The big fall events Morristown NJ has on the calendar are Festival on the Green (Sunday, Oct. 4), the Morristown Festival of Books (Oct. 9 and 10), Pumpkin Illumination at Vail Mansion Plaza (Saturday, Oct. 24) and the downtown trick-or-treat (Friday, Oct. 30). Around those four, the Sunday farmers market runs into late November, Fosterfields opens its farm on October weekends, and the Mayo Performing Arts Center has shows most weeks.
This guide covers what’s happening this season: what each event is and who it suits, based on what the organizers publish. For exact times, new additions and weather changes, use the Pulse Morristown events calendar. It is updated as organizers post news, which this page can’t do.
The Morristown fall festival: Festival on the Green
When people search for “the Morristown fall festival,” they usually mean Festival on the Green. The Morristown Partnership has run it since 1994 and calls it “the premier fall festival in Northern New Jersey.” After moving from its original Sept. 27 date, the 31st edition is Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, from noon to 5 p.m. across the Green and downtown.
The Partnership lists five entertainment areas, children’s amusements, carnival games, a beer tent and more than 170 exhibitors, from local businesses and restaurants to community groups. The festival also hosts the Living History Weekend History Corridor of Morris County historic sites and organizations on Sunday, Oct. 4, from noon to 5 p.m., according to the Morris County 250th committee.
It runs rain or shine, and the Partnership lists no rain date. Our Festival on the Green listing will carry any day-of notes.
Living History Weekend: Morristown marks America’s 250th
Living History Weekend is a Morris County program marking America’s 250th anniversary. Its schedule began with a history trivia night on Friday, Sept. 25, which was still on as of Friday afternoon, according to Morristown Green. The Saturday, Sept. 26 encampment on the Green was postponed, and no new date has been announced. The Sept. 26 programs at Macculloch Hall, the Sansay House and the Presbyterian Church were called off because of the nor’easter forecast, as reported by Morristown Green. Our guide to how Morristown is celebrating America’s 250th has the details.
Early October: a farm wine festival and a rare house tour
The first weekend of October brings two very different fall events Morristown NJ residents can reach with a short drive or walk from the Green.
Grand Harvest Wine Festival, Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 3 and 4
The festival runs from noon to 5 p.m. both days at Fosterfields Living Historical Farm on Kahdena Road. The organizer, New Jersey Wine Events, lists New Jersey wineries, food trucks, artisans and live music. Wine sampling is for guests 21 and older. Tickets and rules are on the organizer’s event page.
Historic District House Tour, Sunday, Oct. 4
Macculloch Hall Historical Museum holds this tour once every two years, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It opens seven private homes, a featured garden, the Kellogg Club and the museum itself. Tickets are sold through Macculloch Hall. Because it comes around only every other year, it’s one of the rarer fall events Morristown NJ has. It now falls on the same day as Festival on the Green, which runs from noon to 5 p.m. downtown.
Mid-October: the Morristown Festival of Books
The Festival of Books brings more than 85 authors to town over two days. On Friday, Oct. 9, Malcolm Gladwell gives the ticketed keynote at MPAC. Tickets are sold through the festival.
Saturday, Oct. 10 is the main festival day, and it’s one of the free fall events Morristown NJ hosts. Author talks are spread along South Street at St. Peter’s Church, the Church of the Redeemer, the Presbyterian Church Parish House and the Morristown & Morris Township Library. Book sales and signings are under the tent at the Vail Mansion. KidFest runs from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on St. Peter’s lawn, rain or shine, with children’s authors, crafts and balloon art. The festival’s own site has the full author schedule.
Pumpkin season: a farm by day, a glowing plaza by night
Fall Farm Fun at Fosterfields
On Saturdays and Sundays in October, the Morris County Park Commission’s working farm presses apples into cider, runs wagon rides and lets visitors pick their own pumpkins. You’re only guaranteed a pumpkin if you register in advance. It’s the most hands-on of the family fall events Morristown NJ has nearby. Weekend hours and the full list of dates are on the Park Commission’s Fosterfields page.
Pumpkin Illumination, Saturday, Oct. 24
It’s one of the quieter fall events Morristown NJ families can put on the calendar. Morris Arts invites families to come in costume and bring a carved pumpkin to set around the reflecting pool at Vail Mansion Plaza, 110 South St. Morris Arts provides the electric tea lights, and the event is free.
Morris Arts’ schedule:
- 5 p.m.: a Sleepy Hollow story
- 6 p.m.: an art workshop
- 6:30 p.m.: a luminary mask parade
- 6:45 p.m.: the illumination
The rain date is Sunday, Oct. 25. Morris Arts asks families to register so they get weather updates.
Halloween in downtown Morristown
The Morristown Partnership’s downtown trick-or-treat is Friday, Oct. 30, from 3 to 5 p.m. Costumed kids have been trick-or-treating at Morristown businesses for almost 30 years. Participating businesses display a “Participant Pumpkin” sign, and a limited number of spots on the Green are set aside for businesses without a storefront children can safely reach.
Residential trick-or-treat hours for Halloween itself, Saturday, Oct. 31, have not been announced by Morristown, Morris Township or Morris Plains. We’ll add them to the calendar when the towns post them.
The Sunday habit: the farmers market into November
The Morristown Farmers Market doesn’t stop when summer does. It runs Sundays from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Lot 10J at Spring and Morris streets, behind the post office, through Nov. 22. That makes it the steadiest of the fall events Morristown NJ has on its calendar. Each week the Partnership rotates live music and pop-up vendors, so the market feels a little different every Sunday. If you have a fall weekend with nothing planned, this is a good way to start it.
Fall nights at MPAC
The Mayo Performing Arts Center on South Street is busy most weeks through the fall. The season mixes touring concerts, comedy, a Broadway musical, family shows and film screenings with a live orchestra. Dates change and add up quickly, so we keep them on the Pulse events calendar with the other fall events Morristown NJ venues post, instead of in this guide. If you’re making a night of it, MorrLocal Dining can help you pick dinner nearby before the show.
After Halloween: the Green gets ready for the holidays
After the last of the fall events Morristown NJ hosts, the Green hands off to the holidays. The Partnership lists Santa’s Arrival and the Lighting of the Morristown Green for Saturday, Nov. 28, followed by Christmas Festival weekends into December. We’ll cover those closer to the date.
Fall events Morristown NJ: how to plan
- Start on the calendar. The Pulse events calendar carries dates, times and changes for everything above, plus smaller events that this guide doesn’t list.
- Check the weather notes. Pumpkin Illumination has a rain date. Festival on the Green and KidFest run rain or shine. Organizers post changes on their own pages first.
- Walk when you can. The busiest downtown fall events Morristown NJ sees fill the streets around the Green and South Street. If you live nearby, walking is usually easier than hunting for a space.
- Leave room for dinner. Festival on the Green wraps at 5 p.m., which leaves time for an early meal downtown.
Fall events Morristown NJ: quick answers
Which fall events are free? Pumpkin Illumination and the main Saturday of the Festival of Books are free. The Grand Harvest Wine Festival, the House Tour and the Festival of Books keynote are ticketed. For everything else, check the listing.
Where do new dates go? On the Pulse Morristown events calendar. Smaller fall events Morristown NJ organizers add after this guide is published go there first.
Fall events Morristown NJ details checked Sept. 25, 2026, against organizer pages; Festival on the Green date updated Sept. 27, 2026, from the Morristown Partnership, and History Corridor date from the Morris County 250th Living History page; Sept. 26 program changes checked against Morristown Green (Sept. 25, 2026). Times and plans can change; confirm on the listing before you go.
