.
On the horizon
Circle these dates: Garlic Fest Preview Night tonight, October 2, and the full festival October 3 to 4; the Nazareth Farmers Market, Touch-a-Truck, the Martin raffle drawing, and the county's Household Hazardous Waste Collection all on Saturday, October 3; a trunk-or-treat hosted by Action Karate at Nazareth Borough Park on Sunday, October 11 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.; Forks Township Restaurant Week October 11 to 17; Crayola After Dark October 16; the Nazareth Halloween Parade at 1:00 p.m. and the Nazareth Fall Festival on South Main Street from about 2:00 p.m. plus Apple Jam at Scott Park and Nazareth's Saturday football game at Bethlehem Catholic, all landing October 17; the Knauss Homestead Harvest Festival near Bath on October 24; a Penn State Extension solar energy workshop in Nazareth on October 30; the Nazareth at Easton rivalry finale October 30; and the Martin Guitar grand-prize drawing with Pumpkins & Pooches at Scott Park on Halloween, October 31. Beyond the month, PA Bacon Fest celebrates its 15th anniversary November 7 and 8, and the reworked Easton Winter Village runs November 27 through December 20. For anything dated, the Easton city events page and Downtown Nazareth's listings stay more current than any single post can, so give them a glance before you head out the door.