At least for this year, it’s out with the Halloween parade, and in with a decorating contest in the Northern Lehigh community.

The Northern Lehigh Events Committee met recently and made the decision to cancel this year’s parade due to COVID-19, according to parade chairwoman Tiffany Rehrig-Schaeffer.

“It was an extremely hard decision to make,” Rehrig-Schaeffer said. “We didn’t want to cancel just because everyone else was, so we sought guidance from PennDOT and local agencies.”

Rehrig-Schaeffer said that the current guideline for outdoor events is that they cannot exceed 250 people.

“In the case of a parade, that number includes both participants and spectators,” she said. “We usually have close to 250 participants in the parade (including drivers, on floats, etc.) so there is no way to adhere to the 250 maximum and present the kind of parade that we want to.”

However, Rehrig-Schaeffer said the committee still wants to do something to celebrate the Halloween season for the community.

Enter the group’s first ever “Haunt Your House” decorating contest, in which Rehrig-Schaeffer said residents of the district are encouraged to dress up their homes in the most bloodcurdling, spine-tingling fashion, and then send a picture to NLHalloweenParade@yahoo.com by Oct. 16.

She said entries will be posted on the Northern Lehigh Events Committee Facebook page.

Voting will open Oct. 17 and close Oct. 30. Winners will be determined by Facebook “likes” and be announced on Oct. 31.

Rehrig-Schaeffer said prizes will be awarded for first ($200), second ($100) and third ($50) place.

She said the committee would like to recognize RT Salon in Walnutport for helping to sponsor one of the prizes.

Meanwhile, Rehrig-Schaeffer said the committee has also set a date for the 113th annual Northern Lehigh Halloween Parade, to be held Oct. 30, 2021.

If anyone has questions about the “Haunt Your House” contest or the parade, contact Rehrig-Schaeffer at 484-619-0140.