Want to know where we’re going each week so you can join us? We get invited to events, hear about fun exhibits and are interested in lots of different places all the time. Here’s what is on our radar this week. We can’t guarantee that we’ll go to all these places but there’s a good chance we’ll be at some of them. Support local arts or get outside and do something with us!
Gardens Aglow
Friday, October 25, Presby Iris Gardens, Montclair
View the gardens at dusk as they come to life with artfully carved jack-o-lanterns supplied by local high school art departments. Enjoy a glass of cider at sunset while watching the gardens glow! Activities, entertainment, a mad science show and refreshments will be on-going throughout the event.
Free Admission!
The Company Kept / Sonoa / Bravely / Soraya Silene
Friday, October 25, Boon Tunes, Boonton
The Company Kept
Sonoa
Bravely (Tour Kickoff)
Soraya Silene
New Jersey’s Only 5,000 Jack O’Lantern Event!
Saturday and Sunday, October 26 and 27, Meadowlands Exposition Center. Secaucus
Come see over 5,000 hand-carved Jack O’Lanterns at the Meadowlands! We’re New Jersey’s largest display of carved pumpkins in the whole state! A 2-day only event!
Click here for additional event details and get a promocode for discount tickets at up to 50% off before they sell out: https://www.therise.org/facebook
You may have seen us bring jack o’lanterns to New Jersey’s Meadowlands Expo Center way back in 2016. By popular demand, we’re coming back in 2019! During that time off, we’ve re-imagined the event and re-designed it literally from the ground up. During this 2-day only event, visitors can immerse themselves in what’s essentially a giant jack o’lantern factory where we carve and display over 5,000 real pumpkins!
RISE of the Jack O’Lanterns at the Meadowlands is a truly unique one-of-a-kind event because it’s the only indoor jack o’lantern experience in the world! It’s also the only jack o’lantern experience around with day-time and night-time visiting hours! So grab some tickets, leave your worries about weather behind, and come immerse yourself in New Jersey’s biggest jack o’lantern experience!
Due to its limited 2-day run, the event is likely to sell out fast like it did in 2016 so we encourage visitors to get tickets early.
Click here for additional event details and get a promocode for discount tickets: https://www.therise.org/facebook
South Jersey Geek Fest Fall 2019
Saturday, October 26, Woodbury Heights Community Center
Geek Fest is a convention born and bred in South Jersey. We want to bring people together to celebrate our shared love for everything geeky! Comics, Games, Anime, Action Figures, Toys, Crafts, Jewelry, Music, Artwork, and much much more!
Events & Attractions:
·Live Music
·Food trucks
·Kids and Adults Cosplay Kickball*
·Kids and Adults Cosplay Contests
·Smash Brothers Tournament
·Board game play area
·LARPing
·YoYo performance
Frenchtown Zombie Crawl + Scavenger Hunt
Saturday, October 26, Frenchtown
The original River Town Zombie Crawl! Frenchtown Zombie makeup team transforms the living into the Living Dead right before your very eyes! Scavenger hunt through town and put your own twist on your favorite Zombie oeuvre. Dress in your deadly best to participate in the well esteemed zombie contest.
Prizes, pictures and petrification in the park from 12pm to 4pm!
The annual Frenchtown Zombie Crawl and Scavenger Hunt takes place on Saturday, Oct. 26th from 12-4pm. The crawl commences, or shall we say rises from the ground, at noon in Sunbeam Lenape Park along the river.
Come in costume and makeup OR have your makeup done by us! Zombie makeup artists will be on hand transform the living into the dead.
Our skilled zombie team will be offering makeup services ranging from $5 to $15. Scavenger hunt through town / Zombie Contest is $5 per person / $10 per family/team. Everyone is encouraged to dress in their deadly best for the zombie contest.
Shuffle through town on a photo scavenger hunt for brains and zombie fingers. Spend some time in Sunbeam Park to check out the makeup transformations. Peruse offerings from a select offering of spooky vendors. Enjoy snacks and refreshments, sway to zombie inspired tunes. Tour the zombie barbie / baby doll graveyard. Admire the apocalyptic decor. Play zombie games. Walk through town to participate in the scavenger hunt, admire the scarecrows created by Frenchtown Elementary School students around town. Stop in our stores see how stores are embracing small town zombie culture.
Awards Categories: Best in Zombie Crawl, Best Zombie Makeup (done by participant), Best Zombie Couple, Best Zombie Kid (12 and under), Best Zombie Costume, Best Makeup by Event Artist (awarded to artist and zombie), Most Original Zombie.
Rendezvous back in the park at 3pm to tally scavenger hunt scores. Performance by Star City Tribal Belly Dance Troupe at 3:15pm. Zombie contest lineup 3:30. Awards and Prizes at 3:45.
Zombies can start their day in Frenchtown then shuffle on over to The Frenchtown Witch Project, an unusual art show presented by Frenchtown First Fridays at the Ressarts Projects located at 2 Kingwood Ave. (aka, the red house on the creek). The Witch Project begins at 8pm on Friday, Oct. 25th and will disappear just before the stroke of midnight on Saturday, Oct. 26th.
2nd Annual Zombie Walk
Saturday, October 26, East Side Mags, Montclair
The walk starts at 2pm so get here early if you want to get “zombified” by one of our horror-ific make up artists. Work from the make up artists will run you $10 per person but the results are impossible to argue with – you’ll be super-scary when they’re done! Make sure you come with plenty of time – last year they were VERY busy!
You can also totally get zombied-up at home and come in your zombie best yourself! Fun for the whole family!
At 2pm, we hit the streets of downtown Montclair! Who knows where the zombies will hit but it’s sure to be a BIG HIT! Local business owners and patrons alike had a blast watching us stumble and stroll through the streets!
Participation is FREE to join – the only cost would be to the make up artists if you don’t zombie-up yourself at home!
Additional details as well as details on the entire day’s events for Halloween ComicFest 2019 can be found at https://www.facebook.com/events/582552458943728/
Shoppes at Flemington Halloween Spooktacular
Saturday, October 26, Flemington
Join us for a Spooktacular event including free Trick or Treating store-to-store, sidewalk sales and great family deals at restaurants. Climb aboard a fire truck, check out a police car, and meet and greet your local police, rescue, and fire fighters. Great fun for kids and adults! Giveaways, raffles, and more! Costumes encouraged!
Convention Hell Halloween Concert Ft. Kung Fu & More
Saturday, October 26, Convention Hall, Asbury Park
Doors 7pm
Show 8pm
21+
Convention Hell Halloween Concert returns to Convention Hall in Asbury Park on Saturday, October 26th , presented by Dark City Entertainment, Jams on the Sand and the AP Boardwalk. Taking on different legendary personas, regional and local bands will hit the stage for a night of haunting tributes. This Halloween party encourages guests to bring out their best Halloween costume (though costumes are not required for admission.) Tickets are $20 ADV (plus fees and taxes) $25 at the door on the night of the event. Advance tickets are strongly recommended.
Check out this line-up and the legendary bands that they will be appearing as.
Kung Fu will be performing as The Who
Quincy Mumford will be performing as Prince
Des and the Swagmatics will be performing as Rick James
The Vansaders will be performing as The Clash
Hear full sets from each band, and enjoy the spooky stylings of favorite Asbury Park DJ Foggy Notion who will spin between sets.
Convention Hell promises to be an unforgettable night that celebrates the break-out local music scene and independent, free spirit of the Asbury Park community with a Halloween party that won’t soon be forgotten. Get your tickets now through the Stone Pony Box office, located at 913 Ocean Avenue and Ticketmaster.com
Jersey City Craft Distillery Fest
Saturday, October 26, Harborside Atrium, Jersey City
Jersey City Craft Distillery Fest Is Back October 26th! Sample Spirits From around the World. Including some of your favorite Jersey Brands.
Over 100 Styles of Craft Spirits, Amazing Food Vendors, Live Music,Interactive Games, and more. Get Tickets for the biggest Spirits Festival in Jersey. And Enjoy a beautiful night sampling on the water. Gorgeous views of the Manhattan Skyline Included!!
Spooky Lantern Tours at Whitesbog
Saturday, October 26, Whitesbog Preservation Trust, Browns Mills
Our Haunted History Tours are back for another year!
This is a family-friendly event to raise funds for Whitesbog Preservation Trust’s (a nonprofit) work in preserving the historic village. All of the helpers are volunteers and love sharing the spooky and creepy Historic Village with others!
Choose your Adventure, You can Do One, Two or All Three Activities for the Same Ticket Price! Check in at the General Store to get your hand stamped, then head to the area you want to try first!
Haunted Lantern Tour, past the cottages, through the museum, into the Pine Barrens woods along the Trail, starting at 7 pm at the General Store, with new groups forming every 15-30 minutes, walkers will be on their feet, over some rough terrain, old houses, in the woods, watch out for branches and creepy crawlies! We will walk in light rain so come prepared! The hike distance is a little over a half mile.
Scary Stories and Music around the Campfire with storyteller, Jersey Devil tales with banjo and fiddle, starts at 7 pm
Haunted Wagon Ride to the Bog and Back with the Pinelands Antique Engine Association tractor drivers, wagon rides will start around 7:00 and loop every half hour or so, last wagon at 8:30 pm
Cider, hot chocolate and donuts in the vintage Halloween decorated General Store
Hike for the moderate skill level hikers ages 8+ (call to assess if appropriate younger hikers), through wooded trails, over tree roots and through old, uneven floored and dusty buildings, wearing long pants and closed toe shoes recommended. Scare Factor: Old Fashioned Spooky, Creepy, Scary, Spiders, Old Farm, Woods, Things That Go Bump in the Night, not Terrifying.
Call 609-893-4646 for questions, limited number of tickets available. Tickets are non-refundable.
GPS Address: 799 Lakehurst Rd., Browns Mills, NJ 08015
Our historians and guides will lead intrepid visitors through some of our historic buildings, farm outbuildings and trails by lantern light at night in Whitesbog. $10/person, $8 each for members, not for the faint of heart.
In the case of Heavy Rain, the rain date will be Sunday, October 27th at 7 pm. Tickets are not refundable, please be aware of the rain date, but all tickets are a donation to the nonprofit and we appreciate your support!
All tickets benefit the preservation of Whitesbog Historic Village! Thanks for your contribution!
Events do sell out in advance, so please purchase tickets below.
Whitesbog Historic Village is part of Brendan T. Byrne State Forest and a historic village and farm dating from 1857. The Village is managed by a non-profit and all program proceeds go to the upkeep and programs for the community. The village was the location for a Horror Film and the Pine Barrens are home to many a legend about the Jersey Devil, and easy to get lost in the deep woods and unmarked roads and trails.
The Porchistas Halloween Bash!
Saturday, October 26, Porchistas Home Studio, Montclair
We moved our Halloween Party to our home studio this year and we love the line up! Costumes Desired but not required. Suggested theme? Old timey ghouls, like our old timey house.
Jess Fleming – one of the most talented singer/songwriters and
keyboardists in NJ and she lives on Forest St!
Venus Envy – The Brainchild of Jenny Mustaches one of the
most thoughtful and introspective artists and
musicians you’ll ever meet.
Bone and Marrow – Psychedelic / Folk Rock / Electronic – IT
AIN’T HALLOWEEN WITHOUT THEM!
The Porchistas – We love Halloween more than the rest of them
combined.
Snacks for early birds. $10 – Advanced Tickets Here: https://theporchistas.bandcamp.com/merch/porchistas-halloween-bash-2019
LGBTQ Halloween Dance!
Saturday, October 26, Fox and Falcon, South Orange
Pride Night Out, NJP’s monthly queer cocktail event, brings you the 2019 Halloween Dance! Live DJ, costume contest, raffle, great prizes and full cash bar!
NJP is sharing the proceeds with Gay Men’s Health Crisis, so your ticket price (80% tax deductible) supports TWO great causes!
Tickets:
Reg: $30, includes admission + 1 drink ticket
VIP: $50, includes admission + 2 drink tickets
Sat., Oct. 26 @ 9:30pm
Fox & Falcon (19 Valley St., South Orange)
Brian Erick, Matt Cook, & Roy Orbitron at The Downtown
Tuesday October 29, The Downtown, Red Bank
FREE. LIVE. MUSIC.
It all starts at 7pm!
The Downtown
10 W Front St., Red Bank, NJ
Mt. Joy & Adam Melchor at White Eagle Hall
Tuesday, October 29, White Eagle Hall, Jersey City
White Eagle Hall welcomes Mt. Joy & Adam Melchor to Jersey City!
A limited number of VIP tickets are available for purchase now! GA tickets go on sale to the general public this Friday, July 12th at 10AM.
VIP Meet and Greet Includes:
– One General Admission Concert Ticket
– Meet and Greet with Mt. Joy
– Photo Opportunity with Mt. Joy
– Access to Mt. Joy’s Pre-Show Sound Check
– Signed Fall Tour Poster
Mt. Joy:
“These dreams are more than paper things,” sings Matt Quinn on Mt. Joy’s infectious folk-rocker “Astrovan,” a warm, yearning bit of road-trip philosophy that posits the existence of a Deadhead Jesus cruising the dusty highways of the countryside, nursing a roach on his way to only He knows where. It’s an auspicious line from a band predicated on the revival of teenage dreams.Mt. Joy started off as a rekindling of shared musical ambitions between Philadelphia high school friends Matt Quinn (vocals, guitar) and Sam Cooper (guitar). Reunited in Los Angeles thanks to the ebbs and flows of adult life, the pair met multi-instrumentalist Michael Byrnes through a Craigslist ad. They named themselves Mt. Joy as an ode to a mountain in Valley Forge National Park near Sam’s childhood home, and together, with Byrnes’ roommate Caleb Nelson producing, they recorded three songs and sent them out into the world, hoping for the best. “I knew I still wanted to write songs, but the realities of life made that dream seem pretty impossible,” Quinn says.Much to the band’s amazement, “Astrovan” accomplished the impossible. Without initial promotion or fanfare, the song took off on Spotify, racking up 5 million streams to date. “The irony of ‘Astrovan’ was that song was really about being stuck in a life and wanting to have the opportunity to pursue a dream, and in an instant it gave us that opportunity. ” Quinn says. Mt. Joy quickly transitioned from a part-time calling into a full-fledged band rounded out by Byrnes on bass, Sotiris Eliopoulos on drums and Jackie Miclau on keyboard.Come 2017, Mt. Joy hit the road, and hit it hard: They played tour dates alongside the likes of The Shins, The Head and The Heart, The Lone Bellow, and Whitney, and popped up at some of the summer’s biggest festivals, including Bonnaroo, Newport Folk Festival, Lollapalooza and Made In America. “We were put on some big shows very quickly,” Quinn says. “The growth for us has been exponential – we’ve really just become a family that’s constantly pushing each other and the live show to be great.” They eventually caught the attention of Dualtone Records and began work on their debut album.Steeped in folk-rock tradition and powered by the intuitive creative connection between Quinn and Cooper, the songs on ‘Mt. Joy’ depict Quinn wrestling with his own conscience, where the mundane and the fantastic collide as he processes tragedy, society, and love. Opener “I’m Your Wreck” describes “monsters in (the) closet, using up the wi-fi” as it cycles from its desperate, spiraling verses to its swinging, stubbornly optimistic coda, while the loping, plaintive chords of “Younger Days” meditate on a frayed psyche and the fear of choosing the wrong path. “Sheep,” with its collapsing, hoarse-voiced cry of “freedom was paid in blood,” is a post-Trump salvo on the responsibilities of the fortunate to overcome political and social despondency. And on “Silver Lining,” perhaps the album’s brightest moment, Quinn surveys the damage of hard drugs and the vicious cycle of addiction, as the song’s melancholic sentiment kicks into its fervid, defiant chorus, all shout-along vocals and trilling guitars.Taken together, the self titled ‘Mt. Joy’ LP is a startlingly open document, wracked with the anxieties and fears that come just as life seems to start working out. It’s a natural reaction from a wary band like Mt. Joy – the result of a sort of professional vertigo, as they’ve gone from virtual unknowns to hot young commodity in little over a year. But there’s a sense of hope underlying everything, girded by the fact that the Mt. Joy LP is an impressive, honest portrayal of a young band facing that moment where dreams become reality, and finding beauty in the exhilarating uncertainty of it all.
The Cursed Mansion
Thursday, October 31, Oakeside Cultural Center, Bloomfield
This Halloween, Oakeside Bloomfield Cultural Center will host its first ever haunted house, “The Cursed Mansion,” on Thursday, October 31, 2019 from 6 to 9 PM. Guests of all ages are invited to come trick-or-treat and join in on a terrifying guided tour of a mansion overrun by the dead and supernatural in a spooky visual and theatrical experience. The Oakeside mansion dates back to 1895 and is the perfect setting to experience both old-world and otherworldly fright. Tickets are available for presale for $5 and at the door for $6. Some parking will be available. For more information, please contact Peter Dougherty at ptdough333@gmail.com.
Copyright, You Don’t Know Jersey, LLC (2010-2024)
about the author: Alice Magdziak
