The Pumpkinliner at the Whippany Railway Museum (Whippany, NJ) The annual Pumpkin Festival and Pumpkinliner Train departs on Sunday October 4. Aside from the special train ride, Vampira the Queen of Halloween will pass out treats, there will be pumpkins, and a huge pumpkin craft fair. Harvest Moon Festival at the Newark Museum (Newark, NJ) The Newark Museum holds an Asian Harvest celebration on Saturday. Listen to Chinese folk tales, taste mooncakes and ginger tea, listen to Chinese music and watch Korean dancers. Kids can try their hand at making Chinese lanterns, origami, shadow puppets, and papercutting. Finally there will be a museum wide scavenger hunt and raffles and prizes. Fall festival at Howell Living Historical Farm (Lambertsville, NJ) This weekend experience the harvest at Howell Living Historical Farm. Kids can help the farmers plant, thresh, winnow and grind wheat using an old steam engine threshing machine. You can even take a bag of freshly milled whole wheat flower home to bake with! Oktoberfest at the Essex County Environmental Center (Roseland, NJ) This Saturday enjoy a true Fall festival with games, canoeing, Native American life, pumpkin patch, petting zoo, nature crafts, food, and more entertainment. Harvest Fest at the NJ Botanical Gardens (Ringwood, NJ) Celebrate the fall season all weekend long at the NJ Botanical Gardens with hayrides, pumpkin painting, face painting, storytellers, and garden tours (there's even Octoberfest beer tasting for adults)! Reader, Neeta, sent us a great tip:

For those who want a really fabulous experience, head out to Jersey City this weekend for Navratri "nine nights" of dancing. In America is has been shortened, but the celebrations are still amazing. Newark Ave is shut down and thousands of people of all ages in Indian garb take to the street dancing to live Indian music doing traditional folk dances called garba and raas (stick dancing). The environment, while bustling, is open and welcoming. Navratri Festival in Jersey City Description: Hindu Festival, cultural event, food When: September 25-26 and October 2-3, 2009 Where: India Square (Newark Avenue, few blocks from Journal Square PATH) Web: indiasquare.org

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