Thursday, October 22 in Nazareth and Easton: the rivalry finale at Cottingham, a board-heavy week ahead, and PA Bacon Fest two weekends out

This weekend: the Witches' Walk, Senior Night, and the parade

The Witches' Walk opens at Centre Square Friday from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. and moves to Scott Park on Larry Holmes Drive Saturday from 3:00 to 8:00 p.m., a free family festival with vendors, trick-or-treating, live music, fire spinning, and costume contests, detailed in Tuesday's roundup. The Nazareth Blue Eagles host Northampton at Leh Stadium at 7:00 p.m. Friday for Senior Night, the Eagles' final home game of the regular season, and the 44th annual Phillipsburg-Easton Halloween Parade steps off at 3:00 p.m. Sunday from McKeen Street in Phillipsburg, crosses the Free Bridge, and ends at Centre Square. The State Theatre runs Cinderella Friday at 7:00 p.m. and the Phil Collins tribute "Hello, I Must Be Going" Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Monday the 26th: Bushkill planners, elementary conferences, and Red Ribbon Week opens

The new school week opens with SADD Red Ribbon Week in the Nazareth Area School District, running Monday through Thursday, October 26-29, the district's annual drug- and alcohol-awareness observance when students wear red. In the Easton Area School District, elementary parent conferences run Monday through Wednesday with early dismissal each of those days, and the district police department holds its Winter Coat Drive collection Monday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the EASD Police Department at the Easton Area Education Center. On the municipal side, the Bushkill Township Planning Commission meets at 7:30 p.m. in the Municipal Meeting Room, its fourth-Monday round, and in Forks Township the Board of Supervisors continues its stormwater authority formation, with letters of interest for the authority's board still due this week.

Tuesday the 27th: the Nazareth school board meets and picture retakes run

The Nazareth Area School Board holds its regular meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the Walter Fry Room at the district administration offices at One Education Plaza, with agendas posted on the district's Keystone platform; underclassmen picture retakes run 8:00 a.m. to noon at the high school the same day. Over in Easton, the City Council committee meeting convenes at 6:00 p.m. in the third-floor council chambers at 123 South 3rd Street, the working session ahead of Wednesday's full council meeting. The State Theatre runs "Hollywood Squares: A Live Game Show" at 5:00 p.m. on Northampton Street.

Wednesday the 28th: Easton City Council and Lower Nazareth supervisors

Two boards sit Wednesday evening. Easton City Council holds its regular meeting at 6:00 p.m. on its second-and-fourth-Wednesday round, with the 2027 budget conversations continuing as the city works through a proposed tax increase, and the Lower Nazareth Township Board of Supervisors meets at 7:00 p.m. at 623 Municipal Drive for its second-and-fourth-Wednesday business meeting. The Lower Nazareth Zoning Hearing Board follows Thursday, October 29 at 6:30 p.m., and the township's Country Club Road is closed to through traffic between Hollo and Newburg roads on weekdays starting Monday for roadwork, so plan the detours through the week.

Thursday the 29th: the facilities forum and a Dr. Seuss pop-up

The Nazareth superintendent hosts the Community Forum on long-range facilities planning Thursday from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., the district's public listening session as it weighs what to do about an elementary program at roughly 97 percent of capacity and roughly 502 projected new students by 2034, including its renewed request to build a new elementary school in Lower Nazareth. The Crayola Experience runs a Cat in the Hat character pop-up from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. as Hauntoween winds toward its November 1 close, and the State Theatre is dark that night before the rivalry weekend.

Friday the 30th: the rivalry finale at Cottingham

The game that has been circled all season lands Friday: Nazareth visits Easton at Cottingham Stadium at 7:00 p.m., the EPC regular-season finale for both teams, with the Cottingham entry and seating procedures that went into effect earlier this month still in force for the district's home games. The State Theatre adds The Fab Faux at 7:30 p.m. the same night for anyone not at the stadium. After Friday, both schools head into the District 11 tournament: Nazareth's playoff opener is listed Friday, November 6 with the opponent to be announced, and Easton enters the Class 6A bracket the same weekend.

Halloween Saturday: trick-or-treat in both towns and the final market Saturday

Halloween lands on Saturday this year, and both boroughs run the classic evening window. Nazareth Borough trick-or-treat runs 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., the City of Easton keeps the same 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. hours citywide, and Stockertown Borough follows the same window, while the Morning Call maintains a town-by-town Halloween guide for the whole Lehigh Valley. The Easton Farmers Market runs its Pumpkin & Pooches Halloween edition 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Scott Park with the Howl-O-Ween dog costume contest, and the Nazareth Farmers Market closes its regular season with its final Saturday of the year on the circle at Main and Center Streets, same hours. The Nazareth Area Intermediate School hosts its Fall Costume Parade at 9:30 a.m., and the State Theatre runs Haunted Illusions with David Caserta at 4:00 p.m.

Sunday and Monday: the gala, then the November municipal round opens

Sunday, November 1 brings the Nazareth Blue Eagle Education Foundation Wall of Fame fundraising gala at Green Pond Country Club, the district foundation's annual awards dinner, and the municipal month opens Monday, November 2 when three boards sit on the same first-Monday evening: Nazareth Borough Council holds its 6:00 p.m. business meeting in the renovated council chambers at 159 West Center Street, Palmer Township supervisors meet at 7:00 p.m. at 3 Weller Place, and Stockertown Borough Council convenes at 7:30 p.m. in the Municipal Building. Later in the week, Upper Nazareth supervisors sit Wednesday, November 4 at 100 Newport Avenue, and Forks Township supervisors meet Thursday, November 5 at 1606 Sullivan Trail with Bushkill Township supervisors on the same evening.

PA Bacon Fest: the 15th anniversary, two weekends out

The festival that takes over the square is two weekends away: PA Bacon Fest celebrates its 15th anniversary Saturday and Sunday, November 7-8 in historic downtown Easton, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. both days, free and rain or shine, presented by Godshall's Quality Meats with 150-plus vendors, a dozen-plus musical acts across several stages, hog-calling and bacon-eating competitions, and Bacon & Brew pairings. The Easton Farmers Market takes that weekend off, and the market calendar then runs Saturdays November 14 and 21 before a Thanksgiving-weekend pause.

Crayola and Martin Guitar this week

The Crayola Experience runs Screamin' Green Hauntoween through Sunday, November 1 at 30 Centre Square, included with admission, with a themed scavenger hunt, Halloween crafts, costumed character meet-and-greets, and weekend trick-or-treat stations, and the Cat in the Hat pop-up lands Thursday the 29th from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Then the calendar turns straight to the holidays: Colorful Christmas kicks off Saturday, November 21 and runs through January 3 with a seasonal scavenger hunt, holiday photo ops, ornament crafts, and letters to Santa. In Nazareth, C.F. Martin & Co. on Sycamore Street keeps its free museum, the 1833 Shop, and the Pickin' Parlor open weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the guided factory tour runs Monday through Friday with departures between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. at $10 per person and $7.50 for kids, seniors, active military, veterans, and students, booked in advance with proceeds benefiting the Martin Guitar Charitable Foundation.

Municipal news and local happenings

Development news this week is quiet but consequential. In Lower Nazareth, PPL Electric Utilities purchased the disputed 11.7-acre parcel on Nazareth Pike for about $2 million, closing out the long-running warehouse proposal on that site, while the Nazareth Area School District renews its pitch for a new elementary school in the township as elementary capacity runs near 97 percent. In Upper Nazareth, construction continues on the three-story apartment building at 373 East Lawn Road on the former Ranch House site. Stockertown Borough is hiring its first borough manager after a Meyner Center organizational assessment, with applications accepted through the December 21 deadline, and Forks Township is forming a new stormwater authority, with letters of interest due this week. In Palmer, the Williams Family Restaurant closed indefinitely after a two-alarm kitchen fire earlier this month, and Easton has agreed to provide fire and emergency services to West Easton under a regional arrangement announced this week. On the roads, the Route 33 southbound bridge work over Bushkill Creek between the Tatamy and Stockertown exits keeps the corridor at one lane through a median crossover near Stockertown, so leave extra time on the 33 corridor.

School notes: winter coat drive, playoff football, and the calendar ahead

In the Easton Area School District, parent conferences and early dismissals run Monday through Wednesday, the Winter Coat Drive collection happens Monday, October 26 (10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.) and again Sunday, November 1 (11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.) at the EASD Police Department, the youth cheerleading showcase and competition is Saturday, November 7, and the school board's next regular meeting is Tuesday, November 17 after a standing-committee round Tuesday, November 10. In the Nazareth Area School District, Red Ribbon Week runs the 26th through the 29th, board night and picture retakes land Tuesday the 27th, the facilities forum is Thursday the 29th, and the high school's listing shows the District 11 playoff opener Friday, November 6 with the opponent to be announced. The traditional Thanksgiving morning football game at Phillipsburg closes the Easton season on November 26.

Where to eat this week

The dependable anchors hold through the holiday push. In Nazareth, the Nazareth Diner on South Broad Street does breakfast any hour, Birthright Brewing Company at 57 South Main pours its own beer with a full kitchen, Pizza Joe's at 550 South Main is the dependable Italian stop, Sicily Pizza and Los Compadres cover the quick-dinner end, and the farm & table at 119 South Main pairs food and bowling. Downtown Easton keeps its own rotation: Billy's Downtown Diner on South 3rd Street for a classic breakfast, Pearly Baker's Alehouse on the Centre Square circle, Josie's New York Deli at 14 Centre Square, ThreeBirds Coffee House on Bushkill Street, and the Easton Public Market two blocks off the square when you want variety under one roof.

On the horizon

Circle these dates: the Witches' Walk opens at Centre Square Friday and runs at Scott Park Saturday; Senior Night at Leh and the Phillipsburg-Easton Halloween Parade close the weekend. Then Red Ribbon Week and Easton elementary conferences open Monday with the Bushkill planning commission; the Nazareth school board, picture retakes, and the Easton council committee land Tuesday; Easton City Council and Lower Nazareth supervisors sit Wednesday; the facilities forum and the Cat in the Hat pop-up fill Thursday; Nazareth at Easton at Cottingham Friday at 7:00 p.m.; Halloween Saturday brings trick-or-treat from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in Nazareth, Easton, and Stockertown, Pumpkins & Pooches at Scott Park and the Nazareth market's final Saturday; the Wall of Fame gala Sunday; the November municipal first-Monday round November 2; and PA Bacon Fest's 15th anniversary takes Centre Square November 7-8. 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.