{"id":31787,"date":"2025-11-12T06:34:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T06:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/31787\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T06:34:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T06:34:07","slug":"eight-offbeat-ways-to-mark-the-thanksgiving-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/31787\/","title":{"rendered":"Eight offbeat ways to mark the Thanksgiving season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thanksgiving is just a couple of weeks away. Visions of football from the La-Z-Boy and bountiful home-cooked meals may be dancing in your head. But there are plenty of nontraditional ways to celebrate around this quintessentially American holiday if you\u2019re willing to hop in the car and bypass conformity. Here are a few:<\/p>\n

Be nice to a turkey<\/p>\n

Millions of Americans will have an encounter with a turkey this month, but most will not end well for the turkey. Indraloka Animal Sanctuary flips the script.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will be a healthier person if you are a friend with a turkey than if you eat a turkey,\u201d said Indra Lahiri, founder of the sanctuary in Falls Twp., near Dalton. \u201cI strongly suggest that people get the chance to know them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mongo, Lyndon, Scoddy, Mojo and Patricia are the five turkeys in residence at Indraloka. None of them will end up on a dinner plate, although they may have eaten from a dinner plate at Indraloka\u2019s annual ThanksLiving celebration. That event was held Saturday, but the turkeys always enjoy a visit.<\/p>\n

Indraloka welcomes visitors by appointment, plus \u201cthere are events constantly,\u201d Lahiri said \u2014 including cider tours Nov. 14, 22 and 29. Events require registration, and all programs include interaction with the animals.<\/p>\n

\u201cTurkeys are such wonderful, intelligent animals,\u201d Lahiri said, noting that Mongo and company are \u201clike dogs and cats. They know their names. They love to sit in your lap.\u201d<\/p>\n

Information: indraloka.org<\/a>; 570-763-2908.<\/p>\n

The chip gobblers<\/p>\n

By Nov. 29, two days after Thanksgiving, you\u2019ll probably be ready to eat and drink again. You can do that \u2014 and watch other people eat, very quickly \u2014 at Sabatini\u2019s Bottleshop and Bar, 1925 Wyoming Ave. in Exeter.<\/p>\n

Sabatini\u2019s will host Northeast Snacks\u2019 10th annual Middleswarth Potato Chip Eating Contest. You\u2019re about a month too late to enter the contest \u2014 entries fill up quickly \u2014 but there\u2019s no fee to be a spectator.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf somebody wants to come in and watch, it\u2019s pretty fun to watch,\u201d said Lindo Sabatini, who owns the shop with his wife, Maria. Doors open at 10 a.m. and the contest starts at 11.<\/p>\n

Contestants will have five minutes to eat as many chips as possible. Bags of Middleswarth chips \u2014 a Pennsylvania staple, made in Snyder County \u2014 are weighed before and after the participants dig in. Contestants may choose plain or barbecue chips, and water is allowed.<\/p>\n

Sabatini said the chips are good, but he doesn\u2019t consider entering the contest.<\/p>\n

\u201cNormally the winner will eat about two bags,\u201d he said, referring to Middleswarth\u2019s familiar Weekender bags, at 9 ounces each. \u201cI don\u2019t know how they do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Information: sabatinis.com<\/a>; 570-693-2270. Also: northeastsnacks.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Forget the sauce, go right for the cranberries<\/p>\n

You won\u2019t find any cans of cranberry sauce at the Tannersville Cranberry Bog Preserve, but you will find something more precious: the southernmost low-elevation boreal bog along the eastern seaboard. What was once an ice-age lake is now occupied by a thick soup of peat moss, filled with vegetation not normally found in most parts of Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

The 1,000-plus-acre Nature Conservancy preserve includes the fragile bog itself, which is accessible via a floating boardwalk system and is open to the public only by appointment or during regularly scheduled walks conducted by the Monroe County Conservation District\u2019s Kettle Creek Environmental Education Center \u2014 the last of which for the season is Wednesday at 1 p.m. But visitors are always welcome on two trails \u2014 the North Wood and Fern Ridge trails \u2014 that skirt the cranberry bog.<\/p>\n

Diana Flint, administrative specialist for the education center, said cranberries typically populate the bog from about mid-August through September. She\u2019s familiar with Ocean Spray TV commercials featuring a cranberry-carpeted landscape, but visitors to the Tannersville bog shouldn\u2019t expect that, no matter what time of year it is.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are cranberries,\u201d Flint said, \u201cbut it\u2019s not loaded with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Information: nature.org<\/a>, mcconservation.org<\/a>; 570-629-3061.<\/p>\n

As American as apple pie<\/p>\n

A lot of places are closed Thanksgiving Day, but Ritter\u2019s Cider Mill in Jefferson Twp. isn\u2019t one of them.<\/p>\n

The attraction at 117 Wimmers Road will be open Nov. 27 from 9 a.m. to noon, enough time to fulfill your desire for apples, cider, apple cider doughnuts, a kids\u2019 hay barn, even an apple slingshot. (Sorry, you can only shoot at targets, not at your family.)<\/p>\n

Ritter\u2019s is a tradition among many local families, but visits from farther away pick up in the fall. \u201cWe get a lot of out-of-towners especially in September and October,\u201d said Sally Brinkman, who owns the farm with her husband, Earl.<\/p>\n

Brinkman took over the operation this year from her parents, Gary and Debra Ritter \u2014 a change of hands that she notes \u201cwasn\u2019t a real big transition,\u201d having lived and worked on the farm for 47 years.<\/p>\n

Ritter\u2019s sells 18 to 20 apple varieties in peak season, with honeycrisp the most popular, Brinkman said. At this time of year, though, apples and cider take a back seat to a baked specialty.<\/p>\n

\u201cPies are big on Thanksgiving,\u201d Brinkman said.<\/p>\n

Ritter\u2019s offers fruit pies made from scratch, including apple, pumpkin, blueberry, cherry, peach, strawberry rhubarb and \u201cprobably the most popular,\u201d apple crumb, Brinkman said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no small task. \u201cWe\u2019ll sell about 1,000 pies\u201d for Thanksgiving, she said. They\u2019ll start baking around 2 a.m. the day before the holiday and not finish until 3 or 4 that afternoon.<\/p>\n

Pies for Thanksgiving or Christmas should be ordered in advance.\u00a0Ritter\u2019s is open from the first Saturday after Labor Day through Thanksgiving Eve from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Black Friday through Dec. 23 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.<\/p>\n

Information: ritterscidermill.com<\/a>; 570-689-9790.<\/p>\n

Support NEPA\u2019s natural inhabitants<\/p>\n

Thanksgiving is about our relationship with nature, and this is a good time of year to support Pennsylvania\u2019s native fauna.<\/p>\n

Supporting wild animals is a 365-day-a-year effort at the Red Creek Wildlife Center in Schuylkill Haven. Founder Peggy Sue Hentz said her facility takes in and, if possible, rehabilitates \u201call species of Pennsylvania wildlife except for bears and venomous snakes\u201d \u2014 a total of more than 4,000 animals a year.<\/p>\n

The most common patients at Red Creek are cottontail rabbits, followed by squirrels and opossums. But hawks, foxes, owls, vultures and waterfowl are not uncommon. Some of the animals are not releasable after treatment and become permanent residents.<\/p>\n

Red Creek\u2019s training\/nature center, featuring educational displays and a short walking trail around a pond with a few nonreleasable animals, normally is open every Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., but visitors should call ahead to check.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe offer a wide variety of school programs, and for clubs and just about anybody,\u201d Hentz said. Red Creek is staffed by seven employees, about 20 volunteers and about 20 interns \u201cduring baby season\u201d \u2014 March through October. The education center produces and sells some of its own books, including titles for children.<\/p>\n

Information: redcreekwildlifecenter.com<\/a>; 570-739-4393.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t cook but have dinner anyway<\/p>\n

If you like the idea of a traditional holiday meal but don\u2019t want to be bothered making it, the Farm-To-Table Thanksgiving Dinner To Go at the Settlers Inn in Hawley may be right up your alley.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do a sit-down as well as our to-go service for Thanksgiving Day,\u201d said Kevin Rogali, front desk supervisor. \u201cIt dates back to our previous owners, who are retired\u201d \u2014 Grant and Jeanne Genzlinger. \u201cThey\u2019ve been doing this for a very long time. It\u2019s a tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n

The takeout dinners, at $40, are chef-prepared and ready to heat, with a menu that includes Forks Farm roasted turkey breast, turkey roulade, mashed potatoes, sage stuffing, house-made cranberry sauce and corn pudding, with plenty of available add-ons. Patrons must order by Nov. 20 and pick up their meals Thanksgiving Day between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Customers pay when they pick up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe usually sell out every year, probably a total of 80 to 100,\u201d Rogali said \u2014 including \u201cguests who can\u2019t get in for the traditional sit-down dinner. \u2026 It\u2019s great for anyone. The feedback has always been very good for the dinners.\u201d<\/p>\n

Information: thesettlersinn.com<\/a>; 570-226-2993.<\/p>\n

Honor the earliest American cultures<\/p>\n

Another attraction that\u2019s open on Thanksgiving \u2014 and almost every other day \u2014 is the Pocono Indian Museum in Monroe County.<\/p>\n

Owner Mal Law, 80, said the museum at 5425 Milford Road in East Stroudsburg is closed only on Christmas and Easter, and he should know: He and his wife, Margaret, 79, who both grew up in Kingston, launched the museum in 1974. It\u2019s open every day from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Law said the museum was born of his \u201clove of studying Native American people, and being able to show people misconceptions about them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Focusing on the indigenous Lenape inhabitants of this part of Pennsylvania, the museum provides a self-guided audio tour. \u201cWe have a series of six rooms,\u201d Law said. \u201cEach room takes the story a little further.\u201d The half-hour visit \u201cstarts with prehistoric times, and then we move on to lodging, food and pottery making, weapons and tools. \u2026 It tells the story of them right up until they come into contact with the first Europeans.\u201d<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the Pocono Indian Museum\u2019s busy season; that comes during heavier tourism months, when a lot of visitors stop by on their way to nearby Bushkill Falls. But the museum also welcomes school groups, which Law traditionally does not charge for. And every student leaves with an arrowhead artifact.<\/p>\n

Information: poconoindianmuseum.com<\/a>; 570-588-9338.<\/p>\n

Get your football fix the traditional way<\/p>\n

For people of a certain age, the holiday conjures up cherished memories of Thanksgiving morning football games between heated high school rivals. There are few still around, having been pushed aside by prioritization of playoffs, scheduling conflicts and other factors. One that has survived is Northampton vs. Catasauqua, two Northampton County schools separated by about a mile and a half.<\/p>\n

That the game is still being played \u2014 every year since 1925, except for pandemic-disrupted 2020 \u2014 is no small accomplishment, given that Northampton Area High School enrolls about five times as many students as Catasauqua Area High School. But there\u2019s more to it than football.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to keep the concept of having a get-together with the two communities,\u201d said Thomas Moll, Catasauqua\u2019s athletic director. \u201cYou try to get excitement in the community.\u201d That includes pregame meals, pep rallies, bonfires and tailgating.<\/p>\n

Moll said attendance at the games Catasauqua has hosted, like this year\u2019s, has typically been around 3,000. \u201cThe games aren\u2019t as well attended as they used to be,\u201d he acknowledged. \u201cThe key is the weather.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s Thanksgiving Day game will be played at Alumni Field at Catasauqua Middle School, 850 Pine St., Catasauqua, at 10 a.m. Advance tickets are on sale at the high school athletic office at $6 for adults and $3 for senior citizens and non-CASD students. Tickets sold at the game will be $7.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Tannersville Cranberry Bog in Monroe County. (COURTESY OF THE NATURE CONSERVANCY)
\n\"TheThe Tannersville Cranberry Bog in Monroe County. (COURTESY OF THE NATURE CONSERVANCY)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thanksgiving is just a couple of weeks away. Visions of football from the La-Z-Boy and bountiful home-cooked meals…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31788,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[201,182,803,139,28,231,178,180,179,289,6519],"class_list":{"0":"post-31787","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scranton","8":"tag-lackawanna-county","9":"tag-local-news","10":"tag-luzerne-county","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-pennsylvania","13":"tag-schuylkill-county","14":"tag-scranton","15":"tag-scranton-headlines","16":"tag-scranton-news","17":"tag-things-to-do","18":"tag-top-stories-hzs"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}