This weekend, celebrate the Addams Family creator at AddamsFest in downtown Westfield, shop monster classics and movie posters at the Smithville Monster Con in Smithville, or watch pumpkins light up the night at the 9th Annual Pumpkin Illumination in Morristown.
Psst! Don’t forget to hashtag #NJMOM and tag @njmom and your little cuties could be featured in our next photo round-up.
Here are 15 kid-friendly festivals around New Jersey:
Halloween at the Meadowlands
October 25, 5:30PM – 8:30PM
This not-so-spooky night for kids features two fun programs: Reptiles, Amphibians and more – a hands on experience with animals, and The Myth of the “Big Bad Wolf” – where your littles can learn about pack life and wolf communication. Bonus: games and crafts run all day long!
Meadowlands Environment Center
Lyndhurst, NJ
Cost: $5.50
AddamsFest
October 26 – 28
They’re creepy and they’re cooky…mysterious and spooky…they’re all together ooky…and they were created by a local NJ artist Charles Addams. Celebrate his legacy at a 3-day fest in his hometown of Westfield with trunk or treat, a Halloween parade, art exhibits, a masquerade ball, and a family fun zone for all to enjoy. Stick around for the Monster Mash Dance party your little will gush over.
Downtown Westfield, NJ
Cost: free, fee for art exhibits
Hazlet House of Horrors
October 26 & 27, 7PM-10PM, October 28 5PM-7PM
The Hazlet House of Horrors features Halloween festivities and 6 rooms of alarming antics, tricks, and treats…designed to scare your socks off. This year the Hazlet House of Horrors has added a short haunted trail to spook you. The first hour of each night will be “Horror Lite,” which is suggested for ages 9 and up.
Cullen Center
Hazlet, NJ
Cost: free
Haunted Allaire! Haunted Hayrides & Village
October 26 – 27, 6PM-9PM
Visit ghosts, ghouls, and goblins in the Historic Allaire Village with your ticket to this event. This haunted hayride is built for everyone, with over 20 haunting “scenes” to scare your socks off. From the woods to the village, Allaire is going all out for Halloween with storytelling at the Chapel, a night out at the Blacksmith shop, Mr. Allaire’s House with a haunted house theme, and so much more.
The Historical Village at Allaire
Wall Township, NJ
Cost: $10-$15
Boo at the Boardwalk
October 27 – 28, 12PM – 4PM
Boo at the Boardwalk is designed to make Halloween fun for the whole family. This event features trick-or-treat, crafts, games, a pumpkin patch, a beach maze, underwater pumpkin carve, a pumpkin derby, and amusement rides. Stick around for the Howl-O-Ween Dog Costume Contest on Sunday.
Jenkinson’s Boardwalk
Point Pleasant, NJ
Cost: free
Spooky Terminal
October 27, 11AM – 4PM
It’s Jersey City’s biggest family-friendly event and it’s back! There are tons of kids activities, food trucks, and a costume contest. It’s all set on the Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal – a perfectly creepy setting for this Halloween bash.
Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal
Jersey City, NJ
Cost: Ages 1-12 $15, Adults $5
Long Branch Fall Festival and Pooch Parade
October 27, 11AM – 4PM
The Long Branch Fall Festival features arts and crafts, touch a truck, bouncy rides, a kids costume parade, and a costumed pooch parade. That’s right, you don’t have to leave Fido home for this event, just make sure he has a costume! Dance to the DJ’s sweet tunes all day, visit characters in costume, and go trick or treating at the local Pier Village shops.
Pier Village
Long Branch, NJ
Cost: free
Frenchtown Zombie Crawl
October 27, 12PM – 4PM
Make your way to Sunbeam Lenape Park for the start of the zombie crawl. This year get or watch makeup being done by the pros, participate in a town-wide scavenger hunt with your family, and enjoy snacks, refreshments, and other local vendors. Dress your best to enter the zombie contest and win an award.
Frenchtown, NJ
Cost: Zombie contest $5 per person, Scavenger hunt is $10 per family
Haunted Downtown Metuchen
October 27, 12PM – 5PM
Join in on the fun(if you dare) for a spooktakular day of fun, frights and Halloween festivities all through downtown Metuchen. Get spooked with the T-Rex walking around downtown, watch the haunted mechanical bull ride on Town Plaza, and stick around for the annual Zombie Walk hosted by Cai’s Cafe.
10 Station Place, Ste 3,
Metuchen, NJ
Jersey Shore Spooktacular
Oct 27, 2PM – 4PM
A family fun day filled with indoor trick-or-treating with local businesses, face painting, balloon twisting, pumpkin painting, music, bounce houses, slides, prizes, swag bags, and costume contests. The first 50 attendees with printed early bird registration will be permitted into pumpkin painting.
GoodSports USA Complex
Wall, NJ
Cost: free
Smithville Monster Con
October 27, 10AM – 7PM
Have a comic lover on your hands? Combine everyone’s favorite holiday with comics and you get the Smithville Monster Con. Shop collectibles like old and new horror comics, vintage trading cards, scary toys and action figures, and horror movie posters. Keep your eyes peeled for horror film stars, walking zombies, and a costume contest.
Historic Towne of Smithville
Smithville, NJ
Cost: free
Haunted Hops and Ghoulish Grub Fest
October 27, 11AM – 6PM
Get your ghoulish grub on and sip the best craft beers at this fest. This event features all the craft beers you can imagine, food trucks, and a play zone for the kids to enjoy while you sit in the Craft Beer Garden. Your littles will love the moon bounce, sand art, temporary tattoos, hair wraps, and more.
RiverWinds Community Center
West Deptford, NJ
Cost: Age 21+ $7, Age 12-20 $5, Under age 12 free
HalloWheaton
October 28, 1PM – 4PM
Enjoy Trick-or-Treating and interactive performances at the Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center. Children will have a chance to meet and take pictures with traditional costumed characters, such as the Mummy, the Grymm Witches, the too-tall scarecrow and many others. Throughout the grounds, actors will perform an eclectic mix of short skits capturing the Halloween season.
1501 Glasstown Road,
Millville, NJ
Cost: free
9th Annual Morristown Pumpkin Illumination
October 28, 5PM – 6:15PM
Join Morristown for a community celebration of the arts. Enjoy live jazz music, bring a carved pumpkin to participate in the pumpkin illumination, and participate in an art workshop. The luminary parade takes place at dusk and it’s certainly a sight you don’t want to miss in beautiful downtown Morristown.
Vail Mansion
Morristown, NJ
Cost: free
New Providence Annual Fall Festival Street Fair
October 28, 10AM – 5PM
Head over to downtown New Providence for a fun fall fest and street fair that includes mechanical kiddie rides, a climbing wall, pony rides, a petting zoo, face painting, sand art, and plenty of kids activities for your little ones. Your family can shop local businesses and vendors while enjoying shish kabobs, sausage and peppers, french fries, burgers, cheesesteaks, zeppoles, and ice cream.
1260 Springfield Ave
New Providence, NJ
Cost: free
