Downtown & Main Street
RMN dispatches tagged Downtown & Main Street.
You Don’t Have to Remember a Place to Inherit Its Memory
Reported Feature
Middle-school filmmakers documented the nearly century-old Maplewood Theater at the exact moment one generation’s nostalgia is becoming another generation’s local history.
The Addams Family Never Lived in Westfield. That Hasn't Stopped the Town From Celebrating Them.
Reported Feature
As AddamsFest returns for its ninth year, the New Jersey hometown of Charles Addams is turning a fictional family into a very real community tradition.
Chestertown’s Dickens of a Christmas Returns Dec. 4-5 with a Victorian Weekend, 5K and a Downtown Full of Holiday Events
Event Downtown Chestertown · Chestertown, Maryland
The Eastern Shore festival turns historic Chestertown into a two-day holiday streetscape of bonfires, carriage rides, markets, family activities, live music, Victorian traditions and the annual Run Like the Dickens 5K.
Middle Township Packs Halloween Week With Decorated Homes, Harvest Fest and a Parade
Event Mechanic Street · Cape May Court House, New Jersey
Six days of fall festivities in Cape May Court House move from neighborhood displays to a full-day Harvest Fest before the township’s annual Halloween Parade closes out the run.
Cape May Halloween Parade Brings Costumes, Creatures and Classic Cars Downtown Oct. 25
Event Washington Street Mall · Cape May, New Jersey
The annual all-ages tradition returns to the Washington Street Mall with costume judging, decorated vehicles and a full afternoon of Halloween in the heart of Cape May.
Witches Bazaar Brings Fire, Costumes and a Little Magic to Mount Holly
Event Mill Race Village · Mount Holly, New Jersey
Mill Race Village will fill with fire twirlers, stilt walkers, dancing witches, tarot readers, live music, vendors and a crowd-judged costume contest on Oct. 17.
Hawk Ridge Farm Brings Its Fall Festival Back to Lake Hopatcong Oct. 17
Event Hawk Ridge Farm · Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey
Free admission, cider pressing, pumpkin decorating, candle making, face painting and farm animals fill a five-hour autumn afternoon in Jefferson Township.
Pennsville Sets Two October Community Events With Arts in the Park and Halloween Hayride
Event Riverview Beach Park · Pennsville, New Jersey
The second annual Arts in the Park Fall Festival returns Oct. 17, followed by a residents-only Halloween costume contest, Trunk or Treat and hayride on Oct. 22.
Upper Township’s Past Stays Alive at Three Historic Sites
Reported Feature
The Historical Preservation Society of Upper Township keeps local history tangible through a farmstead, a one-room schoolhouse and a restored railroad station.
New Jersey's Oktoberfest Season Isn't Over Yet
Reported Feature
21 celebrations still ahead in October, from Shore beer halls and rooftop breweries to farms, fundraisers and a Revolutionary War twist
Soups of the Shore Returns to Lavallette With Local Restaurants, Crafts and a Vote for the Best Bowl
Event Lavallette First Aid and Firehouse · Lavallette, New Jersey
The Oct. 17 festival turns a fall afternoon at the Jersey Shore into a $10 soup tasting, craft market and community fundraiser.
Sparta’s Thanksgiving ‘Tradition Before the Tradition’ Returns for Its 20th Year
Event Krogh's Restaurant & Brew Pub · Sparta, New Jersey
The Sparta Education Foundation Turkey Trot will bring runners, walkers and families to White Deer Plaza on Nov. 26, raising money for educational programs in the township’s public schools.
Everybody Says Put Down the Phone. Fine. Where Are We Supposed to Go?
Reported Feature
A new national survey suggests Americans want more face-to-face life. The harder question is whether we have left them enough affordable places to have one.
On Small Business Saturday, the Storefronts Are the Main Event
Event Downtown Somerville · Somerville, New Jersey
Downtown Somerville turns November 28 into a six-hour district-wide shopping day with special offers, giveaways, entertainment and a reminder that 'shop local' works best when it becomes physical.
The Rain Didn't Ruin Somerville Music Fest. It Changed the Scale of It.
Reported Event Downtown Somerville · Somerville, New Jersey
The streets were wet, the crowd was smaller, and somehow the distance between people felt shorter.
Christmas in July Missed July. South Plainfield Is Doing It Anyway.
Event South Plainfield, New Jersey
The long-running downtown celebration has moved to Sept. 27, putting tropical holiday spirit into the first week of fall.
The Comic Shop Became Part of the Town
Reported Event Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash · Red Bank, New Jersey
Kevin Smith's Red Bank footprint has grown from a fan destination into something closer to local cultural infrastructure.
For Five Days, Newark Becomes the Venue
Event Newark, New Jersey
The Newark Arts Festival returns Oct. 7-11 for its 25th anniversary with 74 artists, major headliners and programming spread across the city. At this point, the interesting question is not simply what is on the schedule. It is what an arts festival becomes after a quarter century of teaching people to experience Newark through its creative spaces.
Do Something Ridiculous Long Enough and It Becomes Tradition
Reported Feature
Cape May’s United States National Froth Blowing Competition begins with beer foam and a joke, then wanders into something much more durable: membership, ritual, memory and a row of mugs that still knows which way the ocean is.
Color, Texture and Calm Fill Flemington DIY’s September Gallery
Event Flemington DIY · Flemington, New Jersey
The “Vibrant Art Show” brings together dot mandalas, painting, crochet and acrylic pouring at the Stangl Road community arts space through Sept. 26.
The Night Downtown Somerville Turns the Holidays On
Event Downtown Somerville · Somerville, New Jersey
The annual Holiday Jubilee returns December 4 with the tree lighting, Santa, trolley rides, live entertainment and a downtown-wide evening built around being together before the season gets busy.
Somerville’s Holiday Lights Parade Is Already Taking Shape
Event Downtown Somerville · Somerville, New Jersey
The 2026 date has not been announced, but the parade’s recent first-Saturday pattern points to Dec. 5 — and Raccoon Media Network plans to dispatch live from the route.
Westfield Doesn’t Have to Borrow Halloween. It Has Charles Addams.
Event Westfield · Union County, New Jersey
AddamsFest returns for a ninth October with art, cemetery tours, storefronts, a floating family house, a 1991 movie night and a town using its own history as something more interesting than seasonal decoration.
Halloween Works Better When the Whole Downtown Plays Along
Event Downtown Somerville · Somerville, New Jersey
Somerville’s Halloween Spooktacular returns October 29 with free pumpkin painting, trick-or-treating and a family-first reason to walk the downtown in costume.
Downtown Somerville Gets a Little Stranger After Dark
Event Downtown Somerville · Somerville, New Jersey
The Spooky Night Market brings oddities, gothic goods, horror-inspired art and costume-friendly nightlife to Division Street on October 8.