12 top festivals and events in New Jersey this September (2024)

🍁 Fall festivals have arrived in New Jersey

🍎 There is plenty to do in September in the Garden State

🍁 Harvest fests, beer fests, and Italian feasts are just a few

It’s time to welcome the “er” months.

September is a great month for festivals and events in New Jersey. The weather is perfect too. It’s not too hot. It’s not too cold. Apples, pumpkins, hay rides, flannel, and bonfires are beginning to explode onto the scene.

Here are 12 of the best and most unique September festivals in the Garden State

Rock of Ages Tattoo Convention and Punk Rock Flea Market

Fri. Sept. 6 – Sun Sept. 8

NJ Expo and Convention Center, 97 Sunfield Avenue, Edison

Featuring more than 400 small businesses, artists, crafters, and makers as well as over 100 tattoo shops from across the country. Experience the brand new scavenger hunt. It will be open to 100 people each day. Sign up is the day of the event. Solve fun clues for prizes including free entry to the convention for life, and two lucky winners each day will win $25 gift certificates to the gift shop.

Parking is free.

NJ Taco Festival

Saturday, Sept. 7

The Sussex County Fairgrounds, 37 Plains Road, Augusta

Time: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Immerse yourself in a day jam-packed with entertainment, competitions, live music, and of course, tacos.

There will be a burrito challenge, a spicy taco eating challenge, a pepper-eating showdown, a chihuahua beauty pageant, food vendors, bounce houses, and a margarita mix-down.

Who will be crowned the supreme taco champion? Find out when the judges crown the best beef taco, the best chicken taco, the best pork taco, the best seafood taco, and the best veggie taco.

Sailfest

Saturday, Sept. 7

Island Heights Pavilion and Water Front Boardwalk, River Avenue, Island Heights

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

Sailfest draws about 15,000 visitors annually and is recognized as the largest sailing festival in New Jersey.

Two sailing race regattas begin around midday. Sailfest always includes a 9-11 Reflection Ceremony, honoring the men and women, as well as the first responders who were lost during the tragic events of that day. The ceremony includes a symbolic wreath-laying and flag salute in Letter Park, and a visit by a classic antique fire engine from the Island Heights Fire Department.

There will be food, beer, wine, super slides and bounce houses for the kids, and live music, too.

100% of the proceeds from Sailfest are distributed to a variety of community organizations by The Rotary Club of Toms River.

Belmar San Gennaro Festival

Saturday, Sept. 7

Pyanoe Plaza 9th Avenue and Main Street, Belmar

Time: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Belmar San Gennaro Festival begins at 10:00 a.m. with a special Mass of San Gennaro at St. Rose Catholic Church in Belmar.

There will be tons of street food, vendors, live music, and so much more. Shops and restaurants will be open during the event.

Meet Pete Napolitano, better known as “Produce Pete,” from WNBC television. Napolitano will sign copies of his new autobiography, They Call Me Produce Pete, at 2 p.m.

Dress up your four-legged friends and enter them into the dog costume contest. It’s happening at the Pyanoe Plaza Main Stage at 3 p.m.

The cannoli-eating contest will take place at noon. There will be two divisions, one for adults, and one for kids ages 12 and under. The entry fee is $20. It’s sponsored by Sweet!, a family-owned candy and confection shop on 10th Avenue in downtown Belmar. Proceeds from the admission fee will be donated to the Saint Vincent de Paul Society of St. Rose Parish.

Your First Mud Run

Sunday, Sept. 8

East 15th Avenue, North Wildwood

Time: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

It’s all about having fun and getting dirty. What do you need to make mud? Sand and water, and the beach in North Wildwood has plenty.

The family mud run race is an obstacle course designed so that almost anyone, ages 5 and up can participate. During the race, follow the red arrows and directions on the course. You can skip a course if you don’t think you can do it.

Some obstacle courses include

Twin Peaks – It’s 10 feet high and maybe the toughest obstacle to complete.

Slop Fest – If you’re afraid to get dirty, then skip this one. But if you like getting dirty and messy, then this is it. A barrel roll is advised for optimal muddiness.

Great Walls of NJ – This wall climb was created in New Jersey. There are many walls to climb, which may be challenging.

Agility Tubes – Try to stay on your feet as you try to make it through 50 inflatable tubes.

Rapunzel’s Climb – Once you reach the top of a 12-foot climb, ring the cowbell.

Harvest Brew Fest

Saturday, Sept. 14

Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington Street, Cape May

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

Enjoy local craft beers, food vendors, artisans, and musical talent at this fall festival. The event is free to attend, but there are varying costs for food, beer, and craft vendors.

Food vendors include Bake n’ Bacon, House of Cupcakes, Rollin Bone, Southern Seafood, Taste of Love, and Boy Scouts Concession Stand. Beverage vendors include Behr Brewing, Cape May Brewing Co., Cold Spring Brewery, Gusto Brewing Co., Ludlam Island Brewery, Mudhen Brewing Co., Wander Back Beerworks, and Whale Tale Brewing Co.

The 29th NJ Sheep and Fiber Festival

Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 14 and Sept. 15

Hunterdon County 4-H Fairgrounds (South County Park, 1207 Route 179, Lambertville

Saturday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m./ Sunday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Cost: $10 pp or $15 per carload. $20 for a two-day car pass

There will be a breed exhibit, food vendors, open sheep shows, rare breed sheep shows, sheep shearing demos, craft vendors, a fleece barn sale, herding dog demos, spinning, and educational speakers.

Downbeach Seafood Festival

Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 14 and 15

Ski Beach, Ventnor

Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“Hosted by Good Team Tricycle Productions, the Downbeach Seafood Festival will return to transform Ventnor’s Ski Beach into a seafood lover’s dream,” according to a press release.

There will be more than 20 local and regional seafood restaurants, mongers, and farmers on hand. Attendees can indulge in an array of seafood dishes crafted by South Jersey chefs and restaurants. From fried or steamed clams, ceviche to calamari, oysters to ahi, there is something for everyone.

Sample Jersey-made craft beers, attend cooking demonstrations, and browse unique exhibits.

Coinciding with National Hunger Action Month, the Downbeach Seafood Festival aims to support the Community Food Bank of New Jersey through the popular Chowder Cook-Off. All proceeds from the cook-off will benefit the Food Bank, with a goal of raising more than $5,000.

There will also be children’s activities, art, live sand sculpting, The Great Brews of NJ Tasting Tent, and a crab cake-eating competition.

Red Bank Oktoberfest

Saturday, Sept. 21

Edmund Wilson Plaza, 1 Bridge Avenue, Red Bank

Time: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Admission is free to the 2nd Annual Red Bank Oktoberfest.

Tasters 21 and over can purchase sampling packages of beer and spirits brewed and distilled in Monmouth County.

Unlimited tasting is $45 in advance and $55 the day of the event. The Oktoberfest 12 pack (12 samples) is $25 in advance and $35 the day of the event.

There will also be live music, food, a kids zone, and a vendor market curated by Fresh Markets.

Comfort Food Festival

Saturday, Sept. 21

Washington Street, Downtown Toms River

Time: 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.

What’s your comfort food? There’s a festival for that. It’s in Downtown Toms River. Besides great comfort food, the street will be filled with merchandise vendors, handcrafters, activities for kids, live entertainment, and a beer and wine garden.
Admission and parking are free.

28th Annual Woofstock

Saturday, Sept. 28 (Rain Date: Sunday, Sept. 29)

2120 Voorhees Town Center, Voorhees

Time: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Cost $2

Enjoy dog demos, food trucks, craft and retail vendors, a beer garden, an alumni parade, animal rescue groups, live music, and a gift basket raffle.

All proceeds will benefit the Voorhees Animal Orphanage.

Autumn Lights Festival

Friday Sept. 27 – Sunday Sept. 29

Wallisch Homestead, 65 Lincoln Avenue, West Milford

Time: Friday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The 30th anniversary bash is expected to draw over 35,000 attendees. The Autumn Lights Festival features a huge carnival with tons of rides and games, a marketplace with more than 300 craft vendors showcasing their products and services, more than 30 food trucks, two stages filled with live entertainment, both regional and national acts, a biergarten pouring your favorite brews and co*cktails, and of course, ornamental lighting displays illuminating the night sky.

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