Things To Do

Montclair Film Festival

Family

April 26-May 6: Montclair Film, a nonprofit organization, showcases the talents of new and established filmmakers during its 11-day film festival at venues throughout the downtown. 

Spook Handy is Fueling the Folk Music Flame

Spook Handy will carry his guitar and “torch” onto the stage of the New Jersey Folk Festival on April 28 for the 17th consecutive year.

Communiversity ArtsFest

Arts

April 29: The Arts Council of Princeton hosts this rain-or-shine event with more than 200 artists and merchants, live entertainment on six stages, kid friendly activities, and food vendors. 

Power in the Pines Open House and Air Show

Family

May 5-6: The U.S. Air Force Demonstration Team and the U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team perform aerial stunts at Power in the Pines Open House and Air Show.

Creative Arts & Music Festival

Arts

May 5: Juried artists display pottery, photography, glass, sculptures and paintings at the Creative Arts & Music Festival. Stop by the outdoor music tent, community mural, food vendors and art demonstrations.

Cowtown Rodeo

Family

May 26-Sept 29: Saddle up, cowboy! Travel back to the Wild West every Saturday night during the summer at Cowtown Rodeo, the oldest running weekly rodeo in the country, with bull riding, steer wrestling and barrel racing. 

Westfield Hops

Festival

April 28: Sample 100 styles of craft beer and cider, listen to live music and shop at vendor booths.

Allaire BBQ & Brew Fest

Festival

April 28-29: Visit Allaire Village for two days of hops and hogs, featuring a beer garden and food trucks. Have fun at the blacksmith, carpentry, and fiber-art demonstrations, too. 

Beer BBQ Bacon Showdown

Festival

May 19: Tantalize your taste buds with comfort food and craft beer from 30 New Jersey breweries at the Beer BBQ Bacon Showdown.

Author Jason Wilson: “Godforsaken Grapes” Book Discussion & Wine Tasting

Books

April 26: Inkwood in Haddonfield welcomes author Jason Wilson to discuss his new book “Godforsaken Grapes” and offer us samples of obscure wines to go with it!

Holland Ridge Farms Tulip Festival

Festival

*date updated* April 21: Holland Ridge Farms celebrates spring with a Tulip Festival, an event that brings over one million colorful tulips to our 140-acre farm in Cream Ridge.

10th Annual Collingswood Green Festival

Family

April 28: Join the growing sustainability community at the 10th Annual Collingswood Green Festival along Irvin Avenue. Buy rain barrels, shop at the farmer’s market, sign-up for the bike-share program, and drop off old electronics in the recycling area. 

Project E.A.R.T.H

Family

April 29: Join a scavenger hunt on the Environmental Education Center’s trails to learn about the Great Swamp and its inhabitants. 

Sip Into Spring Festival

Family

May 12: Celebrate spring with gardening and nature demonstrations, live music, food, drinks, crafts and more at the Sip Into Spring Festival. 

Cape May Designer Show House

Tours

April 27-Oct 31: The historic 1911 John P. Forsythe House is this year’s Cape May Designer Show House. You’re invited to step inside this three-floor oceanfront mansion with its three porch areas, a spiral staircase and dry sauna. 

Asbury Park Music & Film Festival

Festival

April 27-29: Danny DeVito, Sublime with Rome, Wycleaf Jean, and Gov’t Mule headline the Asbury Park Music & Film Festival, which also features documentary screenings and panel discussions in Asbury Park.

May Laser Shows at Ocean County College Planetarium

Family

Enjoy a celestial experience at the Robert J. Novins Planetarium (Bldg #13) on the Ocean County College Main Campus in Toms River. This month, there will be laser Zeppelin, Beatles, Metallica and Pink Floyd.

Shen Yun Chinese Dance at NJPAC

Dance

April 27-May 3: The classical Chinese dance and music company returns to NJPAC with a show about ancient legends and modern heroes.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at NJPAC

Dance

May 11-13: Activist choreographer Alvin Ailey founded the globally renowned dance company in 1958. All performances at NJPAC include Revelations, the signature dance that pays tribute to African-American culture. 

Patti LuPone at State Theatre New Jersey

Music

May 6: Patti LuPone, the twotime Tony winner, explores her spectacular Broadway career through interpretations of classic show tunes by the likes of Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Irving Berlin. 

Kevin Hart at Boardwalk Hall

Comedy

May 26: Comedian Kevin Hart is also an actor, who most recently starred in the movie Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle alongside Dwayne Johnson and Jack Black. 

TedxAsburyPark

Lectures

May 19: Passion is this year’s theme for TedxAsburyPark. Speakers include former supermodel Paulina Porizkova, transgender activist Karen Holmes, former Joffrey Ballet School director Michael Blake, and Sebastian Terry (below), author of the bucket-list book, 100 Things. 

Paper Mill Playhouse Presents: “The Sting”

Theater

March 29-April 29: Based on the Oscar-winning 1973 film, the world-premiere production follows two con men who bring down Chicago’s most corrupt racketeer. 

Grand Theatre Presents: “Hair”

Theater

April 26-May 12: This rock musical about the hippie counterculture and sexual revolution of the late 1960s follows a group of activists as they fight against the Vietnam War-era draft through love and understanding of others. 

Broadway Theatre of Pitman: “Can-Can”

Theater

April 20-May 13: Get ready for high-kicking choreography and the story of an unlikely romance between a noble judge and an immoral dance-hall owner in 1893 Paris. 

Two River Theater Presents: “Dancing at Lughnasa”

Theater

April 14-May 13: Brian Friel’s Tony-winning play is told from the point of view of Michael Evans. He recounts one summer in Ireland at a cottage with his five unmarried aunts. 

South Camden Theatre Company Presents: “Artemisia”

Drama

May 4-20: The South Camden Theatre Company stage turns into Venice in 1610 for this world premiere play by Lee Kiszonas about Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the most accomplished female Italian Baroque painters of the time.

Levoy Theatre Presents: “Steel Magnolias”

Theater

May 11-13: This hilarious story of love and loss focuses on six Southern spitfires who gather each week to gossip at Truvy’s beauty shop in Chinquapin, Louisiana. 

Monmouth Museum Presents: “Cuba Today”

Arts

March 18-May 12: Experience the culture, history and diversity of Cuban cities such as Guantánamo and Havana through the photographic exhibit, “Cuba Today.” 

Zimmerli Art Museum Presents: “Impressions: Prints of Mexico, 1930s-40s”

Arts

Thru July 31: Following the Mexican Revolution, numerous artists visited the country to witness the mural movement and flourishing printmaking community.

Vintage Fashion on View at Morris Museum

The show, which runs through July 22, offers a style-savvy visual tour through history via a compilation of accessories, dresses and shoes from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

Grounds for Sculpture Presents: Japanese artist Masayuki Koorida

Arts

May 5-March 17: Japanese artist Masayuki Koorida’s primary medium is stone. This solo exhibition includes 26 large-scale sculptures carved in granite and marble.