Community Event
Northampton County Festival 2026: Why Louise Moore Park Is the Heart of Easton
Saturday, May 16th • 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. • Louise W. Moore Park, Easton, PA
CT
Chris Troxell Team
Saturday, May 16th • 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. • Louise W. Moore Park, Easton, PA
If you've never been to the Northampton County Festival, this May 16th is a great excuse to fix that.
Every year, Northampton County takes over Louise W. Moore Park in Easton for a free, all-day celebration — and it's one of those events that quietly tells you everything you need to know about what life here actually feels like. Food trucks, live music, local craft vendors, nonprofit organizations, a community awards ceremony honoring volunteers, veterans and first responders. It runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., rain or shine, and it doesn't cost a dime to attend.
For families considering homes for sale in Easton, it's worth showing up with more than just an appetite. Walk the grounds and you'll get a genuine read on the community you'd be joining.
The park itself is worth knowing about even outside of festival day. The former Slate Post Farm was donated to Northampton County by Louise W. Moore in 1973 to be developed as passive parkland, and it became the first park developed as part of the Northampton County Parks System.
That history matters. This isn't a generic municipal green space; it's a 120-acre property with genuine character. The arboretum on the west side of the park was designed by George E. Patton & Associates, one of the most prolific landscape architectural firms of twentieth-century Philadelphia, whose work includes the campuses of the University of Pennsylvania and Swarthmore College. Walk the grounds and you'll pass through dozens of mature specimen trees from three continents, planted over decades.
Then there's Matson's Woods. A seven-acre stand of red and white oaks, hundreds of years old and of enormous size, sits at the far south end of the park — it was inducted into the Old Growth Forest Network in 2019. Giant old oaks in the middle of a county park in eastern Pennsylvania. It's the kind of thing you stumble across and quietly file away as one more reason to like it here.
The 2026 Northampton County Festival takes place at Louise Moore Park on Saturday, May 16th and features food, crafts, activities and live entertainment throughout the day, as well as opportunities to connect with nonprofit organizations from across the county. The event runs from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Past festivals have included a beverage garden featuring local wine, beer and spirits alongside the food truck lineup — so there's something for everyone from the kids running between craft booths to the adults who just want a cold drink and a lawn chair.
The awards ceremony is a highlight worth staying for. The stage hosts recognition for veterans, EMS workers, municipal workers, volunteers and more. It's the kind of civic moment that feels increasingly rare, and it lands differently when you're surrounded by neighbors rather than strangers.
Getting there:
Louise W. Moore Park is located at 151 Country Club Road, Easton, PA 18045. Parking is on-site. Plan to arrive early — it gets busy.
Here's the honest version: events like this don't happen in places where community doesn't exist. They're a product of it.
Northampton County, and Easton in particular, has a lot going for it right now. The city has seen genuine investment over the past decade, from the revival of the downtown restaurant and arts scene to new residential development in neighborhoods like College Hill and the West Ward. Lafayette College anchors the north end of town and brings a consistent energy that spills into the surrounding blocks. The Easton Farmers' Market, one of the oldest continuously operating farmers' markets in the country, runs every Saturday from April through December in Centre Square.
For families, the combination of walkable neighborhoods, access to good schools and community events like the county festival makes Easton a genuinely compelling place to put down roots — at a price point that remains more accessible than many comparable cities in the region.
If the festival gets you curious about Easton PA neighborhoods, here's a quick orientation:
Sits on the heights above downtown and offers some of the most architecturally interesting housing stock in the Lehigh Valley — Victorian-era homes, wide streets and elevated views over the Delaware River. It's popular with Lafayette faculty, young professionals and buyers who want character over cookie-cutter.
Technically adjacent to Easton but considered part of the greater Easton market — this is where you'll find newer construction, excellent schools and a more suburban feel. Subdivisions like Steeplechase and Madison Farms attract buyers relocating from outside the region who want modern amenities with easy highway access.
Runs along the northern edge and has historically been a strong choice for families — well-maintained homes, quiet streets and proximity to both Easton's amenities and the Route 78 corridor.
The neighborhoods where Easton's urban revival is most visible. Prices are lower, but so is the inventory; demand from buyers seeking walkable, historic character has consistently outpaced supply.
The county festival is a great introduction, but things to do in Northampton County extend well beyond one Saturday in May:
A community event like the Northampton County Festival is more than just a fun afternoon — it's a window into what daily life looks like. And from where we sit, Easton offers a combination of history, community, green space, and value that's hard to match anywhere else in the Lehigh Valley.
If you're exploring homes for sale in Easton and Northampton County, the Chris Troxell Team knows this market inside and out. We can walk you through which neighborhoods fit your budget and lifestyle, what the current inventory looks like, and what a realistic offer strategy looks like in this moment.