After being delayed a week, the 19th annual Autumnfest and car show was held Oct. 17 at North Catasauqua William J. Albert Memorial Park, 701 Grove St.

The event was rained out Oct. 10, but a week later, it was greeted with some windy and cool but nice autumn weather. The North Catasauqua Betterment Committee coordinates the annual event.

Volunteers and other leaders expected a muted attendance and loss of some vendors because of the rescheduling. Event leader Betty Shankweiler noted there were 45 vendors signed up for the Oct. 10 date, but the vendor participation was trimmed down to 21 for Oct. 17.

Regardless, there was a nice attendance to enjoy the festivities, including a deejay, food court, craft and vendor market, a flea market and car show.

There were a number of food vendors serving a variety of festival-type foods, including a table operated annually by Cheryl and Brian Considine, of North Catasauqua. They sold their popular, homemade shoofly pies. Visit Brian and Cheryl’s Facebook page for how to purchase a delicious shoofly pie billed as the “Biggest and Best Shoofly Pie in the Lehigh Valley.”

Nonfood table vendors offered a variety of household and seasonal items for sale and kids games.

There was also a vintage car show that provided awards to participants. The well-maintained cars shimmered under the breezy, sunny day as proud owners shared their stories. All the cars and motorcycles in the car show were appealing to the eye and took some patrons down memory lane as they ogled cars from 1970s, ’60s and earlier.

Alec, Sammy, Lorenzo and Bentley, of North Catasauqua, joined many other kids with pumpkin painting fun. The four kids proudly showed off their painted masterpieces.

Other youngsters and their families enjoyed the traditional playground equipment at the park. Luke and Amanda Simmons, a couple from Ohio visiting the Lehigh Valley, enjoyed the playground equipment as their kids Caleb and Eloise enjoyed the park’s slide and swings.

Moon bounce operators Isaiah and William, of Allentown, set up their attraction and noted the rain date did not affect children’s enthusiasm as they bounced around, clearly having fun.

Societies have been celebrating the transitions from summer to autumn for thousands of years, dating back to antiquity and the prehistoric era. While the astronomical shift to autumn occurs in late September with the autumnal equinox, several major historical cultures specific to the Northern Hemisphere focused their transition rituals and seasonal celebrations precisely in the month of October.

Another example of these celebrations are the Oktoberfests found in many municipalities and ethnic organizations.

Because early human survival completely depended on crop yields, the culmination of the harvest and the subsequent drop in temperature prompted deep spiritual and communal gatherings in thanking the gods and supernatural spirits for the successful harvest.

Volunteers Jayne, William, Nick, Lori and Shankweiler acknowledged the truncated festival but enjoyed their time at the annual community event in the borough.