Glen Rock's October comes down to two Sundays on Rock Road, two weeks apart. On the first, October 11, the street fair fills the stretch around Maple Avenue. The second, October 25, is the Halloween Parade, and this year it is no longer the borough's whole Halloween. A pumpkin morning comes the day before. In the days after come a library costume party, a midnight book release with The Curious Reader, and a new evening event at Borough Hall called the Rock-O-Lantern.
Put those dates side by side and the parade sits in the middle of the week. Here is how the month adds up, with the Halloween events grouped together because they now work as one run.
| Date | Time | Event | Where | Sign-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun., Oct. 11 | 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Glen Rock Street Fair & Craft Show | Rock Road and Maple Avenue | None for visitors |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | 9 to 11 a.m. | Pumpkin decorating, ages 3 to 5 | The Annex | Registration required |
| Sun., Oct. 25 | 9:30 a.m. | Halloween Parade, then Trunk-or-Treat | Borough-run | Preregistration required |
| Mon., Oct. 26 | 6 to 7:30 p.m. | Library Halloween Party | Glen Rock Public Library | Registration required |
| Mon., Oct. 26 | 10:30 p.m. | ACOTAR Midnight Release Party | Glen Rock Public Library, 315 Rock Road | RSVP required |
| Last week of October | Dusk, about 7:30 p.m. | First annual Rock-O-Lantern | Borough Hall | Bring a carved pumpkin |
October 11 Sets the Footprint
The Glen Rock Street Fair & Craft Show runs Sunday, October 11, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Rock Road and Maple Avenue. The organizer's 2026 vendor application gives the same date and hours. Its event listing describes artists, crafters, vendors, food, rides and live music.
The fair also shows how compact the downtown is. Taste of Haifa sits at 251 Rock Road and The Curious Reader at 229, with Honey Day Café at 228 and Francesca Brick Oven Pizza & Pasta at 234. On the fair Sunday, most of the places you'd want to eat or browse are a few doors from the booths. The Halloween events two weeks later use much of the same ground.
Saturday, October 24: The Smallest Costumes First
The week starts small. The borough's October 1 notice invites children ages 3 to 5 to decorate pumpkins at the Annex on Saturday, October 24, from 9 to 11 a.m., and registration is required. It goes through the same borough recreation registration page as the parade, which now lists "Halloween Parade 2026." If you have a preschooler and an older child, you can sign up for both at once.
Sunday, October 25: The Parade Everyone Already Knows
The borough's Halloween notice sets the annual Halloween Parade for Sunday, October 25, at 9:30 a.m., with Trunk-or-Treat right after. Preregistration is required.
The 2026 notice doesn't give a route, a lineup spot or a Trunk-or-Treat location. The best guide is last year. TAPinto reported in October 2025 that families lined up at 9:15 a.m. in the Rock Ridge alcove along Rock Road, then walked Rock Road to the parking lot behind Bank of America. That was the 2025 route, so check your registration confirmation before you plan to meet anyone there. If it repeats, the parade will cover much of the same Rock Road ground as the street fair, two weeks later.
Monday, October 26: The Library Gets Used Twice in One Night
After the parade, the week moves into the evening, and the Glen Rock Public Library at 315 Rock Road hosts two very different crowds on the same Monday.
From 6 to 7:30 p.m., the library's children's calendar lists a costume Halloween Party with games, crafts and a balloon artist. Registration is required.
Three hours after that party ends, the building opens again for something later. The Curious Reader and the library are hosting a midnight release party for the sixth book in Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses series, which comes out Tuesday, October 27. Doors open at 10:30 p.m. on Monday, October 26, and the event page lists the end date as Tuesday, October 27. RSVP is required, and the shop sells a book-and-ticket bundle on the same page. The bookstore says more details will come as the date gets closer.
Two Rock Road institutions are running this together. The Curious Reader is at 229 Rock Road, and the Glen Rock Chamber of Commerce describes it as an independent bookstore for readers of all ages, especially children. The library is a short walk up the same street. So one Monday covers both ends of the reading age range, with a balloon artist at 6 p.m. and a fantasy-series launch near midnight.
The New One: Rock-O-Lantern
The Rock-O-Lantern is the event that makes this a full week. The borough calls it the "first annual," and here is the invitation as written:
Residents are invited to carve their own Jack-O-Lanterns and bring them to Borough Hall on Thursday, October 28th. We will light the Rock-O-Lanterns at dusk (roughly 7:30) - all are invited to attend the ceremony. They will remain on the Borough Hall property until after Halloween weekend.
There's a calendar problem. October 28, 2026 is a Wednesday, and the Thursday that week is October 29. The borough notice is the only published source for the date so far, so check the borough site or its channels before you carve. Either way, the lighting is in the last week of October, at dusk.
The lighting also wraps up a contest. Under the heading "Glen Rock's Most Haunted (House)," the borough asks residents to submit their homes through an online form. Council members will visit every house entered and announce three winners, plus the prize, at the first Rock-O-Lantern. So the evening carries some suspense for anyone who entered.
Halloween falls on Saturday, October 31 this year. Because the lanterns stay at Borough Hall until after Halloween weekend, the display runs from the lighting through the weekend.
Where to Eat Between Events
The Halloween week includes a morning, a Sunday brunch window, a Monday dinner gap between the two library events, and a weeknight lighting at dusk. These are the Rock Road spots with current hours or ordering on their own sites, from the lower numbers up toward the library.
- Tasty Junction, 175 Rock Road. Dine-in and takeout. Its site lists three concepts under one roof: Elyssia's Kitchen, Cloud Cake and Cafe Pikunikku.
- Dylann & Grace Boutique, 227 Rock Road. A shop, not a restaurant, with store hours posted online, two doors from the bookstore.
- Honey Day Café, 228 Rock Road. Café service with daily hours on its site, the closest coffee to the Saturday and Sunday morning events.
- Francesca Brick Oven Pizza & Pasta, 234 Rock Road. Online ordering, which helps for a Monday dinner between a 7:30 p.m. pickup and a 10:30 p.m. book launch.
- Taste of Haifa, 251 Rock Road. The newest restaurant on this list. The Bergen County Girl reported in its January 6, 2026 roundup that it had opened, serving Mediterranean food inspired by the flavors of Haifa. Its site offers lunch, dinner, takeout and delivery.
One more name to watch at 175 Rock Road. Forme House, a Pilates and wellness studio, was listed as "Coming Soon" in an August 10, 2026 Bergen County openings roundup by The Local Girl, with no opening date given. Check its status before your next walk down that block.
A Few Dates Before Halloween Week
The Glen Rock Chamber of Commerce lists a Glen Rock Women in Business meeting at the library at 10 a.m. on Thursday, October 8. Its general meeting is on October 22, according to the Chamber's 2026 schedule. Both come before the costumes. For the sign-up deadlines that matter most, here's the order to register in:
- Pumpkin decorating, Saturday, October 24, through borough recreation registration.
- Halloween Parade and Trunk-or-Treat, Sunday, October 25, on the same registration page.
- The library Halloween Party, Monday, October 26, through the library's children's calendar.
- The ACOTAR midnight release party, Monday, October 26, by RSVP to The Curious Reader.
The Rock-O-Lantern doesn't need registration. Just bring a carved pumpkin to Borough Hall before dusk on whichever date the borough confirms.
Claudia has volunteered as co-president of a neighboring Chamber of Commerce, so she knows how much volunteer time goes into a week like this. If a new tradition like Rock-O-Lantern gets you wondering how Glen Rock's calendar fits with the rest of Northern Bergen County, or what a home along these streets might be worth, Claudia H. Sanchez is happy to talk it through over a personalized market consultation.
