The ties that bind the Borough of Northampton and Stegersbach, Austria, will be celebrated on Saturday.

A program will recognize the fact that although the two communities are be separated by an ocean, they are tied together by the roots many borough residents, their grandparents and great-grandparents share with their counterparts in Burgenland, Austria.

The annual ceremony will take place at noon at the Sister Cities Plaza at the borough municipal park off Laubach Avenue, where a granite monument stands noting the town's bond with the Austrian community.

Special recognition will be given to the late borough councilman Joseph Leitgeb, who passed away earlier this year. Leitgeb chaired the Sister Cities program for several years, and delivered the principal address the previous year.

Mayor Thomas Reenock and state Rep. Julie Harhart, D-183, will speak at the event. The emcee will be borough manager Gene Zarayko. Following the program, festivities continue at the park pavilion where Josef Kroboth will take the bandstand with polkas and waltzes. The borough fire department will serve bratwurst and other ethnic food for those attending.

The Sister Cities program began in 1975 with then Mayor Anthony Pany. It was continued by Mayor Paul Kutzler. Tessie Teklis and others cemented the bonds with frequent trips to the Burgenland, whose residents and officials also visited the borough, as recently as this year.

At the Sister Cities grounds, one large granite monument is inscribed with the names Stegersbach and Northampton and the flag and seals of both communities. It was dedicated July 15, 1990. A smaller monument was dedicated in July 2002 when the borough observed its centennial. It show the hands of the two communities clasped in a handshake.

At Stegersbach, a monument recognizes the Sister Cities relationship as does an annual program.