From today until Thanksgiving, Allendale's calendar has no single big event. It runs on short sessions that cap their headcount: a 30-minute toddler parade, a guided walk at the marsh, a cheese tasting limited to library card holders, a flower workshop at $80 a seat. Most of them need a sign-up, and at least one closes registration a day early. Knowing the sign-up deadlines matters more than knowing the event dates.
Two things on the calendar need no sign-up at all. One is a Sunday morning birding hour at the Celery Farm. The other is a café on West Allendale Avenue that stays open until 10 p.m. on some days.
Halloween Weekend, Run on Registration
The weekend starts on Thursday. The Borough's Halloween Party for Kids runs Thursday, October 29, from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Allendale Community Center. The three-hour window lets families come straight from school pickup.
Friday morning belongs to the youngest residents. Lee Memorial Library's Halloween Storytime and Parade is for ages 0 to 3 and runs from 10:30 to 11 a.m. on October 30. The library describes it as stories followed by a costumed parade through the building. The listing names the Quilt Room as the location but also calls it an online event and says a link goes out to registrants, so check your confirmation email before you get the stroller out.
The library's rules for that program apply to everything else on its calendar this fall. A no-show earns a strike. So do repeated cancellations made within three days of a program. Two strikes block you from registering for six months, and Allendale residents get priority when a program has a waitlist. Those policies shape November more than any single date does, because the library hosts most of the month's programs.
Saturday morning moves outdoors. New Jersey Audubon's free Halloween Bird Walk starts at 9 a.m. on October 31 at the Green Way entrance to the Celery Farm, led by guides Karen and Stephanie. Audubon says the walk is for all skill levels and will look for "warblers, sparrows, raptors, and other feathered travelers passing through on their way south." Costumes are encouraged, binoculars and a scope are available to borrow, and comfortable walking shoes are required.
This walk has the tightest deadline of the weekend. Ticket sales end at 5 p.m. the day before, so you need to register by Friday afternoon. Audubon also requires a minimum number of registrants for the walk to run, and cancellations made within 48 hours of the start are not refunded unless they are due to a health emergency.
| Day | Event | Where | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, Oct 29 | Halloween Party for Kids, 3 to 6 p.m. | Allendale Community Center | Borough event |
| Fri, Oct 30 | Halloween Storytime and Parade, 10:30 a.m. | Lee Memorial Library | Ages 0 to 3; registration and strike policy apply |
| Sat, Oct 31 | Halloween Bird Walk, 9 a.m. | Celery Farm, Green Way entrance | Free; register by 5 p.m. Friday |
| Sun, Nov 1 | Hour on the Tower, 8 to 9 a.m. | Celery Farm | Open to everyone; beginners welcome |
The Celery Farm Is the Season's Open Door
After Saturday's walk, the Celery Farm stays the one place on the calendar where you can join a group without a form. Every Sunday from 8 to 9 a.m., the Fyke Nature Association holds Hour on the Tower. Regulars try to identify every bird species they can in one hour, and Fyke says that everyone is invited and beginners are welcome. The four Sundays before Thanksgiving are November 1, 8, 15 and 22.
The meeting spot changes from week to week. Fyke says the group gathers either at the Pirie-Mayhood Tower platform on the east side of Lake Appert or at the Warden's Watch platform near the Franklin Turnpike parking area. Its page lists a contact who can tell you which one to head for. The Franklin Turnpike lot is the preserve's main entrance, and Green Way, where the Halloween walk meets, is the second. A main trail loops around Lake Appert, with spur trails branching off it.
Fyke's 2026 bird checklist treats September through November as fall. For that season it rates Canada Goose and Mallard as abundant, and Wood Duck, American Black Duck, Green-winged Teal and Hooded Merganser as common. Among raptors, Turkey Vulture and Red-tailed Hawk are common in fall, while Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, Northern Harrier and Sharp-shinned Hawk are uncommon. The checklist draws on eBird records from the 12 years through June 2025. It describes what a typical fall at the Celery Farm looks like, so a Hooded Merganser on Lake Appert some November Sunday is a good bet, and a Bald Eagle is a lucky morning.
If you want to give back to the preserve, Fyke's summer 2026 newsletter names Parnell's Path and Kickypoo Corner as recent planting sites.
November Builds the Thanksgiving Table, One Program at a Time
Once Halloween is over, the indoor calendar turns toward Thanksgiving. Three programs in November, two at the library and one at the Community Center, each cover a different part of the holiday table. All three are small, ticketed or limited, and held in the evening.
Cheese, November 10. On Tuesday, November 10, from 7 to 8:15 p.m., Lee Memorial Library hosts "Say Cheese! A Cheese Tasting Experience" with cheese professional Britt Bisset of Bs Cheese. The program is open to Allendale library card holders only. That makes it the most restricted event of the season, and the library's no-show policy covers it too.
Napkins, November 18. On Wednesday, November 18, Library Director Nancy Clauss leads "Folded with Flair: Napkin Creations with Nancy" from 7 to 8 p.m. in the library's Quilt Room. At eight days before Thanksgiving, it leaves time to practice the folds before guests arrive.
Flowers, November 19. The next evening, the Allendale Woman's Club holds its Flower Arranging Workshop at 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 19, at the Allendale Community Center, 210 West Crescent Avenue. The club's invitation reads, "Design your own flower arrangement to bring home in time for Thanksgiving!" Tickets are $80 per person and include light bites, and the event is BYOB.
Taken together, these three cover the cheese board, the place settings and the centerpiece in nine days, all within a few blocks of each other and all scheduled after the workday.
The holiday also has a giving side. On Wednesday, November 11, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., the Youth Group at Church of the Guardian Angel, 320 Franklin Turnpike, holds a Food Drive Sorting Night, sorting, dating and packing food-drive donations.
The rest of November at Lee Memorial follows a steady weekly pattern. Movie matinees are at 1 p.m. on Tuesdays, November 3, 10, 17 and 24. Bentley the Therapy Dog visits the Children's Room at 3:30 p.m. on November 4, 11 and 18. Meditation is at 12:30 p.m. on November 7, 14 and 21, and evening yoga is on November 5 and 19. The library is closed all day on Thanksgiving, November 26.
The Walk-In Evening on West Allendale Avenue
With so many programs capped and ticketed, the season's newest downtown business is a useful counterweight. Sweetbeanz opened at 76 West Allendale Avenue this fall. In NorthJersey.com's September report, owner Derynn Paige describes a "coffee by day, dessert by night" concept: coffee, pastries and light meals during the day, then gelato, specialty drinks and desserts in the evening.
That same report lists more than 30 gelato flavors, along with specialty lattes, refreshers, teas, salads, sandwiches, wraps and snack boxes. It also says the café stays open until 10 p.m. on some days, and Sweetbeanz's online ordering page lists a 7 a.m. opening.
The daily schedule isn't published in full, so check the hours before planning an early coffee ahead of a Celery Farm morning or dessert after one of the 7 p.m. programs at the library.
Four Weeks, by Deadline
Sorted by when you need to act instead of by event date, the season looks like this:
- This week: Register for Audubon's Halloween Bird Walk before ticket sales close at 5 p.m. on Friday, October 30.
- Early November: Sign up for the November 10 cheese tasting with your Allendale library card, and for the November 18 napkin-folding class.
- Mid-November: Buy tickets for the Woman's Club Flower Arranging Workshop on November 19.
- Any Sunday through November 22: Head to the Celery Farm at 8 a.m. for Hour on the Tower. No registration needed.
- Evenings when it's open late: Sweetbeanz, 76 West Allendale Avenue. Check the hours first.
If the platforms at Lake Appert or the evenings at the library have you picturing another fall here, or one in a bigger house a few streets over, My Bergen House can tell you what your current home would bring in today's market. Ask Till or Kelly for a valuation, and pass along whatever turns up at the tower this month.
