Hoboken still has its fall festival in 2026. It just isn't one Sunday on Washington Street anymore. The music, the artists and the food stalls that used to fill one stretch of Washington Street for an afternoon have been separated and moved around. Live sets now happen on Wednesday evenings at streateries, artists have moved into weeknight workshops and open studios, and the food stalls have turned into a two-week Restaurant Week in November. Count from the start of Art Month on October 1 to the last night of Restaurant Week on November 22, and it comes to about seven and a half weeks.
For comparison, here's the old format. In 2022, Patch described the Fall Arts and Music Festival as a single Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., on lower Washington Street, a five-block walk from the train station. That day is gone, and this is where its parts went.
The memo that ended the Washington Street version
The change came out in mid-July. The Hoboken Girl reported that the local account What Hoboken Sounds Like posted the news on July 15. Longtime Hoboken music journalist Jim Testa had broken it first on his Constant Listener Substack. Testa reported on a memo that event producer Angelina Ledesma sent to vendors:
"Hoboken will no longer host a Fall Arts & Music Festival along Washington Street. We will only host a Spring Arts & Music Festival."
The spring festival stays on the calendar. The fall version was replaced with something smaller, held on the waterfront, with an older name.
The River City Fair brought back a 1970s name for a smaller job
The replacement was the River City Fair. That name goes back further than most people realize. According to the City of Hoboken's announcement reviving the fair, it started on the waterfront in the 1970s, while local advocates were working to open the working waterfront to the public. It became the Fall Arts & Music Festival in the mid-1990s. In other words, the festival moved inland and grew, and now it's back where it began.
The 2026 fair was planned for Saturday, September 26, and a nor'easter pushed it to October 3. The City's own announcements didn't describe the layout the same way each time. The Hoboken Girl's guide to the rescheduled date put it on Sinatra Drive between Newark Street and Fifth Street, from noon to 5 p.m. That guide listed a youth stage and a main stage in Sinatra Park, kids' activities at Pier A, a Food Alley, and Hoboken and Hudson County makers. On July 14, the City Council approved a $10,000 contract for the headliner, the Colorado indie-pop duo Cherokee Social. TAPinto Hoboken confirmed the fair went ahead on October 3, with artisans, local businesses, organizations and food trucks along the waterfront.
The fair lasted five hours on one Saturday. The rest of the old festival's work was handed to a longer program.
The music moved to Wednesday streateries
That longer program is Hoboken Art Month, which runs October 1 to November 8 and is now in its third year. The Hoboken Business Alliance and the City run it together. This year it added Stoopfest, a happy-hour music series on Wednesdays that brings regional musicians to sidewalk cafes and streateries outside Hoboken bars and restaurants. The City's announcement calls it a Hoboken take on the porch-fest concerts other cities hold.
One musician shows how the festival's acts got redistributed. Jack Skuller played the Sinatra Park main stage with his new project, Bass Envy, at the River City Fair. On the first Stoopfest night, he's playing a set at Mulligans. The lineup announced so far:
Wednesday, October 14
- Ed Fogarty at Louise & Jerry's, 4 to 6 p.m.
- James Calleo at Onieal's, 4 to 6 p.m.
- Route 66 at Schmitty's Snackbar, 5 to 7 p.m.
- Jack Skuller at Mulligans, 5 to 7 p.m.
Wednesday, October 21
- Matty & the Cubano at Bin 14 / Madison Bar & Grill, 4 to 7 p.m.
- Steve Teti at The Brass Rail, 5 to 7 p.m.
- Dana Harrison at Schmitty's, 5 to 7 p.m.
- Demolition String Band at Finnegans, 7 to 9 p.m.
Wednesday, 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 City hasn't named the acts for that night yet. Its announcement says more locations are coming. Most sets start between 4 and 5 p.m., which suits an after-work drink better than a Sunday afternoon outing.
The makers moved into workshops on Mondays and Tuesdays
The artists and crafters who used to fill festival booths now show up in free, registration-only workshops spread across early weeknights.
The Tuesday business workshops run 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. inside local shops. The Di Blu Bakery fall baking class was October 6. Still ahead are pumpkin jar painting at Ivy Mane Studio on October 13, a tie-dye session at Tipsy Tie Dye on October 20 where guests 21 and over can bring their own drinks, and a paint-a-pot hour at Blue Skies Pottery on October 27, open to kids 4 and up.
On Mondays from 6 to 8 p.m., Hoboken Teaching Artist-in-Residence Eileen Ferara leads book-art workshops at the Hoboken Historical Museum. Tonight, October 12, is zine making. October 19 is a stick-binding nature book made with materials gathered from Hoboken's parks. October 26 is a pocket accordion book. November 2 is altered book artwork about the city's relationship with the river.
Santiago Cohen, artistic director of Jersey City's Día de los Muertos Festival, runs a puppet-making workshop on Tuesday, October 13, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the ResilienCity Park Community Room at 12th and Adams Streets. It's for ages 10 and up, and kids need an adult with them. "Light Lane," the interactive installation the HBA brought in with LeMonde Studio, stays at Hudson Place Plaza through October 18.
Halloween takes up two weekends
The festival used to be the big crowd event on Washington Street each fall. With it gone, that role falls to Halloween, and this year Halloween covers two weekends.
Sunday, October 25, has two events, one after the other. The Hoboken Howl-o-ween pet costume parade runs 3 to 6 p.m. at Sinatra Park Amphitheater, according to Hoboken Now. At 6 p.m., Movies Under the Stars shows The Nightmare Before Christmas on the Resiliency Park lawn. Alessio's Cafe hosts a pumpkin patch with decorating, and hot cider and donuts will be for sale. Bring low-back chairs and blankets.
The Ragamuffin Halloween Parade is the one event still on Washington Street. It's on Saturday, October 31. Lineup is at 10th and Washington, and the parade heads down Washington to Fifth Street. Hoboken Now lists art students' puppets, floats, and pop-up activities at the end on Fifth Street. The listings disagree on the start time. Hoboken Now says lineup at 2 p.m. and step-off at 2:30, while The Hoboken Girl's Halloween guide says 4:30 p.m. Check the City's cultural affairs page before you head out with the kids.
November finishes with studios and a first Restaurant Week
The last two parts of the old festival come in November.
The Artist Studio Tour, November 6 to 8
The Artist Studio Tour is in its 45th year, and it covers what the festival's artist booths used to, at a slower pace. It's a free, self-guided walking tour from noon to 6 p.m. on November 7 and 8. A reception with artist meet-and-greets and an art auction opens it on November 6 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Hoboken Historical Museum. Stops include Neumann Leathers, Monroe Center, Right Angle Framing, Barsky Gallery and its Annex, Roig Gallery, 6th St. Community Church, Gotan, EDG Gallery, 503 Social Club, Empire Coffee, Project Studio, Urban Arts, The Little Grocery and Studio & Story. Studio & Story, at 629 Washington Street, is new this year. It's one of the recent openings in The Hoboken Girl's fall roundup. Hours can differ from one venue to the next.
Hoboken Restaurant Week, November 9 to 22
The festival's Food Alley is now a two-week citywide event, the first Hoboken Restaurant Week. When the Hoboken Business Alliance announced it, HBA board president James Runkle said "over a quarter of the city's retail space is home to food and beverage establishments." Food businesses have until November 2 to sign up.
Participants don't all follow one prix-fixe format. Each business picks its own offer. The Hoboken Girl reports two examples so far. Alessio's Cafe will serve a three-course prix-fixe lunch for $30, Thursday through Sunday. Cafe Michelina is taking 15% off its dinner menu Monday through Thursday. Confirmed participants as of October 8 include:
- Angelo Seafood Market, Antique Bar and Bakery, Barbès, Boomerang Bites
- Dolce & Salato, Empanadas Cafe, Fat Taco, Green Rock Tap & Grill
- La Bouche Cafe, La Hueca Picantería, Leo's of Hoboken, Madd Hatter
- MUTEKI RAMEN, River Street Garage, SouzaFit, Sushi Lounge
- Texas Arizona, The Little Grocery, The Waiting Room, Uncle Rocco's
Several businesses turn up in more than one part of the fall. Alessio's hosts the October 25 pumpkin patch and has an offer in Restaurant Week. The Little Grocery is both a Studio Tour stop and a Restaurant Week participant. These businesses are now doing what the festival grounds used to do.
New places to add on
A few of the fall's new openings fit in around these events. Uncorked Wines at 1450 Washington Street held its grand opening on September 12. Dän Bakery + Cafe is now open at 500 Washington Street, the same address as the new ĀTMĀ Yoga Collective.
Staci Manoukian has lived in Hoboken for more than twenty years. If you're wondering how this fall's busier streateries and studio blocks affect what your place is worth, start with an instant home valuation and then call Staci for a block-by-block read.
