Whitesbog Blueberry Festival (Browns Mills)
June 26, 10am to 4pm, $8 per car.
Celebrate everything Blueberry including a messy blueberry pie eating contest for kids!  There will be art, crafts, wagon tours and bluegrass music too!

Oceanfest 2010 (Long Branch)
July 4, 10am to 10pm, FREE
The festival takes place on the beach along the promenade and features food, music, kids entertainment, vendors, crafts and more.  The event ends with one of the largest fireworks displays on the Jersey Shore.

NJ State Barbecue Championship (North Wildwood)
July 9-11
BBQ experts from across the country and Blues music may be the highlight of this festival, but there is plenty more to keep the kids entertained during this family event.

NJ Sandcastle Contest (Belmar)
July 14
Try your hand at sandcastle making and see the best in NJ in action!  Registration starts at 8am and building is from 8am to noon.  There will be food, music, free giveaways, and more!

8th Annual NJ State Ice Cream Festival (Toms River)
July 17, 11:30am to 5pm (tasting from noon to 3:30)
Find out which ice cream is named the best in New Jersey!  This festival features rides, games, and most importantly ice cream tastings!

Monmouth County Fair (Freehold)
July 21-25, weekdays 5pm-11pm weekdays, Saturday 11am-11pm, Sunday 11am to 6pm, Admission $7 for adults, kids 12 and under are free.
County fairs are perfect for small children: they can see farm animals up close (sometimes owners even let you pet them), animal shows, antique cars, racing pigs, lumberjacks, plus there are kids games and races.  Saturday is kids race day!

NJ Peach Festival (Mullica Hills)
July 22-25
Don't miss out on the crowning of the New Jersey Peach Queen!  You can learn everything there is to know about peaches, including plenty of tastings.  The festival is about much more than peaches too - see plenty of 4-H exhibits and even a hog costume contest!

Quick Check NJ Festival of Ballooning (Readington)
July 23-25, Advance admission: $17 for adults, $7 for kids 4-12; Day of admission is $25 for adults, $10 for kids 4-12.
We recommend arriving late afternoon for this festival so that you can see the balloon rise up in the air (there are two mass ascensions daily of up to 125 different hot air balloons).  Bring a picnic and lawn chairs for the ascension and evening fireworks.  While waiting for the event, kids can enjoy family entertainment in the kids tents, rides, and more.  You can even take a ride in one of the balloons yourself!

Camden County 4-H Fair (Blackwood)
July 30-Aug 1
Check out farm animals, take a pony ride, enjoy spinning and craft demonstrations, and other fun family events.

Warren County Farmers Fair & 10th Annual Hot Air Balloon Festival (Harmony Township)
August 1-7, Weekdays noon to 10pm, Weekends 8am to 10pm, Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for kids 5-12.  Free parking.
The farmers fair features daily farm events and exhibits, horse shows, pony rides, baking exhibits, 4-H events, antique cars, arts & crafts, and even a Mud Bog competition and tractor pull.  And did we forget to mention the hot air balloon rides?

Middlesex County Fair (East Brunswick)
August 2-8, Adults $6, Kids 3-12 $1.  Parking is free.
The Middlexes county fair puts on a spectacular show that will entertain even the smallest kids: lumberjacks, log rolling, axe throwing, chainsaw carving, magic shows, a comedy trampoline act, a high wire show, fireworks and more.

New Jersey State Fair (Augusta)
August 6-15
This is the REAL deal, the biggest and best of NJ's fairs where you can spend the entire day and still not see all the animals and events.  There are huge exhibits of livestock and animals, horse shows, pony rides, entertainment ranging from racing pigs to performing puppies, singing, vendors, foods, animal competitions, etc.  Although we did not see a butter sculpture (too hot!), there was a spectacular sand sculpture!

Wharton Canal Day (Wharton)
August 21
Celebrate the Morris Canal with this old time county fair and take a free paddle on the canal!  There will be crafts, food, educational events, music and plenty of free family fun.

Atlantic City Air Show (Atlantic City)
August 25, 11am to 3:30pm
If you missed the Red Bull Airshow, here is your chance to get a glimpse at low-flying (and high-flying) airplane acrobatics.  Included in the lineup are the US Air Force Thunderbirds and the US Army Golden Knights parachute team.