October 2026 Events in Bergen & Hudson Counties: Your Month-Ahead Guide

September's calendar hands off to October with barely a gap. The Hoboken Italian Festival wraps September 13, and by the first Saturday of October the beer gardens, street fairs, and pumpkin patches are already drawing the crowds. Whether you're looking for a family afternoon, a date night, or a reason to explore a town you're considering, October has it.

Below is my month-ahead rundown, organized roughly by weekend. As always, community calendars shift: confirm details with organizers before you head out, and check back here as I add new announcements.

Where Things Stand on October 12

We are past the halfway point of the month, and the first two weekends are now in the books. The Wallington Fall Festival, HACKENSACKtoberfest with Illumination 250, the Ridgefield Park Music Fest Street Fair, the Jersey City Cocktail Fest, the Westwood Harvest Fest, Light the Night in Paramus, the Bogota 5K, the Fort Lee Artisan Market, Teaneck Day, the Glen Rock Street Fair, and the Weehawken Community Bike Ride all came and went on schedule. The Hudson County Fair at James J. Braddock Park in North Bergen closes today, October 12, so this afternoon is your last chance at the rides, attractions, and vendors. Everything below this point is still ahead, and the month's best stretch, Halloween weekend, is still to come.

Weekend of October 3: A Big One

The month opens on Friday, October 2, with the Wallington Fall Festival in Wallington, a newly confirmed evening of seasonal fun for families as the weekend gets going. Then the first Saturday of October is stacked. HACKENSACKtoberfest returns to Atlantic Street Park in downtown Hackensack on Saturday October 3 (1-8 p.m.), with a beer garden, live music, artisan shopping, and food trucks in its seventh annual edition. The same afternoon, the city hosts Illumination 250, a new downtown celebration with live performances, art installations, and community activities, so you can pair the beer garden with a walk through the county seat's revitalized Main Street dining scene. Earlier in the week, Thursday October 1 brings an Oktoberfest networking evening at True Food Kitchen in the Teaneck Riverfront district, if you would rather toast to fall with a skyline view.

Down in Hudson County, the Harvest Festival at Hamilton Park in Jersey City lands the same afternoon (Saturday October 3, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.), free and family-friendly, and it coincides with JCFamilies' 12th Annual Cultural Diversity Festival at the same park, so you get vendors, activities, and music two ways. Also October 1-4, the Jersey City Art + Studio Tour invites you into artists' studios across the city. That evening, the new Jersey City Cocktail Fest takes over the Harborside Atrium (Saturday, October 3, 6 p.m.), a downtown showcase of the city's bartending talent that pairs neatly with the daytime festival circuit. And just over the county line, the Hudson County Fair, its 10th annual edition, opens at James J. Braddock Park in North Bergen on October 3 and runs through October 12, with carnival rides, attractions, and vendors anchoring the month in Hudson County. The park also hosts the North Bergen Fall Flea Market on October 3 and the North Bergen Autumn Flea Market on October 17 for a thrift-and-collectibles add-on. And in Ridgewood, the Fall Harvest Marketplace takes over Memorial Square Park at Van Neste Square on Saturday October 3 (11 a.m.-4 p.m.), with the Ridgewood Guild organizing local artisans and seasonal goods. Over in Ridgefield Park, the Ridgefield Park Music Fest Street Fair brings bands and local vendors to the borough the same day. Dates are always worth confirming with organizers before you head out.

Then on Sunday October 4, the Westwood Harvest Fest (the Craft, Antique & Gift Show) fills Veterans Park at Broadway and Third Avenue in Westwood from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., with local artisans, antique vendors, and seasonal crafts as the borough's walkable downtown kicks into fall. It is a low-key, family-friendly way to spend a fall Sunday, and a nice taste of Westwood's center if you have it on your list.

Mid-October: Teaneck Day and Pumpkin Season Deepens

On Sunday October 11, Teaneck Day brings Teaneck's biggest community block party back to Cedar Lane (12-6 p.m.), with food trucks, live music, and carnival games. It is the kind of afternoon that shows off the township's signature diversity, and it is free to wander. If you are weighing Teaneck, spend the afternoon on Cedar Lane and talk to the volunteers; you will learn more in three hours than in any listing tour. Also that weekend, the Fort Lee Artisan Market returns for its fall edition on Saturday October 10 in downtown Fort Lee, with local makers and seasonal goods leading into the holidays. Across the county line in Bergen, the Bogota 5K Road Run and Walk gathers neighbors on Saturday October 10 (8 a.m.) for a community race through the borough, a newly confirmed tradition for fall mornings. The week before, on Thursday, October 8, Light the Night gathers the community at the Bergen County Administration Building in Paramus (6 p.m.), a free remembrance and hope gathering honoring those affected by addiction, the county's quietly meaningful midweek anchor. And Hoboken's Artisan Market sets up along the waterfront on Sundays (including October 11) with local makers and seasonal goods. The same Sunday, the Glen Rock Street Fair & Craft Show brings vendors and crafters to downtown Glen Rock on October 11, a reliably friendly small-town afternoon to pair with a walk past the borough's train-station shops.

Weekend of October 17: Franklin Lakes Oktoberfest

Mid-month, the CL7 Oktoberfest returns to McBride Field at 813 Franklin Lake Road in Franklin Lakes on Saturday October 17 (7 p.m.), a big-tent evening with German-style food, beer and wine, and live music benefiting the Charlie Landers Foundation. It is one of Bergen County's more atmospheric fall fundraisers, and tickets typically move ahead of the date, so grab them early if the plan is in your calendar. Hoboken's Biergarten Oktoberfest closes out its multi-weekend run on October 16-17 with live music, stein-holding contests, and keg tappings, a lively way to bookend the month on the waterfront. Across the river in Jersey City, Zeppelin Hall's waterfront Oktoberfest keeps the beer-garden season going at Liberty State Park's ferry terminal through October 18, with German beers, Bavarian food, and live music, a favorite sunsets-and-skyline option for the same stretch of weekends. And in Bergen, the Fair Lawn Street Fair & Craft Show fills downtown Fair Lawn on Sunday October 18, a reliably friendly fall craft afternoon as the season's street-fair circuit winds down.

And all that week, New Jersey Restaurant Week runs October 16-22, a statewide prix-fixe dining week that pairs well with the fall menus at the newer Fort Lee, Teaneck, and Hackensack tables. It is a good excuse to try a restaurant you have been meaning to visit, and a useful taste test of a town's dining scene if you are comparing communities.

Pumpkin Patches, Hayrides, and Light Shows

October in Bergen County is peak pumpkin season, and the farms anchor the month. Abma's Farm in Wyckoff, the county's only produce-egg-meat farm, runs its U-pick pumpkin patch and hayrides on Saturdays through October, with a petting zoo and a farm store. Demarest Farms in Hillsdale opens its pumpkin patch and corn maze for weekends, and its famous drive-through Halloween Light Show, 32 acres of lights, lights up October evenings; reservations are required, and it sells out, so book ahead. Demarest also confirmed its haunted hayrides, running Fridays and Saturdays October 2-24 for the older kids who want a little scare with their fall, while its Fall Fest weekends run October 2-25. And in Allendale, Rohlser's Old-Fashioned Hayrides keep the nostalgic ride through a historic farm running through late October, with barnyard animals and a children's maze for the kids.

Late October: Halloween Season Arrives

The last two weeks of October belong to Halloween. Harvest Homecoming returns to Historic New Bridge Landing in River Edge in late October, with the Bergen County Historical Society's seasonal historic programming along the Hackensack, one of the few Bergen festivals still running that late. In Hudson County, Jersey City's The Ghost of Uncle Joe's turns the Historic Jersey City Cemetery into a Halloween music festival and fundraiser on October 23-24, and 902 Brewing Co. in Jersey City hosts its 5th annual Hudson County Fall Fest on Saturday, October 31 (11 a.m.), a free family-friendly Halloween festival with face painting, pumpkin decorating, balloon twisting, live music, and a costume contest, a great warm-up before the parade crowds. For families who want the spooky season to run a little longer, Liberty Science Center in Jersey City hosts Spooky Fest from October 3 through November 1, with science-themed Halloween activities that carry the holiday energy a day past the parade. Back in Bergen, Fort Lee's Fall-O-Ween lands on Saturday October 24, the borough's family-friendly Halloween celebration downtown. Then Halloween itself lands on Saturday October 31, and Hoboken's annual Ragamuffin Parade steps off down Washington Street in the afternoon, a traditional Halloween-day lineup at 10th and Washington around 4 p.m., with kids in costumes making the mile-long walk. It is one of the great small-town traditions in the region, and it keeps growing year after year.

For the grown-ups, Fort Lee's Barrymore Film Center hosts The Rocky Horror Picture Show with a live shadowcast on Friday, October 30 (8 p.m.), a cult-classic singalong that begins with a costume-friendly reception; it sells out most years, so grab tickets early. And in Jersey City, the Historic Downtown Special Improvement District holds its free Halloween Family Bash on Halloween day itself (Saturday, October 31), with games, a corn maze, face painting, pumpkins, and bouncy houses set up across the downtown, the family-friendly warm-up for trick-or-treating that evening in the city's blocks.

Fall Markets Into October

The harvest season keeps several Bergen County markets open deep into the month. Harrington Park Farmers Market runs Sundays through October 11 at Hoelscher Field (10 a.m.-2 p.m.). The Fair Lawn Farmers Market is open Wednesdays through October at the Arboretum, Ramsey Farmers Market keeps its year-round Sunday run at the train station, and Fort Lee Farmers Market holds its Sunday 8 a.m.-2 p.m. slot with peak-season Jersey produce through the month. Across the river, the Hoboken Farmers' Market keeps Tuesdays going at Church Square Park (2-7 p.m.) through November, and the Downtown Farmers' Market continues Thursdays (3-7 p.m.) through November 20. For a town-by-town list, and which markets run year-round, see our farmers markets guide.

Looking Ahead: Early Holiday Shopping and December Kickoffs

The first holiday dates are already posting for the weeks after Halloween. November opens with a fresh run of confirmations: Hoboken's Artists' Studio Tour visits artists' workspaces around the Mile Square on Monday, November 2, hosted by the Mile Square Theatre; Little City Books presents Freedy Johnston's Tuesday Night Live with Warren Zanes on Wednesday, November 4; and the W Hoboken hosts Sinatra Nights on Thursday, November 5 (7-9 p.m.), a live tribute to the city's most famous son. The same night, Art House Productions opens "I'm Thankful For… A Thanksgiving Storytelling Show" in Jersey City. Over in Bergen, Ridgewood's Holiday Walk-Through and Village Lighting is set for November, the downtown's festive lights-and-carolers kickoff. Then the Hoboken Artisan Market adds a Sunday, November 8 date at Pier A Walkway (11 a.m.-4 p.m.), an early chance at holiday shopping with local makers along the waterfront. The full month is covered in our November 2026 events guide. Then the tree lightings arrive: Jersey City lights its tree on Friday, December 4, Hoboken on Friday, December 11, and Fort Lee holds its Holiday Night Market on Saturday, December 5 (4-9 p.m. at Fort Lee Commons), with Santa Saturday on December 5 and again December 12. Mark the calendar early: these are the dates locals plan around, and they fill fast.

November has its own full month-ahead guide now live, covering Hoboken Restaurant Week (November 9-22, the city's first), the Bergen Town Center Fall Festival in Paramus (November 8), Veterans Day observances, and the first holiday lantern nights at Van Saun County Park. Find it here: November 2026 events in Bergen & Hudson Counties.

Scott's Bottom Line

October is when Northern NJ communities slow down just enough to notice each other. Between Hackensack's beer garden and Illumination 250, Teaneck's block party, Demarest's 32-acre glow, and Hoboken's costumed Halloween parade, there is a reason to be outside almost every weekend. As someone who has shown homes in these towns for more than three decades, I tell clients the same thing every fall: come spend an October afternoon in the town you are considering. Walk a farmers market. Eat at a place that has been there thirty years. Watch the volunteers set up for a block party. You will learn more in an afternoon than in a month of listings.

Already settled, or still deciding? I would love to help you connect with the right town for your next chapter. Reach me at (201) 970-3960 or Scott@sellecksellsnj.com, or book a free discovery call below.