By Liz Johnson
Hunterdon County is a great place to soak up the summer sun, from rural farms to indoor play parks. Townships and cities multiply the fun with outdoor activities all season long. Whether you are looking for the perfect place to get outside and play or a place for you and your kids to learn a new skill, you can find it this summer in our amazing county or just over the bridge in Bucks County. This Summer Fun Guide will help plan your perfect summer.
JUMP TO: Events //Indoor Summer Fun // Step into Nature // Fireworks Schedule
Summer Events
Arties Annual Pig Roast
1121 New Jersey 12, Frenchtown, NJ
Arties annual pig roast at Arties Bar and Grill is bigger and better and tastier than ever. One price gets all the food you can eat beginning at 3 p.m. The menu will feature succulent roast pork, sausage, and peppers bbq chicken thighs. Soda and water are included, full bar available for additional cost. Music will begin at 3 p.m. and go until 11 p.m. both inside and out. There will be both country and rock with two favorites Babyface Finster and Reel to Real in the line up with others to be announced.
Holistic Health Fair
Beaver Brook Country Club
25 Country Club Drive, Annandale, NJ
On July 8, starting at 10:00 a.m. this fair will showcase healing methodology, services, practitioners, and products to the general public. Building a community that supports total holistic health that is accessible to all who are looking for it is the vision for Hamsa Holistic Health Fair. There will be readers, practitioners of various modalities, and health-related, spiritual, metaphysical and healing vendors. Tickets are $7 in advance, under 15 years old free.
Ready, Set, Walk!
Prallsville Mills, Stockton, NJ
This event is scheduled for June 24, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Participants are invited to bring well-trained, leashed dogs for this charity walk for Lulu’s rescue. It will include live music, good food, and adorable dogs, at the Prallsville Mills in Stockton. Sign in begins at 11:00 a.m.
Hidden Garden Tour
Kalmia Clubhouse, 39 York Street, Lambertville, NJ
The Kalmia Club’s 22nd annual garden tour will be held on Saturday, June 9th, 2018 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. rain or shine. The self-guided tour begins at the Kalmia Clubhouse, 39 York Street, Lambertville, NJ, and allows visitors to view select resident’s gardens. This walking tour’s net proceeds further the Kalmia Club’s mission and assists with its community outreach and annual scholarship programs.
Van Sant Airport
Cafferty Road in Tinicum Township, PA
Home to vintage aircraft and biplanes, offering rides, lessons or a relaxing place to picnic and watch planes take off. During the summer, it hosts monthly dinner-and-a-movie nights. Nearby, Tinicum Park on River Road has weekend polo matches in the summer and a disc golf course. It’s also home to several annual festivals, arts, craft and antique shows and the July 4th Concert Under the Stars.
June 3rd – Sunset Balloon Launch
June 30th – Dinner & Movie Night
July 28th – Dinner & Movie Night
August 25th – Dinner & Movie Night
Indoor Summer Fun
Frenchtown Roller Rink
2998 Daniel Bray Highway (Route 29), Frenchtown, NJ
(908) 996-6313
Owned by the Pinkerton family for 38 years, the Frenchtown Roller Rink is located in a small cinderblock building nestled above the Delaware River. Inside, faded stars and neon striped walls enclose the classic maple wood floor, polished to a bright gleam and recoated twice a year, which serves as the skating surface.
It’s where Olympic speed skaters Kyle Carr and Chris Creveling got their start. It continues to host birthday parties, home school physical education classes, church youth groups, PTO/PTA events, fundraising events, after-school skate clubs and lessons. Open skating is offered on Tuesday and Friday nights and weekends.
Space Escapes
361 Route 31, Flemington, NJ
A rescue mission turned deadly. Crew members fighting for their lives. A rogue AI determined to see them fail. Can you escape, or will you be lost forever to the cold silence of space? Space Escape’s goal is to provide a challenging escape-room scenario coupled with an intriguing story and exciting theme. The thriller experience puts four-to-eight players in the role of a rescue team aboard a derelict spaceship, searching for answers. Together, players have an hour to solve puzzles, decode messages, and wrack their brain for clues to find the only way out. Can you and your friends escape?
Penelope Fox Art Studio
10 Canal St., Bristol
July 21, 2018 11:00 a.m. Penelope Fox will be hosting a 5th Birthday Craft Fair Celebration. The studio will be celebrating five years in business. The event will be free for all to attend and will include a showcase of local artists, crafters and performers. There will be several activities for kids such as canvas painting, sing-a-long, face painting and balloon art.
Teachers and professional artists and educators teach classes for novices all the way up to working artists with advance techniques. In addition to fine art classes, the studio offers classes and workshops in mosaic, sewing, floral arrangement and more as well as paint parties for all ages.
Peddler’s Village and Giggleberry Fair
167 Carousel Lane, New Hope
Giggleberry Fair at Peddler’s Village is known for its indoor carousel, but it’s so much more. It’s a family play area, game room, and offers the area’s largest indoor obstacle course, Giggleberry Mountain.
It’s also the home of Giggles Discovers . A place of investigation and exploration for toddlers and preschool children. Entertainment areas include the Giggles Fire Station, where children can explore an authentic wooden fire truck, ring the fire bell, put on fire hats, jackets and boots and a water play area. The game room at Giggleberry Fair features more than 40 of the newest games on the market. All games are rated “E” for everyone.
Summer events planned at Peddler’s Village include:
Summer Food and Music Festival
Sat, June 23, 2018 to Sun, June 24, 2018
Tasty food, summer music, boutique shopping and a Village full of family fun.
Red, White and Blue BBQ Bash
Sat, June 30, 2018
Come out for our Classic Barbecue Picnic at for all-American grilled favorites, live music, family entertainment and kids’ activities.
Bluegrass and Blueberries
Sat, July 14, 2018 to Sun, July 15, 2018
Celebrate National Blueberry Month in July with everything blue at the Peddler’s Village Bluegrass and Blueberries Festival. Come hungry and ready for a weekend brimming with locally grown blueberries and blueberry treats and a line-up of the best bluegrass music in the region.
Peach Festival and Annual Sidewalk Sale
Sat, August 11, 2018 to Sun, August 12, 2018
The Summer Sidewalk Sale begins on Friday, August 11. Shops are open until 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Rain or shine.
Gymnastics Unlimited
2 Lilac Drive, Flemington, NJ
Gymnastics Unlimited uses age-appropriate equipment with lots of matting and other tools for safe learning. Their 8,000 square foot main gym are cleaned regularly. The will be running summer bogo sales through June, July and August on classes. Check their Facebook page for summer hours and open gym schedule.
Sky Zone
45 Runway Road, Levittown
Keep kiddos from bouncing off the walls this summer by letting them bounce it out at a trampoline park. Sky Zone offers free jumps as well as birthday parties, and corporate team building events. They have new types of jumps all the time, rock climbs, dodge ball and many other activities perfect for sky lovers, thrill seekers, and people who just want to jump.
Sew Much Fun Studios
650 Durham Road, Wrightstown
Kids and adults alike can learn sewing basics like hand sewing, working on a sewing machine, and working with patterns.
Dynamix Gymnastics
181 Wheeler Court, Langhorne
The gymnastics center is home to competitive teams as well as for-fun classes, camps, kids night out, gymnastics fun night, and open gym time.
Bucks County Children’s Museum
500 Union Square Drive, New Hope
This museum connects children with the world around them through play in interactive exhibits and is in walking distance to other popular New Hope attractions.
Step out into Nature
2018 Running Schedule
June 9, Beautiful Beast of Hunterdon 15k, Califon, NJ
July 4, Revolutionary Run 5k, Washington Crossing Park, PA
July 29, Running with the Balloons 5k, Readington, NJ
August 4, River to Sea Relay 72 Mile Relay, Lambertville, NJ
August 11, Three Bridges Five Mile Road Race, Three Bridges, NJ
September 9, Skylands Triathlon, Olympic Sprint Triathlon, Clinton, NJ
Holcombe-Jimison Farmstead Museum
1605 Daniel Bray Highway (Rte. 29), Lambertville, NJ
Formerly John Holcombe’s plantation until his death in 1742, the Holcombe-Jimison Farmstead Museum is housed in a restored three-story bank barn built into the hillside. Livestock were kept on the lower level, crops above. In bad weather, the farmer could feed them without going outdoors. Today, some of the exhibits arranged in the barn cover the tools and equipment used by the farmer to raise and harvest the crops that provided fodder for livestock. Other displays cover the domestic chores of the farmer’s wife in the preparation and preservation of food and the making of clothing. The museum also includes a print shop, woodworking shop, a doctor’s office, timber-working tools, a blacksmith shop and Holcombe’s house built in 1711. Hours are Sundays 1 p.m.-4 p.m. May through October and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to noon all year-round.
Ringing Rocks Park
Ringing Rocks Road, Upper Black Eddy
This is a place that truly rocks. Bring a hammer because the rocks in the geological formation actually ring. There are hiking trails, as well as nature and picnic areas. It’s the perfect place for a warm weather family outing. Make sure to bring plenty of water and your hiking shoes.
Hunterdon County has more than 8,500 acres of land set aside for environmental preservation, and for recreation!
Tow Path
The Delaware Canal
Bowman’s Hill Nature Preserve
1635 River Road, New Hope
Bowman’s Hill is recognized for its diverse landscape and over 700 native plant species. Explore the 2.5 miles of trails that wind through forests and meadows, along streams and ponds. You can also enjoy the bird observatory, a labyrinth, hands-on activities for children, and a butterfly trail.
Spruce Run Recreational Area
68 Van Syckel’s Road, Clinton, NJ
Surrounded by the rolling hills of Hunterdon County, Spruce Run Recreation Area, 68 Van Syckles Road in Clinton, is popular with picnickers, swimmers, fishermen, boaters, campers, cross-country skiers and ice fishermen. The third largest reservoir in New Jersey, it covers 1,290 acres with 15 miles of shoreline. Canoes, kayaks, paddle boards, rowboats, motorboats and pontoon boats are available for rentals.
Fireworks Schedule 2018
Photo credit: Lawrence Ogden. Check out his work on ogdenphotographics.com and follow him on Instagram
For the better part of the past decade, the stretch of the Delaware River situated between New Hope, Pennsylvania and Lambertville, New Jersey has been the backdrop for a number of fireworks displays, delighting children and adults alike. From locals to tourists, the Friday night shows have become synonymous with summer.
Mark your calendars for the 2018 displays:
Friday, June 1
Friday, July 6
Friday, August 3
Friday, September 7
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