5 NJ April festivals worth planning your weekend around

Spring has sprung in New Jersey. Time to get outside, breathe in the warm, fresh air, soak up the sunshine, smell the flowers, and enjoy nature.

April is chock full of festivals in the Garden State that are non-Easter related.

ALSO READ: Explore Cape May and The Wildwoods on the Coastal Cruiser 

Holland Ridge Farms Tulip Festival

April 10 (tentative opening date)

108 Rues Road, Cream Ridge

Time: Varies

Cost: $17 to $25 per person

With over 8 million tulips, you can pick your own during the farm’s tulip festival days. Create a bouquet for just $1 a stem on weekends and 50 cents a stem on weekdays. Enjoy food trucks, a bakery, merchandise, and tons of photo ops as you tiptoe through the tulips

Tulip Festival at Dalton Farms

Weekends: April 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26

660 Oak Grove Road, Swedesboro

Time: Varies

Cost: Varies

It’s Dalton Farms’ 7th Annual U-Pick Tulips extravaganza. Pick your own tulips and daffodils. Enjoy live music, food vendors, a beer garden, and more.

20th Annual Atlantic City Beer and Music Festival

Saturday, April 11

The Atlantic City Convention Center, 1 Convention Blvd, Atlantic City

Time: 12 pm to 4 pm and 6 pm to 10 pm

Cost: Starts at $93

Enjoy craft beer, music, food, and signature AC Beer Fest chaos. Attendees will explore breweries, discover new releases, food, culinary demos, a mystery beer fest to test your tasting skills, educational sessions, wing battles, wild games, a silent disco, hatchet throwing, keg tossing, and more.

Daffodil Day at Reeves Reed Arboretum

Sunday, April 12

165 Hobart Avenue, Summit

Time: 11 am to 3 pm

Price: Free (for members) and $15 for non-members

This decades-old tradition in Summit is when visitors have the opportunity to enjoy one of the largest daffodil collections in New Jersey, with over 50,000 bulbs in bloom.

The day’s activities include spring-themed games and crafts, a story trail, music, food, market vendors, the Green Goats, and of course, daffodils.

Fur Baby Festival and Pup Strut

Saturday, April 18

Freedom Park, 86 Union Street, Medford

Time: 12 pm to 6 pm

Admission: $3 to $5

It’s a full day of food, music, shopping, and tail-wagging fun as we celebrate spring and our four-legged friends. The pup strut 2K dog walk begins at 11 am—a fun, relaxed walk with your dog before the festival opens. The $25 registration fee includes a commemorative Pup Strut T-shirt, doggie treats and swag, and early access and free admission to the festival.

Festival highlights include food vendors, live music from Grand Theft Audio, face painting, a dog agility course, a pet costume contest, human and pet vendors, and games for all ages.

A portion of the proceeds benefits Friends of the Burlington County Animal Shelter.

Spring Festival at White Horse Winery

Saturday, April 18

106 Hall Street, Hammonton

Time: 11 am to 3 pm

This free family-friendly community event is the perfect way to enjoy a spring afternoon. Enjoy food trucks, local vendors and small businesses, outdoor games, live music, shopping, and entertainment. Bring a blanket and just hang out.

Bloomfest (50th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival)

Sunday, April 19

Branch Brook Park, Newark

Time: 11 am to 5 pm

Cost: Free

Celebrate the culminating event of the 50th Annual Essex County Cherry Blossom Festival with a full day of family fun in New Jersey’s pinkest park. Enjoy a vibrant lineup of activities like Japanese cultural demos, children’s programming, live music, a crafter’s marketplace, food vendors, and so much more.

About 5,300 cherry blossoms are expected to be in bloom for the festival activities, even more than in Washington, D.C.

Pickle Palooza

Saturday, April 25

Teaneck Armory, 1799 Teaneck Road, Teaneck

Time: 12 pm to 7 pm

Cost: $8 to $10

It’s all about pickles. Come dressed as a pickle to compete to become the Pickle Palooza Pickle King and Queen.

Enjoy more than a dozen pickle vendors from classic dills to wild creations. There will be a beer garden and pickle cocktails (pickle beer, pickle vodka, and more), live entertainment, a family fun zone, games, contests, local artisans, craft vendors, and more.

Lambertville Shad Fest

Saturday and Sunday, April 25-26

Downtown Lambertville, specifically the North Union Street area

Time: 11 am to 5 pm both days

Sponsored by the Greater Lambertville Chamber of Commerce, this event celebrates 43 years of art, fish, food, and fun.

At the event, enjoy food from local restaurants, quaint vendors selling hand-crafted jewelry, home accents, treats for your home and garden, kids’ activities, live music, all while celebrating the Shad.

Each spring, the Delaware River in Lambertville is home to returning Shad making their way back from the Atlantic Ocean to spawn before returning to the ocean. Locals can be found fishing for Shad on Lewis Island, the only Shad fishery left on the Delaware.

Bacon Festival at Laurita Winery

Saturday and Sunday, April 25-26

85 Archertown Road, New Egypt

Time: Saturday: 12 pm to 9 pm and Sunday: 12 pm to 7 pm

Tickets: $16 in advance and $18 at the gate

Everything is better with bacon, right? Come out to Bacon Fest at Laurita Winery. For two days, enjoy food trucks offering bacon specials, and regular fare, firepits, fireworks, live entertainment, and of course, Laurita wine by the bottle, glass, or tastings.

There will also be dessert trucks from Moonshine Chocolates, Elements by Nitro Girl, House of Cupcakes, and Maddalena's Cheesecake Co.

Princeton Porchfest

Saturday, April 25

Witherspoon Street, Birch Avenue, Jefferson Road, Moore Street, Chestnut Street, Linden Lane, Queenston Lane, Nassau Street, Aiken Avenue, Murray Place, Maclean House, Princeton University Art Museum, Palmer Square Green, and Hinds Plaza.

Time: 12 pm to 6 pm

Multiple porches around Princeton will host sets of live music throughout the day. Stroll around town to hear live local talent, grab a bite and a beverage from one Princeton’s small businesses, and enjoy a day of free fun, while supporting local music.

Check the website for all 18 participating porches and their music schedules.

Hoboken Mutzfest

Sunday, April 26

400 14th Street, Hoboken

Time: 1 pm to 5 pm

Cost: $55 for general admission

Calling all Italians! Well, anyone who loves mutz, at Hoboken’s Mutzfest.

Join everyone under the 14th Street Viaduct between Grand and Adams Street for the ultimate celebration of all things mozzarella, featuring the best mutz makers in town.
Enjoy live music, games, and plenty of cheesy goodness. Proceeds benefit the Hoboken Bike Camp.

General admission tickets get you signature dishes from six Mutzmakers, a full day of entertainment from Rostafa, a Sinatra sing-a-long contest, a cannoli eating contest, and access to the beer garden.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom