Historic Downtown's two biggest Halloween events fall on back-to-back Saturdays, and they sit at opposite ends of the same street. On October 24, The Ghost of Uncle Joe's fills Historic Jersey City and Harsimus Cemetery at 435 Newark Avenue. On October 31, the Historic Downtown Special Improvement District runs its Halloween Family Bash on the Newark Ave Pedestrian Mall and Plaza, close to 300 street numbers east.
Seen together, they work as one long event. The season opens at night among graves that date to the 1830s and closes with a noon-to-8 p.m. day on a plaza with a corn maze. The smaller dates in between fall on side streets just off the same corridor. This year the plaza end also has new neighbors.
The west end goes first, and it's raising money for the ground it stands on
The Ghost of Uncle Joe's has been running since 2010. It is named for Uncle Joe's, a former Jersey City rock club, and it raises money for the cemetery that hosts it, according to Hoboken Girl's 2025 history of the festival. Hoboken Girl reported that event planner Anthony "Dancing Tony" Susco, one of the founders of the first festival, produced the 2025 edition. It also reported that each year one local artist is chosen to design the event's advertising.
The format is local performers playing in tribute bands, plus food, drinks and after-parties. Hoboken Girl described it this way:
"For those seeking a Monster Mash-style Halloween bash, the annual graveyard masquerade ball in Jersey City may be the perfect fit."
That line appeared in Hoboken Girl's 2025 coverage. The same description is repeated on this year's listing.
The firmest 2026 detail comes from the Hoboken Ski & Snowboard Club's event listing. It gives Saturday, October 24, from 6:00 to 11:00 p.m. at 435 Newark Avenue. Tickets are on Eventbrite, and the listing says some may be sold at the door while supplies last. The Local Girl's calendar lists the festival across two nights, October 23 and 24, but gives no hours. Saturday has a published time. Friday is listed but has not been confirmed elsewhere.
Why a cemetery from 1831 is worth funding with a rock show
Harsimus Cemetery is often described as New Jersey's oldest established cemetery. Hoboken Girl's profile of the site says it was incorporated in 1831 after a cholera epidemic and laid out over six acres as an early garden-style cemetery. Charles Ferson Durant is buried there. He is associated with the first American hot-air balloon ascent in 1833. The photographer Egbert Guy Fowx is also buried there. The Colgate family vault was once on the grounds, but it was later moved to Green-Wood Cemetery.
The cemetery's own site describes its preservation work as an all-volunteer effort. That explains why the festival runs the way it does. The money spent at the gate on October 24 goes toward keeping up the grounds where the bands are playing. The west end of the corridor starts the week by paying for its own upkeep.
The eight days between the two Saturdays
The stretch between the cemetery and the plaza has a smaller event on most days of the week. Some are just off Newark Avenue. Others are a short walk from it.
- Wednesday, October 14. Jersey City Cabaret's Halloween show is at Brightside Tavern, 141 Bright Street. Tickets are $15. The listing gives no start time.
- Thursday, October 22. PLNTD hosts a Spooky Plant Workshop at 16 Erie Street for $50. No time is posted. The same afternoon, the Historic Downtown Farmers Market runs from 3 to 7 p.m. at Grove Street PATH Plaza.
- Saturday, October 24. The Ghost of Uncle Joe's runs from 6 to 11 p.m. at the cemetery. The same evening, Zombie Opera 7 is listed from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Hamilton Park at 25 West Hamilton Place, according to Hoboken Girl's 2026 Halloween guide. With the opera ending at 8:30 and the cemetery open until 11, both fit into one evening.
- Monday, October 26, and Thursday, October 29. The farmers market is back at Grove Street PATH Plaza both days from 3 to 7 p.m. Its 2026 season runs through December 21.
- Friday, October 30. The Annual Library of Shadows fundraiser takes place at the Priscilla Gardner Main Library, 472 Jersey Avenue. No start time has been posted.
Then comes Saturday, and the event moves to the far end of the street.
The east end closes it out, on a plaza with new neighbors
HDSID's Halloween Family Bash runs Saturday, October 31, from noon to 8 p.m. It has games, a corn maze, face-painting, pumpkins, a bouncy house and candy. A section of the plaza becomes the adults-only Terror Tavern, hosted by Grace O'Malley's Whiskey Chapel. Grace O'Malley's is at 140 Newark Avenue and describes itself as a contemporary Irish pub with whiskey, food, live music and DJs. It has been on the plaza since 2020, when it opened in the former LITM space. The pub's October calendar lists the Family Bash as its Halloween event.
The block across from it is what's new this October. At 143 Newark Avenue, the space Better Days left earlier this year now holds two food concepts. Bembe is a casual steak and raw bar. Steaks Shakes + Harmony sits in the back of the space and serves cheesesteaks and milkshakes from Chef D. Harmon, as Hoboken Girl reported in September. A grand opening was announced for September 16, and Hoboken Girl's fall openings roundup lists both as open. Steaks Shakes + Harmony also has a location at 126 Christopher Columbus Drive. Hoboken Girl singled out its Birthday Cake Poundshake, which is served on pound cake, and its gluten-free cheesesteak fries. 143 Social, the speakeasy-style cocktail bar in the same building, is still at that address.
That puts this year's Halloween Family Bash beside two dining rooms that weren't on the plaza last October. Both are at the address closest to the Terror Tavern's host.
| The Ghost of Uncle Joe's | Halloween Family Bash | |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Saturday, October 24 | Saturday, October 31 |
| Hours | 6 to 11 p.m. | Noon to 8 p.m. |
| Location | Harsimus Cemetery, 435 Newark Ave | Newark Ave Pedestrian Mall and Plaza |
| Format | Local tribute bands, food, drinks, after-parties | Corn maze, face-painting, bouncy house, plus the adults-only Terror Tavern |
| Who it supports | Preservation of the cemetery | Run by the Historic Downtown SID |
| Entry | Eventbrite, limited door sales | Open plaza event |
What hasn't been posted yet for 2026
Several details that past coverage made sound fixed have no 2026 confirmation. The festival's 2026 tribute-band lineup and ticket prices haven't been published in any source we found. The lineup and prices in Hoboken Girl's coverage are from 2025. The October 23 date appears on one calendar only. The cemetery's own website mentions an annual festival with grazing goats, but it gives no 2026 date, and its events page was still showing 2024 listings when this was written. Start times for the cabaret, the plant workshop and the Library of Shadows haven't been posted either.
The schedule also runs one week past Halloween. On Saturday, November 7, from 1 to 5 p.m., the Jersey City Mac & Cheese Festival holds check-in at Hudson Hall, 364 Marin Boulevard, and then sends ticket holders on a crawl through participating Jersey City restaurants.
The street the season follows is the stretch The Sutherlin Group knows building by building, from the brownstone blocks near the cemetery to the condos a few minutes from the plaza. If a walk down Newark Avenue this month gets you looking at a particular block, request a showing and we'll take you through what's on the market there.