What event brings in the most people to Catasauqua - Christmas celebration? July 4? It could possibly be the annual borough pub crawl.

Usually held on a weekend near July 4, the event started as an offshoot of Old Home Week. Organizer Joni Elekes keeps the tradition alive with growing numbers every year.

Local taverns love it.

“The first year, we didn’t really know what was going to happen,” said Jacki Hartford, the owner of Fossil’s Last Stand, 429 Race St. “Now, we are ready. We have the Steel Valley Motorcycle Club checking IDs, so we can get everyone served.”

Fossil’s also has food, and the kitchen stays open until 1 a.m.

“We get a wave of people at the start, and then some of them wind up back here,” she said. There is even a special Catty-O burger on the menu.

The official start time of the pub crawl is 5 p.m.

This year, the “Biery tavern” was in the mix. There is actually no tavern at the Biery House, 8 Race St. Instead, Betsy Hillenbrand set up a beer pong table in the parking lot and offered cheap drinks and a few snacks. She had a parking lot full of patrons by 6 p.m.

“Most of these people didn’t even know the museum existed, let alone visit here, so we added new people,” she said.

Dayna Kline sort of fell in love when she got to Biery House. No one in her group had ever been to there before, but it made an impact.

Blue Monkey Sports Bar & Restaurant, 1092 Howertown Road, North Catasauqua, went all in for the pub crawl, featuring live music, draft specials and martinis for $6. The place was jammed most of the night.

Catasauqua American Legion Post 215 opened its doors to the public for the pub crawl and did a good business. Some patrons thought crawling was a little much and decided to stay put.

The newest addition to the pub crawl scene was Taylor House Brewing Company, 76 Lehigh St., Catasauqua.

“We didn’t know what to expect, but it was great to fill the place up. We were making beer all day and hoping we would not run out,” Annette Pompa said.

She and her husband, Fred, run the tasting room.

The list on the pub crawl includes regulars who have been with the party since the beginning.

Auquasat Lounge, 119 Bridge St., Catasauqua, always has an opening at the bar.

Catasauqua Club, 226 Pine St., attracts a whole raft of people who are regulars.

Pie’s on Pizzeria, Front and Pine streets, and Tony’s Top Cat Bar & Grill, 607 Front St., are right next to each other in Catasauqua and serve food with their drink specials.

Revelers take their passport - a list of the establishments - to each tavern and get a stamp. You need at least four stamps to be entered into the contest, but nine gets you a better prize. No word yet on the winners.