The 113th annual Northern Lehigh Halloween Parade will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday. The rain date is Sunday.

The parade, sponsored by the Northern Lehigh Events Committee, will begin at Victory Park, Washington Township, and proceed down Main Street Slatington into Walnutport.

Last year, the committee opted to cancel the 2020 parade due to COVID-19.

“When you have a parade that has run consistently for over a century, last year’s pause was very disheartening, but we understood the state’s guidelines and just focused on returning this year with a great lineup,” parade chairwoman Tiffany Rehrig-Schaeffer said.

Instead, Rehrig-Schaeffer said the group held its first ever “Haunt Your House” decorating contest, in which residents of the district were encouraged to dress up their homes and send their pictures.

“With the parade’s absence last year, we still wanted to bring some Halloween fun to the Northern Lehigh community, so we hosted our first ever Haunt Your House decorating contest,” she said.

“We had a great response and awarded prizes to our top three haunters based on Facebook votes. We plan to continue the contest as a yearly tradition.”

Rehrig-Schaeffer said joining this year’s parade will be the Fralinger String Band from Philadelphia, as well as the Celtic Pipe & Drums from Bethlehem; Northwestern Lehigh’s Marching Band, and the award-winning Northern Lehigh Marching Band.

“In addition to the bands, we have a great variety of floats and groups that are participating, and we are always anxious to see what creativity this parade will bring,” she said.

For each category in the parade, Schaeffer-Rehrig noted they award cash prizes to first- and second-place winners.

“We have judges’ stations located in both Slatington and Walnutport, so we tally their combined scores to determine the winners,” she said. “Our biggest award is our Judges’ Award, which is presented to the entry with the highest overall score.”

Rehrig-Schaeffer noted the Judges’ Award is given in honor of her late uncle, Russ Hallman, who assumed chair responsibility of the parade in 2015.

In addition to a cash prize, she said the recipient of the Judges’ Award also receives an engraved plaque.

Rehrig-Schaeffer heaped praise on the committee for ensuring the event is held, and encouraged anyone to participate.

“We have a small, but mighty, committee who works to bring this parade to life every year, and we gladly welcome and encourage anyone who wants to join us,” she said.

Rehrig Schaeffer said for more information about this year’s parade, or to get involved for next year, contact Rehrig-Schaeffer at 484-619-0140.

Anyone with questions about the parade may contact Rehrig-Schaeffer at 484-619-0140.