Offbeat Summer Festivals in New Jersey

7/16/13 - By Tracy

July and August are prime festival months here in New Jersey. On any given weekend (and sometimes weekdays) you can find a town offering a craft fair, a 4-H festival perfect for children and adults, or some street party with a bounce house and grilled meat on a stick. If you're the kind of person who travels off the beaten path, however, you'll also find some other lesser known events that are pretty darn neat. Here are a few of our favorite "offbeat" summer festivals in NJ.

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This weekend (July 20-21st) Historic Cold Spring Village will be hosting their 9th annual Celtic Festival. There will be historical demonstrations, children's games, plenty of hands-on-fun, and a pub tent for Mum and Dad (can't go wrong with that..) Throw in some delicious Celtic fare, craft tents, and you're bound to have a great time.

On July 27th join folks who are keen on going green, and living a healthy lifestyle at the Soulsational Music and Wellness Festival, located in Veterans Park Bayville NJ. This festival will have it all with live music, raffles, group yoga and mediation, yummy organic/vegan food, activities for children and speakers educating the public on living a healthy lifestyle.

Also the weekend of the 27th, there's the Children's Storybook Festival at the Camden's Children's gardens. If you haven't been, the gardens are a dreamy fairytale place filled with nooks and crannies perfect for imaginary play. During the festival they will be reading fairy tale classics, working on crafts, and children will have the opportunity to plant their on magic beans in the Giants garden.

Come August you can expose your little ones to Jazz and Blues in Morristown. This festival runs from 12pm-10pm which makes it perfect for parents with long, hot afternoons to fill. Pack a blanket, grab some take-out from one of the many cafes and restaurants in town and head to the Morristown Green to enjoy free, live music.

Warren County Farmers Fair always draws thousands of people, but they aren't there for the cows... it's the hot air balloons lining the fields (and the skies!) from July 27th-August 3rd. While most parents and children are in awe of the size and design of the balloons, few folks know you can purchase your own hot air balloon ride! Have older kids who live for adventure? This might be right up their alley.

And lastly, you've heard of Woodstock, but what about Hollystock? Mount Holly has its own free music festival that's Jerseys version of the iconic 60's festival, taking place on August 10th. Created to draw folks to learn about the awesomeness the town has to offer. With live music, good food and local vendors this family-friendly festival seems like another opportunity to expose your kids to great music.