FREEHOLD – October is an interesting month, especially in Monmouth County.

 

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.

 

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