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Weekly Roundup 9/22/2026

Weekly Roundup 9/22/2026

Celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Porchfest, Grab Your Lederhosen, Oktoberfest Is Back, Bring the Kids, It’s Pumpkin Decorating Time, Mark Your Calendar: Restaurant Week is Coming, Live Music Lowdown

Sophie Prince
September 22, 2026

Happy Tuesday, Monmouth County! We’re officially in peak festival season, where every town has a Fall Fest, Oktoberfest, PorchFest, or all three happening within a five-mile radius. I’m definitely not complaining. Give me live music, a seasonal drink, and an excuse to be outside and I’m there.

On the docket:

Celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Porchfest
Grab Your Lederhosen, Oktoberfest Is Back
Bring the Kids, It’s Pumpkin Decorating Time
Mark Your Calendar: Restaurant Week is Coming
Live Music Lowdown

Celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Porchfest

Asbury Park’s porches are about to get a whole lot louder. Asbury Park Porchfest is celebrating its 10th Anniversary on Saturday, September 26, bringing more than 100 local musicians to front porches across the city for one giant neighborhood concert.

Spend the day walking, biking or scooting from porch to porch while catching everything from rock and Americana to blues, pop and punk. The event is completely free, so you can wander around, stumble upon a new favorite band and inevitably tell your friends you discovered them first.

The best part is that all the fun supports a good cause. Porchfest raises money and awareness for local organizations and has brought in more than $50,000 for Asbury Park charities since it started.

Good music, good neighbors and a whole city full of front-row seats. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday.

Grab Your Lederhosen, Oktoberfest Is Back

Dust off the lederhosen because Highlands Oktoberfest is celebrating its 25th year on Saturday, October 3 from 12 to 7 PM at Veterans Park. The park will be decked out for fall with live music, vendors and enough German food and beer to make a trip to Bavaria feel slightly less necessary.

Bahrs Landing is handling the menu with all the classics, including bratwurst, knockwurst, potato pancakes, goulash, sauerbraten and Bavarian noodles. Wash it all down with a lineup of light and dark Oktoberfest beers, then put that arm strength to work in the beer stein holding contest.

There’s also a best-dressed contest, 50/50 drawings and plenty of craft and specialty vendors to browse between rounds of bratwurst. Admission and parking are free, so really, your biggest decision is how committed you’re willing to get with the lederhosen.

Bring the Kids, It’s Pumpkin Decorating Time

It’s officially time to embrace pumpkin season. Pumpkin Patch Day is coming to Spring Lake on Saturday, October 10 from 10 AM to 1 PM, giving the kids a chance to pick out a pumpkin and turn it into their latest masterpiece.

Head over to 3rd & Morris Avenues for a festive morning of pumpkin decorating and some easy fall family fun. It’s the perfect excuse to get outside, enjoy a crisp October morning and let someone else provide the seasonal entertainment.

Bring the kids, get creative and head home with a new pumpkin for the front porch. Best of all, the decorating mess stays out of your kitchen.

Mark Your Calendar: Restaurant Week is Coming

Consider this your official warning to start making dinner plans. Marlboro Restaurant Week runs from October 11 through October 18, with local restaurants offering special menus, deals and plenty of reasons to give your kitchen the week off.

Participating restaurants and offers will vary throughout the week, so this is one event that requires a little planning ahead. Grab some friends, pick a few places you’ve been meaning to try and start locking in those reservations before everyone else has the same idea.

Check out the link below to see which restaurants are participating, browse their Restaurant Week specials and start making your reservations. Your October dinner plans just got significantly easier.

Live Music Lowdown