A September Storm Moved PorchFest to Halloween. Here's How Asbury Park's Saturday Lines Up

Most of this year's Asbury Park Halloween calendar is nightlife: costume contests at the bars, a Grateful Dead tribute at the Stone Pony, masquerades on Halloween night. A nor'easter in late September added a whole afternoon in front of it. Because of that storm, the 10th Annual Asbury Park PorchFest now happens on Saturday, October 31. So this Halloween starts at noon with live music on about two dozen porches, and the nightlife picks up from there.

The day has three parts. The afternoon belongs to porches, a parking lot and a market. In the evening the venues take over. The City's free shuttle runs during the afternoon part.

The storm that moved the calendar

On September 25, the Asbury Park Press reported that the Jersey Shore's first nor'easter of the season was due that Saturday. The National Weather Service was warning of coastal flooding, beach erosion, strong winds and likely power outages.

Asbury Park rescheduled several events at once. PorchFest moved to October 31 with a November 7 rain date. The Asbury Park Fall Bazaar moved to October 24 and 25. Emo Night Brooklyn at the Stone Pony was canceled, and tickets were honored at the October 24 edition. The Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce's listing said PorchFest organizers spoke with city officials and police, learned about the danger from downed power lines, and postponed for the first time. The city then let them use Halloween.

That's how a one-day music festival ended up on the same date as the year's biggest costume night. Halloween season had already started on October 3 with the 18th Asbury Park Zombie Walk, which its organizers billed as the official kickoff. Now PorchFest closes the season out.

Noon on the porches

PorchFest is a 501(c)(3) charity that has run a free day of live music in Asbury Park since 2018. Its site counts more than 600 performances across those years, in genres from Americana to rap and blues to Broadway, and more than $50,000 raised for local charities. This year's lineup lists over 100 local musicians.

The organizers have embraced the new date. The top of the PorchFest site now reads:

Come as you are - come in costume - Come for the Candy - Come for the Music - but come and enjoy.

According to the official map, the porches are spread across 1st through 6th Avenues, Sunset Avenue, Atkins Avenue, Asbury Avenue, Lake Avenue, Dunlewy Street, Summerfield Avenue and Pine Street. The site gives two counts, 25 porches at the top of the page and 24 in the map section, so plan on about two dozen. It links a Google My Maps version of the route and a performer directory that lists acts by category. Organizers said they would post the hourly band schedule about a week before the event, so it should be up by the time you read this.

The listings disagree on hours. PorchFest's own site says noon to 4 p.m. The Chamber calendar shows the event running until 6 p.m. Go by the organizers' 4 p.m. finish. If a band is still playing after that, it's a bonus.

The afternoon, hour by hour

PorchFest is only one of three daytime events on Saturday. The Asbury Park Sunset Farmers Market is on the Chamber calendar for its usual Saturday hours, and the City's Trunk or Treat overlaps PorchFest's first three hours.

Kids at Trunk or Treat go car to car collecting treats, and the City is giving prizes for the best-decorated car and the best costume. Families should bring a bag. If it rains, the event becomes a drive-through and children get goodie bags instead. The City has been asking for host trunks and candy donations through [email protected] or 732-502-5759.

Because the two events overlap, a family can split the afternoon: go to City Hall first, then walk the porches with a full candy bag while the bands play on through 4 p.m.

The shuttle covers the afternoon

The City launched its free shuttle on Friday, August 28. Under the schedule the City published, it runs Friday through Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. on a fixed route. Stops include City Hall, Springwood Park, Press Plaza, The Stone Pony, Convention Hall, Asbury Towers, Deal Lake Drive, Main Street, Dr. Robinson Towers, Lumley Homes and Comstock Court. The City says riders can be dropped off anywhere along the route. The shuttle is free and accessible, and the route map is posted with the City's announcement.

On Saturday the shuttle starts at the same hour as PorchFest and Trunk or Treat. City Hall is already a stop, so it's an easy way to reach the Trunk or Treat lot. The last runs end at 8 p.m. That's an hour after doors open at the Stone Pony, which is also a stop. If you're out after 8, plan your own ride home.

After dark, the venues take over

Once the porches go quiet, the evening belongs to the venues and their own Halloween plans.

• Splintered Sunlight, "A Grateful Halloween," at the Stone Pony, 913 Ocean Avenue. The Chamber lists 7 to 11:30 p.m. and $20 tickets. The band, led by founding member Butchy Sochorow on lead guitar, has called the Pony its New Jersey home for 30 years.
• Harbour at the Wonder Bar. Doors at 7, show at 8, 21 and over, $25.
• The St. Laurent's Annual Halloween Bash. Starts at 8 p.m. in Harry's Bar, with music by Chris Spirito and a costume contest whose prizes include an overnight stay at The St. Laurent.
• 2nd Annual Masquerade Party at Watermark. After 9 p.m. with no cover. It is not a costume party. Guests should come in masquerade masks that come off easily for ID checks at the door.
• Hell in Paradise at Paradise. The 27th Annual Halloween Ball and Costume Contest. DJ Mikey Mo plays the Main Room and DJ Hound Circus plays the Copper Room, with Vanity LaVain and Freeda Kulo hosting. $20.
• Dead Frequency at Palmetto. A free back-to-back DJ night from 9 p.m. until late.
• ANTISOCIAL at Asbury Social. A Halloween masquerade version of the venue's Social Saturdays, starting at 10 p.m.

The Original Asbury Park Ghost Tours, which Asbury Park Tour Company has run since 2008, also go out at 8 p.m. that night and the night before. The $25 tours draw on the city's documented history, not jump scares.

Thursday and Friday have their own events. Johnny Macs holds an industry-night Halloween party at 9 p.m. Thursday, then a costume contest Friday. Georgies hosts its annual Halloween party and costume contest Friday from 8 p.m., with a $5 cover. Also on Friday, the Wonder Bar holds an Emo Night Karaoke Halloween Party at 8 p.m., where a live band backs whoever takes the mic, for $17.

If Saturday turns wet

If it rains, PorchFest moves to Saturday, November 7. Trunk or Treat stays on October 31 but becomes a drive-through.

A rainout would also put PorchFest right after a busy first week of November at the Pony. She Wants Revenge plays with Rosegarden Funeral Party on Wednesday, November 4, and Michelle Branch plays Friday, November 6. Later in the month, Fantastic Cat plays the Pony on Thanksgiving Eve, November 25, with James Felice. The Asbury Park Holiday Bazaar fills Convention Hall's Grand Arcade November 27 through 29. It's free, indoors and open to all ages.

If you're mapping your Saturday between the porches and the Pony, or thinking about which streets you'd like to be closer to next fall, the team at The Haven Group knows this calendar well and is glad to talk it through. Get in touch any time. Happy Halloween from our Asbury Park office.