Families in New Jersey will have a blast welcoming in October with one (or two!) of these family-friendly events. Take a hayride and a guided hike at the Fall Forestry Festival in Jackson, have a blast on a pony ride, a petting zoo, and fireworks at the Holmdel Harvest Festival, or visit a local Oktoberfest celebration in Highland Park or Leonia.
Don’t forget to hashtag #NJMOM and tag @njmomhq and your little cuties could be featured in our next photo round-up.
Here are our top picks for family events in NJ this weekend:
1. Antique, Classic Car & Truck Show
October 1, 2016 | 10:00AM – 2:00PM
“Drive on down to Tuckerton Seaport on Saturday, October 1st for the 6th Annual Antique & Classic Car & Truck Show, hosted in conjunction with the Vintage Auto Museum of New Jersey. Over 100 antique and classic cars and trucks will be on display, with judging and an awards ceremony rounding out the afternoon. Prizes will include door prizes, special awards, and club participation award. View cars premiering for the first time.”
Tuckerton Seaport
120 W Main St, Ste 1, Tuckerton, NJ 08087
Cost: $5 for adults, $3 for children aged 5-12. Children under 5 are admitted free.
2. Fall Forestry Festival
October 1, 2016 | 10:00AM – 3:00PM
“Join us at the Forest Resource Education Center for the 22nd Annual Fall Forestry Festival in Jackson, NJ. This free event features guided hikes, demonstrations, and activities for the whole family. Take a hayride, enjoy a hike, and learn about the trees and wildlife in your backyard. Stay for a guided hike from 1:00PM – 2:00PM”
Forest Resource Education Center
495 Don Connor Blvd, Jackson, NJ 08527
Cost: Free
3. Allendale Festival Day & Antique Car Show
October 1, 2016 | 10:00AM – 4:00PM
“Join us for a fun-filled day of live music, entertainment, vendors, arts & crafts, food, exhibits, community organizations, giveaways, games, clowns, face-painting, and much more. Members receive free spots to participate.”
NJ Transit Lot
Allendale Ave West, Allendale, NJ 07401
Cost: Free
4. Silverton Annual Fall Festival & Poker Run
October 1, 2016 | 11:00AM – 6:00PM
“Come enjoy the fun! Fire & vehicle extrication demonstrations, antique fire trucks, Toms River Police motorcyles, K9 demonstrations. Over 100 motorcycles, food, refreshments, live music, local venders, games, and kids rides. 2016 Harley Davidson Fat Boy S to be raffled off during the Fall Festival.”
Silverton Fire Company
15 Kettle Creek Rd, Toms River, NJ 00853
Cost: Free
5. LBI Sea Glass & Art Festival
October 1 – 2, 2016 | 10:00AM – 4:00PM
“The 8th annual Long Beach Island Sea glass & Art Festival is almost here! Join us October 1 & 2, 10am-4pm for a day full of sea glass and prizes. Jewelry, local art & photography, holiday ornaments, gifts, food samplings and tons of fun! Shard Contest, Guess the Gallon, Wrack Line Sculpture Contest and our Conch Blowing World Record™ Attempt! Check out local finds, shard and fossil identification, lectures, book signings and more.”
Things A Drift
406 Long Beach Blvd, Ship Bottom, NJ 08008
Cost: Free
6. Pumpkin Festival
October 1 – 2, 2016 | 10:30AM – 4:00PM
“You-pick pumpkins! Field grown mums, Cornstalks, Fall flower baskets, Fall decor, Farm fresh pumpkins off the vine, Fresh baked pumpkin pies, Pumpkin bread, Pumpkin donuts, Pumpkin butter, Pumpkin pie eating contest, Pony rides, Free game activities for the kids including Free Little Monster Kids Maze, Free wagon rides, and Free game activities for the kids. Additional farm attractions are available daily.”
Oasis Family Farm
3 Circle Dr, Robbinsville, NJ 08691
Cost: Free
7. KFEST
October 1, 2016 | 1:00PM – 6:00PM
“KFEST is scheduled from 1pm to late. This year will feature Crafts, Community Groups, Rides, Entertainment and lots more. All this will take place on Kinnelon Road in front of the High School. Put it on your Calendar and plan to be there!”
Kinnelon High School
12 Kinnelon Road, Kinnelon, NJ 07405
Cost: Free
8. 16th Annual Oktoberfest in Highland Park
October 1, 2016 | 2:00PM – 9:00PM
“The park is festive with fall decorations, the food is great and the varieties of German beers are even better. Authentic German food is a highlight of this famous festival. Executive Chef Butch Greenwaldt is preparing the menu with plenty of traditional German favorites hot off the grill such as bratwurst, knockwurst, kraut, potato pancakes, goulash, sauerbraten and Bavarian noodles along with other tasty fare those less adventurous. The park is festive with fall decorations, the food is great and the varieties of German beers are even better. Authentic German food is a highlight of this famous festival. Executive Chef Butch Greenwaldt is preparing the menu with plenty of traditional German favorites hot off the grill such as bratwurst, knockwurst, kraut, potato pancakes, goulash, sauerbraten and Bavarian noodles along with other tasty fare those less adventurous. The festival is family friendly and there will be children’s activities, including Bounce Houses and face painting, along with a wide variety of retail, specialty and craft vendors.”
Highlands Business Partnership
POB 375, 140 Bay Ave
Highlands, NJ 07732
Cost: Free
9. Leonia Oktoberfest
October 1, 2016 | 4:00PM – 11:00PM
“The Leonia Oktoberfest is hosted by the Rotary Club of The Palisades. It is not only big fun celebrating a Bavarian tradition in New Jersey, it is also a fundraising event that benefits the Weekend Snack Pack Program in Leonia’s Anna C. Scott and Edgewater’s George Washington Elementary Schools. These Weekend Snack Pack Programs provide healthy food on the weekends for students in our community at risk of hunger.”
399 Broad Ave, Leonia, NJ 07605
Cost: $5 Adults, Children are free
10. New Jersey Botanical Garden Harvest Festival
October 1 – 2, 2016 | 11:00AM – 5:00PM
“Hayrides and pumpkin painting are just the start of a fun-filled family weekend. There’ll be games, face painting, applesauce making, tasty food, music, and dancing, great photo ops, free Garden tours, booths, an autumn Plant Sale and lots more!”
New Jersey Botanical Garden
2 Morris Road, Ringwood, NJ 07456
Cost: Free
11. Cranberry Festival
October 1 – 2, 2016 | 11:00AM – 5:00PM
“This two day event features over 145 crafters offering hand made, vintage and upcycled items for the home, handmade clothing and so much more. Bordentown’s award-winning restaurants offer a wide assortment of tasty treats – from snacks to full meals.” This festival, one of the largest of its kind in New Jersey, also features a Kids Zone and live music.
Downtown Bordentown
Farnsworth Avenue, Bordentown City, NJ 08505
Cost: Free
12. Holmdel Harvest Festival – {CANCELLED & RESCHEDULED}
October 1 – 2, 2016 | Saturday 12:00PM – 9:00PM, Sunday 11:00AM – 6:00PM
“Activities include live entertainment, food vendors, craft vendors, beer and wine tent, inflatables, wagon rides, pony rides and petting zoo, and more! Fireworks at 8pm on Saturday, 10/1. ‘It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown’ at 7pm on 10/1.”
Bayonett Farm
41 Middletown Rd, Holmdel, NJ 07733
Cost: Free
13. New Jersey VegFest 2016
October 2, 2016 | 10:30AM – 5:30PM
“New Jersey’s first ever VegFest in downtown Morristown in fall 2016. We are looking to bring garden state vegans, vegetarians and all their friends together to eat good food, enjoy some inspiring and interesting speakers and connect with veg friendly businesses. If you want your fav place or product or whatever included, let us know!”
Hyatt Morristown at Headquarters Plaza
3 Speedwell Ave, Morristown, NJ 07960
Cost: $25 Tickets include all speakers (first come, first seated), movie and vegan vendor room, but do not include tickets to the Dr. Fuhrman presentation. $39 Tickets include Dr. Fuhrman, seats are sold out; you can sign up for a waitlist.
14. 1770’s Festival at Lord Stirling Park
October 2, 2016 | 11:30AM – 4:30PM
“Each year on the first Sunday in October, Lord Stirling’s estate at Lord Stirling Park in Basking Ridge comes back to life in the late 1700s. Colonial craftspeople ply their trades, a town crier delivers the daily news, and Revolutionary War military detachments camp and conduct maneuvers on the former estate lawn. The event promotes historical and environmental education highlighting the unsung Revolutionary War hero William Alexander, Lord Stirling, who lived on the site and served under General George Washington.”
Lord Stirling Park
190 Lord Stirling Rd, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920
Cost: $5 Suggested Donation
15. Whippany Railway Museum Pumpkin Festival
October 2, 2016 | 12:30PM – 5:30PM
“Autumn is a Season of Family Fun, and the Pumpkin, the reassuring signal of seasonal passage, never fails to bring forth the image of cool nights, bright harvest moons, crackling fires, and the warmth of family and friends. And when pumpkins appear, they take on a playful appearance, alerting everyone that the special magic of HALLOWEEN, with its goblins, ghouls, and witches lies just around the corner.”
Whippany Railway Museum
1 Railroad Plaza, Whippany, NJ 07981
Cost: Adults $14, Children under 12 $9, Infants are free
MORE FUN THINGS TO DO IN NJ THIS WEEKEND:
- FREE Events in New Jersey through September 30th
- Pick your own fruits and veggies – Calendar
- 52 #NJMOM Must-Do Adventures
- Head to your local NJ Farmer’s Market for the day
- Plan ahead by checking NJ Mom’s 60+ Things to Do in New Jersey
- Free Museum Days in NJ (the first weekend of each month)
- 275 Parks & Playgrounds in NJ
- 50 Best Spas in NJ
- 20 NJ Summer Camps you need to know about
- 10 Mommy & Me Classes in NJ
- Date Night Ideas for Mom + Dad
- Kids Eat Free Restaurants
- Kids Bowl Free in NJ
- 20+ Best Splash Water Parks
- Plan your trip to the beach
Don’t forget to hashtag #NJMOM and tag @njmomhq and your little cuties could be featured in our next photo round-up.
