Starting December 27, 2017

"The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written." - Melody Beattie (b. 1948), American Author

It’s that auld lang syne-y time of the year, when we look back on the year that’s ending, but also look ahead to the book yet to be written. We at Warren County Wanderings want to take this moment to thank you for being loyal Wanderers and for all the positive feedback we’ve received for this project of the Explore Warren County Tourism Partnership. We also want to take a quick look back and another forward before we get into this week’s offerings. As we’ve seen over the past year, there is no shortage of things to do in Warren County!

Rutherfurd Hall in Allamuchy, which just celebrated its fifth year as a cultural center and museum, continues to offer more and more public events, including concerts, paint nights, yoga, summer camps, and festivals. In the new year, they plan a lecture about FDR and Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd (one of the more popular aspects of Rutherfurd Hall’s history) and to launch The Allamuchy Carnival in June, held elsewhere in the township but benefitting Rutherfurd Hall. Our lead photo this week, by the way, is of fireworks at Rutherfurd Hall by Charlie Fineran.

Centenary Stage Company’s January Thaw Music Fest is just around the corner, plus they have a trio of exciting musical performances planned for February and March, and a world premiere of the play Hitler’s Tasters – developed through the CSC Women Playwrights Series – opening in April.

Phillipsburg launched a successful new event, Pork Roll Palooza, last October and plans to make it bigger and better on Oct. 13, 2018. Another new event in 2017 was Park Fest at Breadlock Park, hosted by the Warren County Parks Foundation and the county’s Morris Canal Committee, and it’s coming back for a second annual on June 9, 2018. Meanwhile, Warren County’s annual Preservation Day always moves to a new location to highlight a different preserved property each time – for 2018 it’s the Roseberry Homestead in Phillipsburg – but it also is moving to a new month, happening Sept. 15, 2018 from 10am to 4pm.

The two Business Improvement Districts in Warren County – Hackettstown BID and Washington BID – continue to present a full calendar of fun. Hackettstown has its 10th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade coming up on March 11, plus Spring Festival May 4-6, a restaurant event in July, and a scarecrow contest in the fall, while Washington welcomes back the Arts, Sweets & Crafts Festival in April, the big Festival in the Borough with lots of live bands in September, plus Hometown Halloween and Hometown Holiday later in the year.

Blairstown celebrated becoming an official Appalachian Trail Community with an event last spring – the first spot in New Jersey to receive that designation – and namesake John I. Blair, a major American figure of the 19th Century, was finally enshrined in the Warren County Hall of Fame. Roy’s Hall continues to offer a wide range of excellent bands plus some theater and screenings of the original Friday the 13th horror movie (which was filmed in northern Warren County) whenever the calendar gives us a Friday the 13th. The whole town gets in on the fun, so mark April 13 and July 13 on your 2018 calendar! Plus, the Blairstown Museum continues to add new events and displays. With 94 events in ’17, and a new trolley to offer various tours – barn, farm, antiques, Friday the 13th sites – they’ll surely top 100 in the new year.

Some events and attractions hit major milestones in 2017, as the Hope Christmas Craft Market celebrated its 40th year, and the Warren County Farmers’ Fair marked its 80th, while the Fair’s Traditional Arts Expo hit the 20-year mark. The fair will be back July 28-August 4, 2018, so again, mark those calendars!

Happy New Year, and Happy Wanderings!