For the Northern Lehigh Community Committee it's never to early to start planning for Slatington's oldest tradition. The 109th Halloween Parade has already started taking form by booking bands and brainstorming new ideas for the Oct. 22 event. This year's float theme is movie monsters.

The committee, led by chairman Russel Hallman, has arranged the second Day in the Park, a basket raffle and kickball tournament to help raise funds.The Basket Social and Bake Sale will take place at Friedens Fire Company on May 22, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Food will be served alongside the chance to win raffled-off baskets. Anyone wishing to donate a basket or volunteer to help for the afternoon can contact Karen at 610-462-7314 or Laurie at 610-462-7301.The much anticipated second annual Day in the Park will begin at noon on July 30 at Victory Park with a few new family-friendly additions.Food, drinks and music will take over the park with local bands, The Rehrig Brothers, DeRailed, Beautiful Oblivion, John Ortiz and Mike Peters and Social Call rounding out the performance lineup.Children's activities such as face painting, rides and a monster coloring contest will keep them busy for the afternoon. The prize for the coloring competition are the two coveted roles of acting grand marshal during the historic parade. Musikfest and Mayfair regular comedic magician, Joseph Keppel, will be on hand to keep the kids' fun rolling.The Northern Lehigh Swimming Pool will host a free swim day during the event and a micro brew contest will be added to the regular beer garden for the day. Up to nine brew masters will compete for a cash prize with tasters casting their votes for the best brew.Tickets for the community day are $10 and advance tickets can be purchased at Hallman's Service Station located at 230 Main St., or by calling 610-767-7667.The committee has created the area's first kickball tournament that will take place at the Slatington Skeet Club the first weekend in September.Sixteen teams will face off for a cash prize of $300, with second place taking home $200. Food and drinks will be sold during the tournament where fans are encouraged to show up and support their favorite teams.In order to qualify, team members must be 18 and older with at least 10 players per team. The entry fee per team is $100. To register a team, players can find registration forms on the Northern Lehigh Event's Committee website,

www.northernlehighevents.com. Registration will close June 30. Forms must be mailed with payment to NLEC PO Box 256, Slatington, PA 18080.All proceeds raised from the events will benefit the 109th historic parade."We do it for the kids," Hallman said. "I remember going when I was little and I want to keep it going for them."