All events are subject to change or cancellation. Please click or call ahead to confirm.
Sign up for our weekly e-news, This Week in the New Jersey Skylands, which will keep you up to date on special events, new profiles, stories, and things to do.
PORK ROLL PALOOZA. Everything from Pork Roll Sliders to Deep Fried Pork Roll and even Pork Roll-themed Beverages! There will be vendors, activities and live music all day! 11am - 5pm.
20TH ANNUAL SOMERSET COUNTY’S JOURNEY THROUGH THE PAST. Sites will hold tours led by costumed interpreters and actors portraying historical figures, special collections and exhibitions, and a seemingly unending variety of activities for public involvement and enjoyment. 12 - 4pm. Free.
15TH ANNUAL SUSSEX COUNTY HERITAGE WEEKEND. Historic sites welcome visitors to stop by during this annual self-guided tour. Many of the sites are run by volunteers of the historical societies - a few are private. We include historic markers and related locations on our interactive map. 133 Spring St., Newton.
NORTHWEST NJ RIVERS CONFERENCE. A day of speakers, workshops and community for those who cares about this region, clean water and the rivers. The theme for this year’s conference appropriately is "Connecting Community, Ecotourism & Environment", with a first-rate Keynote presentation featuring Lisa Garcia, workshops and exhibitors. 9am - 4pm. $30. Centenary University Lackland Center.
SUSSEX COUNTY HARVEST, HONEY AND GARLIC FESTIVAL. The annual Sussex County autumn celebration features a farmers’ market, family activities, craft demonstrations, agricultural exhibits, food vendors, local artisans, and live music. Shop our farmers’ market for seasonal produce, flowers, and local wine. The Sussex County Beekeepers Assoc. will have educational displays, materials and an array of honey products. For those who love all things garlic, we’ll have the Garden State Garlic Growers. Free family fun, rain or shine! 10am - 4pm. Sussex County Fairgrounds, 37 Plains Road.
TREASURES BY THE RIVER. A fall art and antiques fair beautifully blending artisans and antique vendors. Indoor and outdoor settings in a large historic barn and in the pristine riverside amphitheater. 10am - 4pm. Free. Route 46 and Ramsaysburg Road on the Delaware.
POHATCONG’S HISTORIC HOUSE TOUR. Explore an eclectic mix of stone and clapboard structures dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries. 10am - 5pm. $25 / $65 winery train. Alba Vineyard, 269 Route 627.
AUTUMN HOUSE TOUR. The annual self-guided tour includes historic public and private sites and canal walks. 11pm - 4pm. $40/ $30 advance. Holcombe-Jimison Farmstead, Rt. 29.
GALA CELEBRATION OF LOCAL FOOD AND FARMS . Feast on appetizers, main courses and desserts created with the finest local ingredients at tasting stations prepared before you by our region’s finest chefs. 6pm. $150. Perona Farms.
DAY OF THE DEAD--DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CELEBRATION. Celebrate with a traditional Mariachi Band, sugar skull face painting, fire pit, vendors. 5 - 9pm. Free. Pocket Park, 44 E Washington Ave..
PUMPKIN ILLUMINATION. With live music, storytelling, art workshops, and more, this free, family-friendly event is the perfect way to enjoy the arts in a beautiful outdoor setting. Bring your carved pumpkins and we'll provide the lights! 5 - 7pm. Vail Mansion, 110 South St..
HOMETOWN HALLOWEEN. Trick or Treating in the downtown shopping district of Washington Borough, DJ playing Halloween music, prizes for best costume, best group costumes and best pet costume. 3 - 5pm. Free.
DVOOR FARM BARN . Tours led by architect Chris Pickell, at 10 am and 12:30 pm Free. 111 Mine Street.
Hunterdon Land Trust; 908/237-4582
November
Saturday, 1; Boonton
FALL CAR TREK. The theme of the Car Trek is How Highlands Iron Forged Our Nation: The History of the Highlands Iron Industry. This scenic 60-mile journey winds through Boonton, Split Rock Furnace, Ringwood Manor, the New Jersey Botanical Gardens, Long Pond Ironworks and Ogdensburg
RIVERSIDE FALL FESTIVAL & HISTORY TRAIL. In conjunction with the Explore Warren History Trail, activities at Ramsayburg will include apple tastings and cider press, apple baked goods sale, home grown produce and grains, country-style fine art, tours of the historic buildings and grounds. 10am - 4pm. Free.. Route 46 and Ramsaysburg Road on the Delaware.
EXPLORE WARREN HISTORY TRAIL. Historic sites in Warren County have coordinated plans for a self-guided county-wide tour, with family activities at each location. Join us for a weekend of fun and discovery as each stop along the trail offers something different and exciting for the whole family. Start at any site and pick up your trail map and guide. Or find schedule details and a digital map at WarrenHistoryTrail.org 10am - 4pm. Free.
TOUCH-A-TRUCK DAY. Dump trucks, fire trucks, ambulances, police cars, military jeeps and lots more parked in one place so kids of all ages can get a close-up look in “a parade that stands still”. 11am - 3pm. Free. Deer Path Park, 120 West Woodschurch Road.
Hunterdon County Parks; 908/782-1158
Saturday, 8; Netcong
TALES FROM THE GREAT SWAMP. World premiere performance of the puppet show. 4pm. Free. 7 Ledgewood Avenue.
The Growing Stage; 973/347-4946
Sunday, 23; Flemington
DVOOR FARM BARN . Tours led by architect Chris Pickell, at 10 am and 12:30 pm Free. 111 Mine Street.
September 21-December 7 • 12TH ANNUAL NEW JERSEY HIGHLANDS JURIED ART EXHIBIT. The exhibit features an impressive mix of original photography, paintings, sculpture and mixed media, all inspired by the landscapes, flora, fauna and historic and cultural resources of the four state Highlands region, with particular emphasis on the New Jersey Highlands.
Maxfield Engine House, 713 Main Street. ; 973/910-2400
NJAA Observatory, High Bridge
Weekends • ASTRONOMY PROGRAMS. New Jersey Astronomical Association Observatory
is open to the public every weekend from Memorial Day to Halloween.
Saturday
evening programs begin at 8:30 PM and include a tour of the facility and public
viewing of planets/deep space objects through the 26" telescope, as well as
other smaller scopes. On Sunday afternoons from 2-5 PM, the public is invited
to look at sun spots through the 10" scope equipped with special solar filters.
For additional information, call or visit NJAA’swebsite.
Above, the Rosette Nebula is approximately 130 light years in diameter and 5,000 light years from Earth. Young stars at the center excite the surrounding hydrogen gas and cause it to glow. The photograph was taken at the UACNJ site in Jenny Jump State Forest by Gregg Waldron, MMAS
Saturdays • ASTRONOMY TALKS. Presentations
followed by observing sessions, weather permitting, at the UACNJ Observatory located 1,100 feet above sea level in Jenny Jump State Forest. The site is one of the few dark sky locations left in the state and features several permanently mounted telescopes from a 7-inch APO refractor to a 16-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain.
Weekends • THE PEQUEST TROUT HATCHERY AND NATURAL RESOURCE EDUCATION CENTER hosts a series of programs about the natural world around us for young and old alike. Preregistration is usually required. Topics range from a child’s first introduction to nature to seminars for expert fly fishers.
Ongoing • TOURS OF WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS AT THE FORD MANSION.
The Washington’s
Headquarters Museum includes includes three exhibit galleries, a 30-minute introductory video, and the Discover History Center. Tours of Fords Mansion are available at 10 and 11am and at 1, 2, 3 and 4pm.
