🍗 Fall festivals roll on in New Jersey for 2024

🍗 Here are 12 of the best November festivals in New Jersey

🍗 Some offer a taste of Christmas, too


Fall in New Jersey rolls on and festivals are in full swing.

Looking for things to do in November? Here are 12 of some of the best and unique festivals and events happening in the Garden State during the 11th month of this year.

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Hoboken Day of the Dead Party – Dia De Muertos

Friday, Nov. 1

Madd Hatter, 221 Washington Street, Hoboken

Time: 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Cost: $19.99

What better way to celebrate the day after Halloween than with the “Hoboken Day of the Dead Fiesta?”

Dress to impress in your most dazzling day of the dead attire. That could be a skull mask, intricate face paint, or a unique, one-of-a-kind ensemble. Join other partygoers for a spirited time dancing, and celebrating through festively decorated venues. The Mad Hatter will be transformed into a vibrant carnival of delights.

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Beers on the Boards

Saturday, Nov. 2

308-312 Boardwalk, Point Pleasant Beach

Two sessions: 12 to 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 9 p.m.
Cost: $65

Enjoy craft beers, spiked seltzers, and hard ciders from local breweries, plus a gourmet all-you-can-eat buffet, and live music from The Pour Boys and Big Bang Baby.

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Sip In Autumn Wine Festival

Saturday, Nov. 2 and Sunday, November 3

Veterans Park, Bayville

Time: 12 to 5 p.m.
Cost: $20 in advance or $25 at the door

Sampler admission includes wine glass, sampling, and sales of many New Jersey wines.

Wineries in attendance include Wagonhouse, The Vintner’s Wife, Villari Vineyards, Valenzano, Plagido’s, DiMatteo, Angelico and Autumn Lake.

Enjoy eats and treats from Station One Seafood, G’Day Gourmet, Meat Wagon, and Philly Pretzel.

Artisans and Crafters include Touchstone Crystal, Carolyn Smith, Jerky James, American Made Craft, Colours of Raine, Mimis By The Sea, Shirley Sews, The Bacon Jams, B. Baths, Lady Brimm, Poppa B’s, Gracie Moo Candles, Cynfull Bliss, For Goodness Cakes, Coffee Goddess, Art of Olive Oil, and Doube D’s Doggie Delights.

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NJ Storytelling Festival

Saturday, Nov. 9

Hamilton Township Public Library, 1 Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. Way

Time: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cost: Free

Everyone is invited to this all-day story festival where there will be workshops for children and adults in the morning. The afternoon will consist of over 20 storytellers. It’s a “Tellabration Festival,” a day to tell and listen to stories.

The event benefits TASK, The Trenton Area Soup Kitchen.

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Taco and Empanada Festival

Saturday, Nov. 9

Memorial Park, 580 Valley Street, Maplewood

Time: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Price: $5

Savor a variety of gourmet food from numerous taco and empanada vendors, and pair such foods with varieties from the beer, margarita, and sangria garden.

Enjoy live music, and a host of activities for the kids such as pony rides, a petting zoo, face painting, and sand art.

Bring a chair, blanket, and non-perishable food item to support the local food pantry.

Berlin Christmas Markets Open To The Public
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Christmas at the Farm Holiday Market

Saturday, Nov. 9

Riamede Farm, 122 Oakdale Road, Chester

Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cost: $5

Explore over 50 local artisan vendors selling handmade goods. Perfect for holiday gifts! Take photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus, enjoy a hayride through the autumn orchard, and pick your own apples.

Enjoy cuisines from various food trucks, and be sure to grab some donuts and apple cider for dessert.

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Darkside New Jersey Film Festival

Saturday, Nov. 16

NJ Convention and Expo Center, 97 Sunfield Avenue, Edison

Time: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Tickets: $15

Experience not only traditional films, but also the weird, the odd, the curious, and the macabre. Brace yourself for a cinematic journey into the grotesque, where nothing is as it seems.

“Witness stage performances that blur the line between nightmare and reality, as eerie talents unfold before your eyes. Feel the pulse of live music with haunting rhythms that echo through the night, and lose yourself in the Dark Wave Silent Rave, where the only sound is the sinister beat in your soul,” according to the website.

There will also be body art exhibits, tattooing, piercings, taxidermy classes, guest speakers, and so much more.

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Thanks4Giving Turkey Dash and Splash

Saturday, Nov. 16

Convention Hall, 1300 Ocean Ave., Asbury Park

Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Price: Free

Just in time for Thanksgiving, kick off the fun by running the Turkey Dash 5K, which travels the boardwalk through Asbury Park, Ocean Grove, and Bradley Beach.

Following the 5K, go cold turkey and brace the chilly Atlantic Ocean with the Turkey Splash plunge.

You can sign up to participate in one event or both.

Both the dash and splash events benefit thousands of Special Olympics New Jersey athletes, and United Partners across New Jersey.

Magic of Lights (Facebook)
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Magic of Lights at PNC Bank Arts Center

Runs from Nov. 22 through Jan. 4, 2025

PNC Bank Arts Center, Exit 116, GSP, Holmdel

Time: Varies
Price: Not yet posted but one price is for one carload

Experience this dazzling drive-through holiday lights show with a mile of spectacular light displays that bring to life beautiful holiday scenes and characters.

Don’t miss the larger-than-life sparkling Holiday Barbie display, the supersized Bigfoot Monster Truck, and the life-sized dinosaurs of Prehistoric Christmas.

Six Flags Great Adventure Holiday in the Park (Photo: Six Flags Great Adventure)
Six Flags Great Adventure Holiday in the Park (Photo: Six Flags Great Adventure)
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Holiday in the Park

Select dates starting Nov. 23 (through Jan. 1)

Six Flags Great Adventure, 1 Six Flags Blvd., Jackson

Time: Varies
Cost: Varies

Celebrate the holiday season at Holiday in the Park. Enjoy the millions of luminous lights, the five-story tree that comes to live in Holiday Magic: A Celebration of the Season, and meet the park’s royal court of characters such as Evergreen Queen and Poinsettia Princess.

Each section of the park is whimsically decorated with a unique color palette, décor, scents, and sounds.

Enjoy festive foods, thrilling coasters, hot cocoa, and plenty of photo ops.

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10th Annual Gone to the Dogs Craft Fair and Family Festival

Saturday, Nov. 23

Dream Park, 400 Route 130 South, Gloucester

Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cost: Free event/$2 for parking

The festival benefits New Life Animal Rescue, primarily a critical care, special needs, and hospice rescue organization. They work to save animals who others are not equipped to care for such as paralyzed, blind, broken, and abused, animals. There will be crafters, artists, and food trucks on hand. Plus, a 50/50 raffle, a prize auction, kids games, pony rides, Bluey, dog contests, and more.

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Corn Picking and Thanksgiving Hayrides

Saturday, Nov. 30

Howell Living History Farm, 70 Woodens Lane, Hopewell

Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Bring a non-perishable food item for their donation wagon to earn a ride on one of the farm’s horse-drawn hay wagons. Jeb and Amos and Jesse and Paul will be giving hayrides from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Tickets are free and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Canned and boxed food donations will be collected at the visitor’s center, as well as new, unopened toys for the Toys for Tots program.

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