Think February is boring? Not at these 10 festivals in NJ

🎉 February is packed with New Jersey fun in 2026

❄️ Winter boredom doesn’t stand a chance against these 10 can’t-miss events

📍 Enjoy beer, s'mores, goats, hot cocoa, and more

Oh yeah, it’s cold. Frigid cold. Arctic cold. Is this New Jersey or the tundra region?

It’s easy to stay snuggly and cozy inside your house next to the fireplace, sipping hot chocolate and binge-watching Netflix on the weekends with this cold.

ALSO READ: Check out New Jersey's most adorable athletes 

But no. Get out there and enjoy all the festivals and events New Jersey has to offer this February.

Wassailing the Apple Trees

Sunday, February 1

Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road, Princeton

Time: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Help celebrate the ancient British tradition. Wassailing the apple trees was popular in cider-making regions of England where people would gather around a big, old apple tree to sing, make noise to scare away spirits, and toast the tree’s health with warm cider.

The Mount Family has made it a tradition to invite the public to the farm every winter to dance and sing, and celebrate the protection of the orchards to ensure a successful crop next season.

Enjoy re-enactments of old English traditional rituals, toast with hot cider, and place gifts of cider-soaked bread in the tree branches, while chanting lively words of praise. Top off the evening with a bonfire, complete with marshmallows, and live music playing traditional music using violins and flutes. Bring noisemakers, drums, whistles, and bells.

Atlantic City Punk Rock Flea Market

Sunday, February 1

Anchor Rock Club, 274 S. New York Avenue, Atlantic City

Time: 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Cost: $11.76 (online and includes fees)

Do some serious shopping at this super cool flea market featuring vendors offering records, oddities, vintage clothing, crafts, antiques, upcycled goods, original art, and more. Enjoy drink specials, coffee, baked goods, and other snacks while jamming out to punk rock tunes.

Snow Fest

Sunday, February 1

Wicoff House Museum, 641 Plainsboro Road, Plainsboro

Time: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Celebrate the snow with this free family event. Enjoy snow crafts, stories, ice carvings, inflatables, character visits (including Olaf from Disney’s “Frozen”), s’mores, hot chocolate, snow cones, and so much more.

Highlands Annual Beef and Brew

Sunday, February 1

Proving Ground, 56 Shrewsbury Avenue, Highlands

Time: 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Cost: $50

The 16th Annual Highlands Beef and Brew St. Patrick’s Day Parade Fundraiser is happening. Enjoy a buffet dinner, a gift auction, Irish step dancers, and a pipe band. Your entry ticket also includes two beer tickets.

All proceeds will benefit the 2026 St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 21st at 2pm at Huddy Park in Highlands.

New Jersey Reptile Show

Sunday, February 8

VFW Post 2179, 460 Route 36, Port Monmouth

Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tickets: $20 to $70

The 2nd annual New Jersey Reptile Show welcomes you to the magnificent world of reptiles. The expo is a one-day showcase where hobbyists, breeders, and those curious about reptiles can come together to explore their world.

On hand will be exotic pet shops, licensed breeders, vendors, and animal care professionals with over 70 tables where you can browse and shop.

Popular categories include geckos, snakes, lizards, amphibians, invertebrates (tarantulas, jumping spiders, scorpions, roaches, millipedes, and isopods), and mammals (hedgehogs, sugar gliders, skunks, and possums).

Czig Meister StoutFest

Saturday, February 14

Czig Meister Brewery, 106 Valentine Street, Hackettstown

Time: 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The 9th Annual Stout Fest is a full day of beer---and on Valentine’s Day. More than 40 rich stouts will be on hand for tasting. There will also be food trucks, cozy fire pits, and a cigar lounge.

S’mores and Goats

Saturday and Sunday, February 14 and 15

Gorgeous Goat Creamery, 71 Featherbed Lane, Stockton

Time: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Cost: $17, Kids 3-12 yrs $12

Roast marshmallows around the campfire, enjoy a cup of hot cocoa or tea, and hang with goats. This event is 100% outside, so dress accordingly. There will be four campfires for your group to enjoy. Each admission comes with a kit to make two s’mores, bottomless hot cocoa or tea, and lots of snuggles with goats.

Highlands Chili Cookoff 

Sunday, February 22

The Chubby Pickle, 23 Bay Avenue, Highlands

Time: 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Tickets: $45

Warm up this frigid winter with a hot bowl of chili. Your ticket includes samplings of chili, two beer tickets, and two voting ballots. There will be performances by bagpipe bands and Daly’s Irish Dancers.

There will be two chili cook-off contests. The “Professional” Cook Off (commercial) will begin at 4 pm, and the “Amateur” Cook Off (residents) will begin at 5 pm.

All proceeds will benefit the 2026 St. Patrick’s Day Parade, taking place on March 21st, 2 p.m., with a step off at Huddy Park, Highlands.

Fire Trucks and Fire Pits

Sunday, February 22

New Egypt Flea Market Village, 933 Monmouth Road, Cream Ridge

Time: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Cost: Free

Bring your appetite, grab a warm seat by the fire, and enjoy a full day of food trucks, cozy firepits, shopping, community and fun at one of New Jersey’s favorite flea markets.

Mac and Cheese Mayhem

Saturday, February 28

Morristown Armory, 430 Western Avenue, Morristown

Time: 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Cost: $7 (advance tickets recommended)

Things are going to get real cheesy at this Mac and Cheese event. Local chefs and restaurants are cooking up variations of mac and cheese while competing for the best mac in town. Be there to try everything for yourself, and don’t forget to vote for the Mac Daddy Award.

This will be a comfort-food-filled-family-fun day with music, beer, margaritas ad sangria available for purchase, vendors, kids activities, hatchet throwing, a petting zoo, face painting, sand art, and more.

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