The final hints of summer are in the air and on the trees, but temperatures
are cooling, the sky seems a lighter shade of blue and there’s activity
everywhere. There are farmers’ markets, plays, concerts, festivals and even a
celebration of the Navy’s 234^th anniversary.

 

There are so many things to see and do you’ll want to visit Monmouth
County’s Tourism Calendar of Events. Log onto www.visitmonmouth.com, click on the Tourism link.
You’ll find the calendar and a wealth of information about county attractions
and activities. Or you can call 1 800-523-2587 to have a package of information
mailed to you.

 

It wouldn’t be October without the Columbus Day parade in Long Branch on
Oct. 11,where 18 bands will help hundreds of marchers and lots of floats head
down Broadway. And don’t miss Spring Lake’s Columbus Day Festival/Art Walk Oct.
10-11. 

 

You have two days to complete this mission: visit all 11 New Jersey
lighthouses Oct. 17-18 for the 10^th Annual New Jersey Lighthouse
Challenge. Monmouth County has three of the best – Sandy Hook, Twin Lights and
Sea Girt.

 

Halloween has become a month-long event: Keyport has a haunted house on
weekends; Edgar Allen Poe’s dark and moody classics and The Legend of Sleepy
Hollow are resurrected at Allaire Village; Halloween parades are in Red Bank and
Ocean Township. Historic Allaire Village in Allaire State Park, Wall, presents
All Hollow’s Eve Oct. 11 with a costume parade and free pumpkins while they
last. A haunted hayride is Oct. 16-17 and the annual flea market is Oct.
10.

 

Monmouth County’s jewel of a park, Historic Walnford in Upper Freehold,
will take you on a trip back through the centuries on Oct. 4. Thompson Park Day
in Middletown presents a more modern fall theme with pumpkin painting, a
scarecrow contest and much more on Oct. 18.

 

Town festivals in Allentown, Belmar, Hazlet, Atlantic Highlands, Long
Branch’s Pier Village, Englishtown, Bradley Beach and Spring Lake are sure to
please as well. Expect First Saturday in Asbury Park to have a few surprises,
too. The 5^th Annual Russian and Slavic Festival has the magnificent
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral as a backdrop in Howell on Oct. 4.

 

There are concerts, plays, art exhibits, street performers, a unique
triathlon and even a surf fishing clinic. Find the details at www.visitmonmouth.com  and go to Tourism for details.