New Jersey Weekend Events for Kids July 17-19: Historic Train Rides, Ice Cream, Tall Ships, City of Water Festival and More

7/16/09 - By Anna Fader

There is a bit of everything for everyone in New Jersey this weekend.  You can take a ferry from New Jersey to Governor’s Island for City of Water Day, sail the Hudson on a historic schooner, or ride an antique caboose train to the nostalgic sounds of old railroad tracks.  Animal lovers can attend the largest cat show in the Northeast and bird lovers can hike through Liberty State Park looking for summer shore birds.  Finally, who can resist the ice cream eating competitions and tasting events at the New Jersey State Ice Cream Festival?

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The City of Water Day at Governor’s Island may be in New York, but for this special event there are ferries directly from New Jersey!  Catch the ferry at the Hoboken North ferry station at 10am and come back at 4:30.  The City of Water Day Festival is a great time to see Governor’s Island with nature walks, live performances, fishing, food vendors, bike riding, free mini golf and more.



Sail the Hudson on New Jersey’s official tall ship, the A.J. Meerwald.  The newly restored 1928 two-masted, 115 foot oyster schooner has over 3,500 square feet of sail.  At 1:30 pm on Saturday there is a Children’s Sail for kids 5-12 where they can see fish, crabs & creatures of the Hudson.  The event is 3 hours long, $25 per child, and $50 per adult. Other trips over the weekend range between $45 to $65 per person.



Take a train ride on a historic train, or better yet in the Caboose!  The Whippany Railway Museum has a special 45-minute Caboose Train Ride this Sunday in antique train cars on the historic railroad line.  



Cat lovers unite at the Cat Expo at Garden State Exhibit Center in Somerset.  This is one of the top five cat shows in the nation and the largest in the Northeast.  See all kinds of cats, cat dancers, cat face painting and all things cat related!



The Liberty State Interpretive Center is offering one of their public programs this Saturday from 10am to noon.  Kids can bring binoculars and spot and identify summer shore birds.  Perfect for your little naturalist!



Who needs an excuse to taste Ice Cream?  This Saturday is the Annual New Jersey State Ice Cream Festival in Toms River New Jersey.  There will be inflatable rides, face painting, balloon artists and ice cream tasting of all kinds.  Kids can also participate in an ice cream eating contest – beware of brain freeze!