September - October Overview: North Jersey Events

 It's Sweater Weather, nerds!  Don your Cosbyest pullover for this month's Harvesty goodness:

Week of Sept 16 --Boonton Restaurant Week

Friday Nights through September -- Music on Main Street, Clinton (free)

Weekends through October -- NJ Film Fest at Rutgers returns ($10/ticket)

Sept 21 -- Staged Radio Play: Batman!  in Metuchen ($10)

Sept 22, 23 -- Oktoberfest at Crystal Springs Resort in Vernon ($5/day)

Sept 23 -- Red Bank Guinness and Oyster Festival

Sept 23 -- Storytelling Festival at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton (cost of admission)

Sept 27, 28, 29 -- Celebrate Sean Connery at Historic Loew's Jersey City for a measly $7/show

Sept 29 -- Open Space and Horse Festival in Freehold ($15 adv/$20 gate)

Sept 29, 30 -- Chester Lions Club Oktoberfest and Antique Car Show ($6/adults; see site for parking pass)

Sept 30 -- Union County Harvest Festival ($4)

October 1 -- A Taste of Bergen 

October 5 -- Boonton Art Walk (4 - 9 PM, free)

Oct 6 & 7 --Harvest Festival in Chester

Update: Things to Do in a Jersey August

Squeeze the last bits of juice out of summer at these Food, Music, Culture and Bargain Nerd events:

Aug 22 - 26 -- St. Sebastian Italian Feast, Montclair
Aug 22 - 26 -- Hunterdon 4H Fair, Ringoes
Aug 25 -- Garden State Rollergirls Rummage Sale, Wallington
Aug 25 -- Camelfest Music Festival at Maxwell's, Hoboken

Aug 29 -- Great Tomato Tasting at Rutgers Extension Farm in Pittstown

Unique Dining NJ

Nerd Alert takes a break from events (see post below for August happenings) to report on some of the unusual dining experiences to be had in North-Central Jersey.  Below is a small sampling; if you've got a unique eatery to recommend, let us know at nerdalertnorthjersey at gmail dot com, or leave a comment on our Facebook page.  Remember, every time you can support a small business instead of a chain, you are supporting Jersey!

Marakesh Parsippany
Moroccan food; Belly dancer every Friday and Saturday night

Cafe y Canela Boonton (link is to the Morristown location)
Columbian food (and adjacent bakery) in the old retro Main Street Diner (and former Sopranos location)

Clinton Station Diner (Route 78)
Dine in a train car, or watch model trains move around the ceiling of the main dining room.  This place is also known for its gigantic and disgusting burger challenges.  For a much more swank (read: expensive) train car dining experience, try Rod's Steak House in Madison.

Makeda Ethiopian New Brunswick
Live entertainment and no utensils; Montclair has its own Ethiopian offering, Mesob.

Shanghai Jazz Madison
Come for the music, cocktails, and experience; food is a little pricey for what it is and the dining area is jam packed

Fork & Screen West Orange, Bridgewater, & Metuchen AMC Theatres
Watch your movie on the big screen in a comfy chair with table service; Nerds with Kids may also want to check out the Dunellen Cinema Cafe

Here's what's upcoming in August; there's a whole month of summer left, y'all!

Through Aug 4 -- Warren County Farmer's Fair (Harmony Twp)
Aug 3 -- First Friday Art Walk/Late Night in Downtown Boonton
Aug 3 -12 -- NJ State Fair/Sussex Farm & Horse Show (Sussex County Fairgrounds)
Aug 3, 4, 5 -- Sidewalk Sales and other special events in Clinton
Aug 4 -- Bergen County 4H and Master Gardener Fair (FREE -- Paramus)
Aug 4 -- Peach Festival in Chester

Aug 7 -- National Night Out at Mennen Arena in Morris (Free skating!)
Aug 9, 10, 11 -- Somerset County 4H Fair (Free -- Bridgewater)
Aug 11 -- Spider Man at Somerset Patriots (with Fireworks!)
Aug 11 -- Classic Car Show & Craft Fair at the Farmer's Market (Downtown Boonton)
Aug 11 -- The Empire Strikes Back Live Radio Version in Metuchen

Aug 18 -- Jazz and Blues Festival on the Green (Morristown)
Aug 18 -- Lackawanna Music Festival (Hoboken)

Aug 29 -- Annual Great Tomato Tasting at Rutgers Extension Farm in Pittstown

July Weekends in North and Central Jersey

NANJ is back from vacation and ready to amp up the nerd.  All of the info, none of the snark.

Through July 8 -- State Fair at The Meadowlands

Through July 10 -- Califon Fireman's Carnival
Through July 29 -- A Comedy of Errors on the Outdoor Stage at St. E's

July 7 -- Historical Walking Tour of Dover
July 7 -- Bag of Books Sale at Maplewood Library
July 7 -- Middletown Jazz and Blues Festival
July 7 & 8 -- Maplewoodstock
July 7 -- Bluegrass Festival & Pig Roast in Chester
July 7 -- North Plainfield Fireworks and Concert

July 11 -- Masterwork Chorus Summer Sings continues in Summit

July 11-15 -- Mount Olive Carnival and Community Week
July 12-15 -- Black Potatoe Music Festival in Clinton
July 13 -- Fright Night Skate in Parsippany
Starting July 13 -- Free Drive-in Movies in Bridgewater
July 14 -- Artisan Market at the Boonton Farmer's Market
July 15 -- Street Fair in Nyack
July 15 -- Latin-American Festival of Folklore Raices de America at Exchange Place in Jersey City

July 18 -- Annual Sandcastle Building Contest in Belmar
July 25 -- Union County Summer Arts Concert Series continues
July 27-29 -- Balloon Festival in Whitehouse Station
July 28 -- Tomato Hoedown at Sunset View Farm in Andover Twp.


Ongoing -- Walk alongside actual-size animatronic dinosaurs that are programmed to respond to your movement in Secaucus

Grab a cheap seat (that's all of them) and support the Somerset Patriots, Trenton Thunder, or Newark Bears; lots of times they have fireworks!


Upcoming --
August 3-12 -- NJ State Fair at the Sussex County Fairgrounds
August 29 -- Annual Great Tomato Tasting at Rutgers Extension Farm in Pittstown

In other news -- July is Small Business Month.  Whatever the political candidates say, we're the ones who really support Main Street.  Show your patriotic pride by shopping local, this month and every month.

Summer Explodes! In North Jersey, Central Jersey: Things to Do June 1, 2, 3

Nerds, there is so much happening this weekend that we cannot take the time to create witty quips.  Here's the list; no excuses now... Summer's here!

Friday:
Main Street Nerd, Artsy Nerd: First Fridays in Boonton: Main on Canvas
Music Nerd, Main Street Nerd: Live Music on the streets of Clinton
Festival Nerd, Music Nerd, Nerds with Kids: RiverFest in Red Bank begins
Movie Nerd, Nostalgia Nerd: The Landmark Loews Jersey City shows classic comedies all weekend
Movie Nerd, Festival Nerd, Nerd Loves a Bargain: The NJ International Film Festival Spring season begins, and promises free food!
Music Nerd, Festival Nerd, Food Nerd: The Crawfish Fest returns to the Sussex County Fairgrounds, beginning today.

Saturday:
Nerds with Kids: Kidstock! in Maplewood
Culture Nerd, Food Nerd: Hungarian Festival in New Brunswick
Artsy Nerd, Nerds with Kids: Anniversary Arts Party at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton
Nerd Loves a Bargain, Artsy Nerd: Affordable Art Fair at the Montclair Art Museum
Culture Nerd, Main Street Nerd: African-American Heritage Parade and Festival in Montclair
Outdoorsy Nerd, Food Nerd, Nerds with Kids: Strawberry Festival in Hackettstown

Sunday:
Culture Nerd, Food Nerd: Polish Heritage Festival, Holmdel
Culture Nerd, Activist Nerd: LGBTI Pride Celebration, Asbury Park
Artsy Nerd: Annual South Orange/Maplewood Artists Studio Tour 
Festival Nerd, Main Street Nerd: Montvale Street Festival and Craft Show

Not enough?  What kind of difficult-to-entice monster are you?  Perhaps Sports Nerds would like to support one of North-Central Jersey's minor league baseball teams: the Newark Bears, Somerset Patriots, or Trenton Thunder.

Upcoming: June 30: The Princeton Prowl Scavenger Hunt by Watson Adventures, one of the few NJ-based hunts the company does.  Weird wacky fun, but they sell out ahead of time.

Memorial Day Weekend: Music, Main Street, and Memory

Music Nerds have lots to choose from this weekend:

A Blues & Wine Festival in Peapack-Gladstone
Music on street corners in downtown Clinton
The last weekend of the Raritan River Music Festival, also in Clinton
"Homespun Jersey Bands" at the Montclair Music Jam

Other events sure to have music (and plenty for Main Street Nerds, Festival Nerds, Nerds with Kids, Food Nerds and Culture Nerds) include the Downtown West Orange Festival and in Newark, the African American Heritage Festival.

Maplewood holds its annual Rubber Duck Race on Monday.

Every small town is sure to have a parade, and everyone's sure to have a flag.  Don't forget to remember.