Lauren Rivera 
No matter the time of year, Montclair boasts all sorts of community gatherings. From film festivals to art walks to pride parades, there’s an event for every current or soon-to-be resident to enjoy. To keep you in the loop, The Montclair Girl has created a seasonal guide to Montclair’s most anticipated events and festivals. Read on for a list of annual Montclair events all residents should know about.
Fall Events
Montclair Film Festival
The beloved Montclair Film typically hosts the annual Montclair Film Festival, a multi-day event showcasing special screenings, panels, and notable events, in the fall. The upcoming 2026 festival, its 15th edition, will be from Friday, October 16th to Sunday, October 25th and will feature films, panels, and more. Locations for the various events have not yet been announced, but more information + updates can be found here.
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Zombie Walk
The Zombie Walk is an annual tradition where Montclair residents dress in their best zombie attire and parade around the town. The 2025 Zombie Walk was hosted by East Side Mags in partnership with Indie Arts Montclair. Participants also had the option to get their spooky makeup done by professional makeup artists. Details about this year’s event have yet to be posted.
Holiday Events
Essex County Holiday House Tour
Every year, Essex County opens up its most historical homes, sites, and structures for public tours. The Essex County Holiday House Tour, hosted by the Essex County Division of Cultural + Historic Affairs and Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr., is a family-friendly event and typically runs during one weekend throughout the county in December. Last year’s tour featured 12 properties in Montclair, Cedar Grove, Nutley, Bloomfield, Verona, Upper Montclair, Livingston, West Orange, Caldwell, Newark, and South Orange. Details for this year’s event have yet to be announced.
Holiday Tree Lightings
The Township of Montclair hosts multiple tree lighting ceremonies throughout different neighborhoods each holiday season. For 2025, locals saw the Montclair tree light up in festive colors with extra goodies like treats, raffle baskets, carolers, performances, and kids’ activities. Dates for the 2026 holiday tree lighting ceremonies have not been announced yet.
Montclair’s Winter Wonderland
Photo Credit: Montclair Center
The Winter Wonderland, located at Wellmont Plaza, is an annual event where Montclair locals can enjoy a day of shopping, live music, kids’ crafts, character appearances, and more. It usually occurs sometime in November and happens on a Small Business Saturday. Last year’s event included a Gift Guide Map, featuring over 70 local businesses providing special holiday deals. The details for the 2026 Winter Wonderland have yet to be announced.
Montclair Flea Holiday Market
The Montclair Flea Holiday Market is a festive shopping extravaganza every winter season at Lackawanna Station, located at 1 Lackawanna Plaza, Montclair. Come the end of November or early December, residents can look forward to locally-owned micro-businesses and merchants, featuring a mix of food + drinks, music, art, and shopping. The dates for the 2026 season have yet to be announced.
Spring + Summer Events
AAPI Color Run
With a mission to uplift the experiences of AAPI people and promote awareness and education about AAPI culture and history, AAPI New Jersey hosts all kinds of events throughout the year, including its annual Color Run. This 5K race and a 1-mile Fun Run is a celebration of spring festivals and events in the AAPI community, including Holi and Songkran. The event always takes place on the final Sunday of April, in a closed course at Brookdale Park in Bloomfield from 8:30 AM to 11:30 AM. The 5K starts at 8:30 AM, and the Fun Run kicks off at 10:00 AM.
AAPI Lantern Festival
Also hosted by the nonprofit organization AAPI New Jersey is the AAPI Lantern Festival, a community event where locals can create and dedicate lanterns in honor of important people in their lives. The fifth annual Lantern Festival returns for the 2026 season on Saturday, May 30th, from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM at Edgemont Memorial Park on Valley Road in Montclair. This year’s event will feature art installations, food trucks, children’s activities, and live music “inspired by Asian American and other song traditions of liberation and resistance,” as per AAPI New Jersey.
African-American Heritage Parade + Festival
The Montclair African-American History + Culture Parade and Festival, first established in 1990, is an annual event that honors the town’s African-American heritage and historical contributions. Each year, the festival begins with a town-wide parade, and two prominent Montclair locals are appointed as Grand Marshals. After the parade, the festival continues in Nishuane Park, located at 48 High Street, featuring live performances, art exhibitions, food vendors, and family-friendly activities. For 2025, the festival will take place on Saturday, June 6th. For more information, visit here.
Montclair Earth Fest
With a goal of encouraging environmentally conscious practices, Montclair hosts its Earth Fest celebration on the last Sunday of April each year. It takes place from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM at South Street Park, between Bloomfield Avenue and Church Street. Attendees can expect to see booths from eco-friendly local businesses + nonprofits and demos showcasing electric vehicles, energy-efficient appliances, and more.
Montclair Film Summer Series: Movie Night Under the Stars
Montclair Film hosts Movie Night Under the Stars, as part of its Summer Series, every year throughout July and August in various Essex County parks. Event details have yet to be announced, but last year’s featured outdoor screenings of hit films like Wicked and The Sandlot.
Montclair Flea Markets
Photo Credit: Montclair Flea
Montclair Flea is a local flea market operating in the spring and summer months at Lackawanna Station, located at 1 Lackawanna Plaza, Montclair. This year, the market will run on the 4th weekend of each month between 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM, until October 25th. In the case of exceptions or alternate events, visitors can see its events calendar here.
Montclair Jazz Festival
The Montclair Jazz Festival, hosted by Jazz House Kids, features several jazz-themed events and live music performances throughout the summer. In years past, this festival included a Sound Check series, an Uptown Showcase at Montclair State, and an Outdoor Concert Series at The Wellmont Arts Plaza. The festival always ends with its Downtown Jamboree, a grand finale celebration. The event series will begin on Tuesday, June 16th in 2026. More information on specific event dates can be found on its calendar here.
Montclair July 4th Parade
Every July 4th, the Montclair Township hosts a July 4th parade featuring marching bands, floats, antique cars, bubble dancers, and more. Following the parade, there’s typically a community picnic where attendees can enjoy food trucks, music, games, and activities at Edgemont Park. Specifics regarding the 2026 parade have not been announced yet.
Montclair Literary Festival
The Montclair Literary Festival was first launched in 2016 by the Montclair-based non-profit, Succeed2gether. The festival as a whole raises funds and awareness for the organization. Every year, over 90 local, national, and international authors take part in the series of events across Montclair. This year, the event will occur from Saturday, May 2nd to Monday, May 11th.
Montclair Porchfest
The first-ever Montclair Porchfest, an event where neighborhood porches turn into live music venues, will take place on Saturday, May 16th. Over 220 bands are scheduled to perform throughout the day. Starting at 5:00 PM, there will be a main stage with a final act at Lackawanna Station, where artists from the Recording Academy’s New York + Philadelphia Chapters will take over the stage.
Montclair Pride Festival
The annual Montclair Pride festival, hosted by non-profit Out Montclair, will take place on Saturday, June 13th, 2026, from 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Lackawanna Plaza. This event will include live performances, community resources, food, 150+ vendors, a beer garden, family-friendly experiences, and more.
Montclair Run
Photo Credit: YMCA of Montclair
The Montclair YMCA has hosted a family-friendly 10K grand prix run + 2-mile fun run/walk since 1983. The 42nd annual run + walk will take place on Sunday, June 7th, at 8:00 AM and will start at the Park Street Branch at 25 Park Street.
Walnut Street Fair
Montclair’s Walnut Street Fair is an annual town-wide event doubling as a fundraiser for the Junior League of Montclair-Newark. It takes place on Walnut Street, from Grove Street to Forest Street, on the first Sunday of May from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The highlights of this free fair consist of over 300 local food + drink and artisan vendors, including a wide variety of Montclair-based businesses, two stages of musical performances, a Family Fun Zone, and a beer garden.
Year-Round Events
Montclair Farmer’s Market
Each Saturday throughout the year, locals can shop for produce, meats, poultry, fish, cheeses, baked goods, flowers, decor, and more at the Montclair Farmers’ Market. This market can be found at Walnut Street Station, located at 86 Walnut Street, from June to November, between 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM, and from December to May, between 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
Bonus
Women’s Club of Glen Ridge Home + Garden Tour
The Women’s Club of Glen Ridge hosts an annual Home + Garden Tour each year. Attendees can tour five modern and historical homes and four luxurious gardens, and after the tour, the group will meet at the Women’s Club of Glen Ridge’s clubhouse for its traditional champagne reception, featuring sweets and boutique vendors. Information on the 2026 event is TBD.
Essex County Cherry Blossom Festival
When the spring season rolls around, there’s one particular event all locals look forward to. The Essex County Cherry Blossom Festival, which just came around for its 50th year, takes place typically in mid-April at Branch Brook Park in Newark. The festival features family-friendly events such as the Cherry Blossom Challenge Bike Race, Cherry Blossom 10K Run, Essex County One-Mile Fun Run, Essex County Family Day, and more.
Maplewood Dickens Village
Every holiday season, Dickens Village comes to life in downtown Maplewood. Come December, Ricalton Square is transformed into a small village of homes depicting various scenes from the novel A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The month-long event also features seasonal festivities like photos with Santa, a menorah, tree lightings, a petting zoo, and wagon rides. The 2026 details have not been announced yet.
Turtle Back Zoo Holiday Lights Spectacular
The Holiday Lights Spectacular at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange is an annual event happening through November and December. During the holiday season, Essex County locals can experience over 100,000 lights and a variety of holiday-themed activities. The 2026 dates and details have yet to be posted.
See More: 25+ Annual Bergen County Events That Every Resident Should Know
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