Few Central New Jersey towns do Halloween like Lambertville does Halloween, and its ACME Screening Room is getting a head start on the spooky activities with its annual Lambertville Halloween Film Festival.
The festival, which runs Friday through Sunday, October 17 through 19, kicks off with a back-to-school themed “Monster Homecoming” opening fundraiser party on Friday night at Lambertville Music Hall on Bridge Street. Put your best costume on to enjoy an evening of live music, dancing, food and drink, tarot card readings, a photobooth, silent auction, and costume contest. Tickets are $37.
Movie screenings start on Saturday with two blocks of short films. Block A, from noon to 2 p.m., features 10 submissions from the “Guts and Gore” and “Happy Halloween” categories. Block B, from 2:15 to 4 p.m., features nine films from the “Heady Horror” category. Tickets are $12 for each block.
Saturday evening starts with the return of “The Point Pleasant Tapes” to the LHFF. Last year’s audience saw a sneak preview of the 1289 Films production, which has now been fully edited for distribution to streaming platforms later this year. The Mothman film — themed around a winged cryptid associated with Point Pleasant, West Virginia — is summarized as follows: “In 1987, three friends vanish on a road trip to West Virginia. Thirty-four years later, footage of their final moments leaks onto YouTube, forcing viewers to question the existence of an ancient evil within the Appalachian woods.” Following the 5 p.m. screening, learn how the film evolved from last year’s festival and ask your Mothman questions. Tickets are $12.
Your inner ’90s child is invited to “Nostalgia Personified,” beginning at 8 p.m. on Saturday. The nationally touring live comedy clip show has TV stars like Danny Tamberelli, Michael C. Maronna, and Lori Beth Denberg relive the awkward glory of their on-screen youth. Hosted by Jeremy Balon, each show features childhood commercials, TV scenes, and deep-cut appearances the stars would probably rather forget. Tickets are $27 for the show, or $53 including a pre-show VIP meet-and-greet at 6:45 p.m.
Sunday’s programming begins with a modern twist on the 1922 silent film “Haxan” with original accompaniment by musician Sam Stilwell mixing droning noise soundscape, electric dance party, and improv. The Swedish-Danish horror film is part documentary, part fiction tracing the history of witchcraft from the middle ages through the early 20th century. Tickets for the screening, which starts at noon, are $9.
The Judged Short Film Award Ceremony follows at 1:45 p.m. Sunday and is free to attend. At 2:25 p.m. the festival concludes with “WORLDS,” another repeat screening of newly cut film first shown at last year’s festival in which “a documentary film crew discovers an otherworldly mystery while investigating an unsolved murder.” Audiences can see what’s changed after a year on the festival circuit and speak to the director and executive producer about the updates in a post-film Q&A session. Tickets are $12.
“What I Remember,” filmmaker Alex Hera’s low budget 2024 production shot on a camcorder, screens Sunday at 6 p.m. “In the rural town of Brookehaven, two strangers meet each other in a stroke of fate,” a plot summary states. “Ryan documents everything in life with a camera, and Sam, a lonely troublemaker, welcomes Ryan into her life. In the present day, Ryan has gone missing, and Sam reminiscences on their past as she goes through the old footage and searches for Ryan.” Tickets are $12. A live Q&A follows the screening.
All screenings take place at the ACME Screening Room, 25 South Union Street, Lambertville. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.acmescreeningroom.org/lhff.
The action moves from the big screen to the stage for the Halloween Playfest at the West Windsor Branch of the Mercer County Library System. The annual event features four original short plays written by librarian Michael Kerr: “The Student of the Year”; “The House of Haunted”; “Andrew”; and “The Strange Misadventures of Miss Anna Logg.”
Performances take place Friday, October 17, at 8 p.m., Saturday, October 18, at 3 and 8 p.m., and Sunday, October 19, at 3 p.m. The performers are all teenagers from the region, and admission is free. The shows are recommended for ages 10 and up.
West Windsor Branch of the Mercer County Library System, 333 North Post Road, Princeton Junction. For more information: 609-799-0462 or westprogs@mcl.org.
Activities for the whole family are on tap over the next two weeks in Princeton.
The Halloween Spooktacular returns to Princeton Shopping Center on Saturday, October 18, from 3 to 8 p.m.
From 3 to 6 p.m., children can enjoy activities including face painting, balloon artists, and more. Then, get out your blankets and chairs for a courtyard screening of “Hocus Pocus” beginning at 6:15 p.m.
For the adults, Triumph Brewery operates a pop-up beer garden from 3 to 8 p.m. as well as live music from Women Rock! from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Princeton Shopping Center, 301 North Harrison Street, Princeton. For more information, visit princetonshoppingcenter.com/event/halloween-spooktacular.
The following Friday, October 24, marks the return of a community tradition: the annual Hometown Halloween Parade, a free, family-friendly celebration organized by the Arts Council of Princeton.
Attendees are invited to gather on Palmer Square Green at 5 p.m. to enjoy music by the Princeton University Band. The parade steps off at 5:30 p.m., headed toward the Princeton YMCA.
At the Y, families are invited to continue the celebration with a festive trunk-or-treat and a screening of Pixar’s “Monsters Inc.” The movie will begin at 6:30 p.m.
Community members may register to participate in the trunk-or-treat — a spirited opportunity to decorate your parked car from which children can trick-or-treat — by visiting artscouncilofprinceton.org or calling 609-924-8777.
The event is free and open to the public, with costumes encouraged for all ages.
“Since 1976 the Arts Council has been parading trick-or-treaters through town,” ACP Executive Director Adam Welch said. “And each year we eagerly await seeing the creativity that comes alive through all the costumes.”
For more information and updates, visit artscouncilofprinceton.org/event/halloween-parade-25.
