Local Knowledge. Shore Results.
Red Bank's 78th Halloween Parade, a seafood festival at Bell Works, a free food truck fest run by a volunteer fire company, Oktoberfest at a winery and a night market with a fire-lit tightrope walker. Here's what's happening this week:
- Lunar Faire Night Market: Dark Carnival (East Freehold Showgrounds, 1500 Kozloski Rd., Freehold) Fri, Oct 16, 5 to 10 PM: A spooky-season night market with shopping, food, a fire wire walker, a floating witch, a blade juggler and live music. $15.50 in advance or $25 at the gate, kids under 10 free, all weather.
- Brookdale Haunted Theater (Brookdale Performing Arts Center, 765 Newman Springs Rd., Lincroft) Fri to Sun, Oct 16 to 18, 6 to 10 PM: An award-winning haunted house built by Brookdale students, alumni and staff, with a new theme every year. Lights On, Scares Off, a lights-on version for younger kids, runs Saturday at noon.
- New Jersey Seafood & Music Festival (Bell Works, 101 Crawfords Corner Rd., Holmdel) Sat, Oct 17, 11 AM to 6:30 PM: Seafood food trucks, dessert vendors, craft drinks, live music and kids' activities. $5 admission, under 5 free.
- Trucktoberfest (Wanamaker Field, 1 East End Ave., Island Heights) Sat, Oct 17, 11 AM to 6 PM: A food truck festival and fundraiser for Island Heights Volunteer Fire Co. #1, with a beer garden, craft and vendor village, live music and kids' games. Free admission, donations welcome. Rain date Sunday, Oct 18.
- Harvest Arts Festival (Washington St., Downtown Toms River) Sat, Oct 17, 11 AM to 5 PM: Vendors, food, a juried art show, a petting zoo and a biergarten, with performances by Funny Bone, High in the Mid 80's, The Music Academy and Evolution Martial Arts.
- Long Branch Fall Festival + Pooch Parade (Pier Village, Long Branch) Sat, Oct 17, 12 to 4 PM: Free, with The Nerds, DJ JoJo and a Bavarian band, pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating, face painting, inflatables and carousel rides. The Pooch Parade steps off at 12:30, $5 per dog, register on Eventbrite.
- Asbury Park Record Show (The Grand Arcade, Convention Hall, 1300 Ocean Ave., Asbury Park) Sat, Oct 17, 12 to 5 PM: Thousands of LPs, 45s, CDs and cassettes from vendors across the Tri-State area, plus live DJs. Free all day.
- Beachwood Harvest Festival (Beachwood Beach, Beachwood) Sat, Oct 17, starting at 5 PM: Halloween costume contests, a pumpkin patch, food trucks, a beer garden, music, inflatables, fire pits and a movie on the beach.
- Oktoberfest at Laurita Winery (85 Archertown Rd., New Egypt) Sat and Sun, Oct 17 to 18, from 12 PM: Live music and polka, Bavarian pretzels, bratwurst, food trucks, free vineyard wagon tours, pumpkin picking at Dancer Farm and pumpkin and apple cannons. $15 online or $20 at the door, under 21 free.
- Boo at the Refuge (Popcorn Park Animal Refuge, 1 Humane Way, Forked River) Sat and Sun, Oct 17 to 18, 12 to 4 PM: Trick-or-treat stations, crafts and animal education with full-day park admission. $20 for adults, $25 per trick-or-treater, or $35 VIP with early entry at 11 AM.
- Red Bank 78th Annual Halloween Parade (Hudson Ave. and E. Bergen Pl., Red Bank) Sun, Oct 18, lineup at 1 PM, steps off at 2 PM: Floats and costumes through downtown, ending with food, a petting zoo, costume contests and live music at the White Street lot. Free to watch.
- Thompson Park Day (Thompson Park, Lincroft) Sun, Oct 18, 11 AM to 5 PM: Free admission and parking, with a dog parade and costume contest ($10 per dog, pre-register), scarecrow and jack-o'-lantern contests ($10 each) and a free pie eating contest at 12:30 for youth and 12:45 for adults.
- American Angler Classic Surf Fishing Tournament (Bayview Park, 6805 Long Beach Blvd., Brant Beach) Sun, Oct 18, 7 AM to 1 PM: Rescheduled from Sept 26 and 27. Open to the public with prizes for adults and kids, free 4x4 beach access, a free bucktail lure for every registered angler and free lunch and awards. Registration opens at 6 AM.
- Making Strides Against Breast Cancer (700 Ocean Ave., Point Pleasant Beach) Sun, Oct 18, 8 AM to 12 PM: The American Cancer Society's breast cancer walk. Check-in at 8 AM and the walk starts at 10. Free to register as a team or on your own.
This week's featured events: the Red Bank Halloween Parade, the New Jersey Seafood & Music Festival at Bell Works, the Brookdale Haunted Theater in Lincroft and the Lunar Faire Dark Carnival in Freehold.
This roundup gets posted fresh every week, right here and on Instagram and Facebook. For the current week's events plus everything else happening at the Shore, visit Living at the Jersey Shore ». If you're a local business or event organizer and want to be included in a future week's guide, reach out directly.
Matt Quinn United Real Estate Associates (609) 709-2742 matt@mattquinnsellshomes.com