"Hoboken will no longer host a Fall Arts & Music Festival along Washington Street. We will only host a Spring Arts & Music Festival." Event producer Angelina Ledesma wrote that in a memo to vendors this summer. Longtime Hoboken music journalist Jim Testa reported it first, and Hoboken Girl followed with the details.
The festival used to take over Washington Street on a Sunday each fall. Its official replacement this year was a single afternoon on the waterfront. The rest of the fall's free music, workshops and studio visits come from a separate citywide program that spreads across weeknights and weekends through November 8.
Where the festival day went
The direct replacement was the River City Fair. It's a new event named after an older, smaller Hoboken festival that later grew into the multi-stage Washington Street event. On July 14 the City Council approved a $10,000 contract with Cherokee Social to headline it. The fair moved off Washington Street to the lower waterfront along Sinatra Drive, from Newark Street to Fifth Street. It was scheduled for noon to 5 p.m. with two stages, river education programs and a Food Alley. A nor'easter pushed it from Saturday, September 26, to Saturday, October 3. On October 3, Patch still described it as an upcoming event.
That fair was a single afternoon, and it has already passed. The program that fills the rest of the fall is Hoboken Art Month, which the Hoboken Business Alliance and the City's Division of Cultural Affairs announced on October 1. It runs October 1 through November 8 and is in its third year. It puts free programming in businesses, storefronts, parks and public spaces across the city. Business workshops, artist workshops and studio tours require advance registration.
Art Month covers much of what the festival offered, including live music, hands-on making and local artists, but on different nights of the week.
| Night | What runs | Where | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mondays, Oct. 12 – Nov. 2 | Community workshops with artist-in-residence Eileen Ferara | Hoboken Historical Museum | 6–8 p.m. |
| Tuesdays, Oct. 6 – Oct. 27 | Business workshops | A different local business each week | 6:30–8:30 p.m. |
| Wednesdays, Oct. 14 – Nov. 4 | Stoopfest happy-hour music | Sidewalk cafes and streateries outside bars and restaurants | Varies, mostly 4–7 p.m. |
| Weekends through Nov. 8 | Markets, outdoor events, the parade and the Studio Tour | Waterfront, plazas, parks, Washington Street | Varies |
Wednesdays carry the live music
Stoopfest is new this year and is the Art Month series built around live music. The City describes it as live music at sidewalk cafes and "streatery" spaces outside Hoboken bars and restaurants. It calls the series "a distinctly Hoboken spin on the traditional Porch Fest concert model popular in other cities." The festival put everything on one Sunday. Stoopfest gives you a few acts at a time across several Wednesday evenings:
- October 14: Ed Fogarty at Louise & Jerry's and James Calleo at Onieal's, both 4 to 6 p.m.; Route 66 at Schmitty's Snackbar and Jack Skuller at Mulligans, both 5 to 7 p.m.
- October 21: Matty & the Cubano at Bin 14 / Madison Bar & Grill, 4 to 7 p.m.; Steve Teti at The Brass Rail and Dana Harrison at Schmitty's, both 5 to 7 p.m.; Demolition String Band at Finnegans, 7 to 9 p.m.
- October 28: Zack Alexander at Leo's Grandevous, 4 to 7 p.m.; Arthur Pawley and Lahna Deering at Guitar Bar, 5 to 7 p.m.
The series runs through November 4, but the published lineup stops at October 28. As of the City's October 1 announcement and Hoboken Girl's October 2 listing, no November 4 acts had been named. The City says more locations "will be announced soon." Most sets run at happy hour, 4 to 7 p.m. The Finnegans set is the only one that starts at 7.
Mondays and Tuesdays carry the hands-on side
The festival had artists, crafters and food vendors along Washington Street. Art Month's hands-on programming takes the form of small-group workshops with limited space.
On Tuesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., a different Hoboken business hosts a free session each week:
- October 6, Di Blu Bakery: a fall baking workshop for apple cinnamon bars, pumpkin spice cookies and pecan pie.
- October 13, Ivy Mane Studio: painting a seasonal concrete pumpkin jar.
- October 20, Tipsy Tie Dye: T-shirt tie-dye for guests 21 and up, who may bring their own wine, beer or spirits.
- October 27, Blue Skies Pottery: a 60-minute paint-a-pot session; children must be at least 4.
The Monday series is quieter and focused on Hoboken itself. Eileen Ferara is a multidisciplinary visual artist based in Jersey City. She leads four free workshops at the Hoboken Historical Museum from 6 to 8 p.m., organized around four themes: home, nature, gathering and geography. On October 12 participants make zines. On October 19 they make a stick-bound nature book from materials gathered in Hoboken's parks. On October 26 they make a pocket accordion book. On November 2 they turn old books into sculptures about Hoboken's history with the river.
There's also a Tuesday-evening option outside the business series. On October 13 from 5 to 8 p.m., Santiago Cohen, artistic director of the Día de los Muertos Festival in Jersey City, leads a puppet-making workshop in the ResilienCity Park Community Room at 12th and Adams Streets. It's open to ages 10 and up, and children must come with an adult.
Weekends move to the river, the plazas and the parks
With the weeknights covered, weekends carry the outdoor events. Most are on the waterfront or in plazas and parks off Washington Street.
On Saturday, October 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., community volunteers will repaint the "150 Years of Hoboken" mural at the edge of the Hoboken Little League Field near Fourth Street and Sinatra Drive. Residents who want to help can contact Public Arts Administrator Annie McAdams at [email protected]. The next day, Sunday, October 11, a Hoboken Artisan Market sets up at Jackson Street Plaza from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Two events end soon. Hoboken Biergarten's Oktoberfest runs on weekends through Saturday, October 17. "Light Lane" is the latest of four interactive installations the Hoboken Business Alliance brought to Hoboken in partnership with LeMonde Studio. It stays at Hudson Place Plaza through October 18.
Sunday, October 25, is the busiest day of the month and runs along the waterfront into the evening:
- The HoBOOken 5K Race & Scary Scurry Kids' Run starts at Pier A.
- The Hoboken Howl-o-ween pet costume parade and contest is at Sinatra Park Amphitheater from 3 to 6 p.m. The parade starts at 3 p.m. and judging is at 3:30.
- Movies Under the Stars shows The Nightmare Before Christmas on the Resiliency Park lawn at 6 p.m. Alessio's Cafe hosts a pumpkin patch with decorating, and hot cider, donuts and other fall snacks are for sale. Bring a low-back chair or a blanket.
Washington Street gets its fall day on October 31
The festival is gone from Washington Street, but the street still hosts one big fall event. The Hoboken Ragamuffin Halloween Parade runs on Saturday, October 31, on Washington Street from 10th Street to 5th Street. Hoboken Cultural Affairs leads it, with support from the Hoboken Business Alliance. Hoboken Now's Halloween calendar lists a 2:30 p.m. start. The coverage we reviewed didn't include road-closure details, so check with the City in the final week of October for closures and the confirmed start time before planning errands or a drive around that stretch. Businesses that want to enter a float can email [email protected].
The Studio Tour closes the season
The longest-running piece of the fall arts calendar comes last. Hoboken's Artist Studio Tour is in its 45th year. It's a free, self-guided walking tour of artist studios, galleries and public art. It opens with a reception at the Hoboken Historical Museum on Friday, November 6, from 6 to 8 p.m., with artist meet-and-greets and an art auction. Part of the auction proceeds go to the museum. Tours run Saturday and Sunday, November 7 and 8, from noon to 6 p.m., though hours vary by venue.
The stops are spread across the city: Neumann Leathers, Monroe Center, Right Angle Framing, Barsky Gallery and the Barsky Gallery Annex, Roig Gallery, Studio & Story, 6th St. Community Church, Gotan, EDG Gallery, Little Grocery, 503 Social Club, Empire Coffee, Project Studio, Urban Arts, and the museum. On Sunday, November 8, a second Hoboken Artisan Market sets up on the Pier A Walkway from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. That makes the last day of Art Month the closest thing this fall to the old festival day, with makers on the waterfront and open studios inland.
New storefronts along the way
Several newer businesses sit on Washington Street, the route between many of these events. One of them is also a Studio Tour stop.
- Studio & Story, 629 Washington Street, held its grand opening on September 12 and is on the Studio Tour.
- Uncorked Wines, 1450 Washington Street, held its grand opening on September 12.
- Sober Shot, a coffee shop at 1200 Washington Street, was reported open as of August 28.
- Dän Bakery + Cafe, 500 Washington Street, was reported open as of September 8.
- SUGARED + BRONZED, 325 Washington Street, announced its opening on August 25. It's the brand's first New Jersey location.
- Atomic Wings, 410 Washington Street, and OddFellows, 53 First Street, were listed as open in a late-September roundup.
Some are still on the way. Cuban Pete's, in the former Charrito's space at 518 Washington Street, was still under construction as of late September. Below SRO, a planned listening-room cocktail lounge at 107 10th Street, was listed as coming soon.
Thinking about listing a Hoboken home this fall? The Art Month calendar affects your showing schedule, from Wednesday happy-hour sets to a Saturday parade on Washington Street to a Studio Tour weekend. Justin Torres and the Just Sells team can plan showings and open houses around these dates and give you a clear read on value. Get a Free Home Valuation to start.
