The Borough of Northampton's annual Sister Cities celebration with Stegersbach, Austria, will take on a different format this year.

There is no program Saturday at the Sister Cities monument and park commemorating the connection between the borough and Stegersbach.

Instead, festivities will begin at 1 p.m. at the park pavilion off Smith Lane, on the southwest section of the expansive borough park.

The Walt Groller Orchestra will perform on the bandstand until 5 p.m. The borough fire department will serve ethnic food such as bratwurst.

In the event of rain, the celebration will be moved to the fire station on Lerchenmiller Drive across from the Northampton Recreation Center and a short distance from the park.

Stegersbach is located in the Burgenland state in Austria. In the 1920s and 1930s, many Burgenland natives settled in the boroughs of Northampton, Coplay and Nazareth and in the city of Allentown.

Most men secured jobs in the cement mills. Andrew Pany, mayor of Northampton in the 1970s, bonded with officials of Stegersbach, and pushed for a Sister Cities relationship. The connection blossomed into visits across the Atlantic Ocean by both Austrian and American counterparts.

A monument noting its relationship with Northampton stands in the town square in Stegersbach. Governors, mayors, a bishop and typical citizens from the Burgenland have visited Northampton, enjoying the Sister Cities celebrations and programs at the Northampton Liederkranz and the Coplay Saengerbund.

Residents of Northampton and the surrounding area also have visited Burgenland. Tessie Teklits, Robert Laky, the Spitzers, Joe Leitgeb and Mayor Thomas Reenock have headed the trips.

When Northampton celebrated its 100th anniversary several years ago, Stegersbach paid tribute to the occasion, sending a delegation to Northampton along with crates of wine.

Along with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Northampton site, the program traditionally paid homage to an individual or family with Burgenland roots.