Best Presidents Day Weekend Things To Do In New Jersey

This year Presidents Day is Celebrated on  Monday, February 17, 2020

President's Day is a United States federal holiday that was initially created to honor and celebrates the life and achievements of George Washington, the first President of the United States (1789-1797) and 'The Father of his Country'. More recently In 1971, it was changed to the third Monday of February to honor and remember all past US presidents, and in particular Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson. The celebration of President's Day has become a three day weekend event and an occasion for community celebrations and parades. Many stores and businesses hold special sales.

Northern New Jersey President's Day (weekend) Events

Maple Sugaring Demo & Festival
Saturday & Sunday, February 15, 16, 2020; Rain or shine.
Seatings: 1 p.m. - 2 p.m. or 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center .
247 Southern Boulevard
Chatham, NJ
Cost: $4 per person age 3 & up.
973.635.6629
No registration is required, but seating is first come, first served. All ages welcome.
Website
Experience the fascinating process of maple sugaring from tree to pancake topping. If conditions are right, watch as staff identifies and taps maple trees and collects sap, and make syrup over a wood-fired evaporator. Taste-test different, delicious syrups, including syrup made at the Great Swamp OEC.

Journey of Sap to Syrup
Saturday & Monday, February 15, & 17, 2020: 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Watchung Reservation
452 New Providence Road
Mountainside, NJ 07092
Website
908-789-3670
See how 100% real maple syrup is made from the sap of a sugar maple tree. Find out what equipment is needed to collect sap and take part in a taste test to see if you can identify the real thing. Dress for the weather. There will be a short walk to the tapped tree.

Middlebrook Five Generals Bus Tour
February 16, 2020; 10:00am — 6:00pm
The Historic Philip Van Horne House
941 E. Main St.
Bridgewater, NJ 08807
732-356-8856
Website / Tickets
Experience five 18th century houses where George Washington and his top generals lived during the winter cantonment of 1778-79. Middlebrook is said to be the only location where five such houses still exist in their original location and are still open to the public outside of Williamsburg and Yorktown. Traveling by comfort coach, our narrators lay out the land as it was during the cantonment. As we visit each site, browse the museum and discover its history, then off to the next location.The stops are quick to give you a snapshot and desire to return at your own leisure. Tours are limited to 22 guests and run every hour from 10 am until 3 pm. Each tour is 2.5 hours (may be 3 hours depending on traffic).

Maple Sugaring
Sunday, February 16, 2020
Visitor Center
Tenafly Nature Center
313 Hudson Ave.
Tenafly, NJ
Website
This is a great, family outdoor winter experience. Learn how to identify a maple tree and the history of syrup making and how technology has changed the way we gather sap over the centuries. The group will check Tenafly Nature Center's tapped tree and boil down sap to make fresh, warm maple syrup, a sweet treat for all to taste. All ages are welcome.

Presidents' Day Vacation Workshop
February 17, 2020: 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Morris Museum
6 Normandy Heights Road
Morristown, NJ
973.971.3700
Website
FREE with Museum Admission.
A day of fun awaits you as you celebrate Presidents' Day at the Morris Museum! Learn more about Aerosol: Graffiti | Street Art | New Jersey | Now and what 12 artists have created right on the Museum's walls.
Join Claudia Lemmerz with Touch the Music as she presents a patriotic program with musical instruments. Drop in any time to build your own historic monument using KEVA™ planks.

Presidents Day For Kids
Monday, February 17, 2020; 10:00 AM 12:00 PM
Crane House & Historic YWCA
110 Orange Road
Montclair, NJ
Website
Cost: Admission is $10/child. Registration required in advance
Presidents' Day should be about more than just a good sale. At the Crane House and Historic YWCA, your child will discover how our past presidents (and their wives and children) lived through crafts and other activities at this drop-off progra. Appropriate for children ages 6 to 10, children under 6 cannot be left unattended.

Central New Jersey President's Day (weekend) Events

Celebrate Lincoln's Birthday at iPlay America
Wednesday, February 12, 2020; @4pm
iPlay America
110 Schanck Rd
Freehold, NJ
Website

Ride for Five Eat for Five! Come celebrate Lincoln's birthday featuring $5 for any iRide or iRide Plus Band 4pm-close
$5 Kids Meals at Game Time Bar & Grill

Maple Sugaring at Happy Day Farm
February 15th & 16th, 2020; 10am & 3pm (weather permtting)
Happy Day Farm
106 Iron Ore Rd
Manalapan, NJ
Website
(732) 977-3607
Cost: $3.00 per person, children under two are FREE. Tractor ride included
Come lend Farmer Tim a hand in the process! You can't make this chemistry up! Real science. Real maple. Come see the process for yourself in Olivia's Sugar Shack!
Freezing nights and thawing days mark the beginning of maple sugaring season, and at Happy Day Farm the work of tapping trees and boiling sap is underway. This is a great outdoor winter experience where attendees will take a tractor ride of our 130-acre farm with over 600 maple trees and it takes 35 to 40 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup.

Presidents Day in the 1830s!
Saturday, February 15, 2020; 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
The Historic Village
Allaire Village Chapel
4263 Atlantic Avenue
Farmingdale, NJ
732-919-3500
Website/Registration
Cost: Free, This theatrical performance - $20 per person - register separately
Help salute the Presidents of the past by visiting the Historic Village for this special day of patriotic activities and surprise historical challenges. We'll have cooking in the Manager's House and the Allaire Residence, blacksmithing and carving demonstrations, toasts to our great President Jackson, a village-wide "name that President" contest, and patriotic rocket balloons for the kids! At 2:00pm in the chapel, Meet Mary Todd Lincoln and get the woman's point of view on life in the White House.

George Washington's Birthday Celebration
Sunday, February 16, 2020; @ 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Washington Crossing Historic Park
Visitor Center & Historic Village
1112 River Road
Washington Crossing, PA
Website
Admission is FREE
Join in to celebrate our first president's 288th birthday at a party featuring children's activities and cake cut with General Washington's own sword. Buildings in the historic village will be open during the day, and kids are encouraged to bring homemade cards to present to George himself, who will be on hand for the festivities.

Southern New Jersey President's Day (weekend) Events

Atlantic City RV & Camping Show
February 14 - 17, 2020
Atlantic City Convention Center
One Convention Blvd.
Atlantic City
Website
Camping enthusiasts can find the all under one roof opportunity begin planning your camping vacations for the coming season, trading up to your dream RV, see the new 2017 RVs, or just learn about the joys of travel in a recreational vesicle.

President's Day Weekend at Sahara Sam's
Friday, February 14th - Monday, February 17th, 2020
Sahara Sam's Oasis
535 North Route 73
West Berlin, NJ 08091
Website/tickets
Salute the great presidents of this country with a splash! They are open for a four-day weekend in honor of President's Day.

Cape May Wine Trail
Sunday, February 16, 2020; 11AM - 5PM
Trolley leaves from the Physick Estate at 11am and returns approx. 5 pm.
Physick Estate
Cape May, NJ
Website
Cost: $85
Includes lunch and a brief tour and wine tasting at Willow Creek Winery, plus a wine tasting, cheese and crackers and a souvenir glass at Natali Vineyards.

Hippo Conservation Weekend
Saturday, February 15 through Monday February 17, 2020
Adventure Aquarium
1 Riverside Drive
Camden, NJ
844-474-FISH (3474)
Website / Tickets
Cost: Child $21.99, Adult $31.99
This weekend long event features an interaction with animal experts and learn more about the Nile hippopotamus and Turgwe Hippo Trust, a nonprofit organization in Zimbabwe, Africa that is helping hippos in the wild. You can also meet Button and Genny and enjoy some hippo-fun inside Hippo Haven!

Cape May Chocolate Lovers Feast
Februray 15, 2020; 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Washington Inn
801 Washington Street
Cape May
Tickets ($40/person)
This event features the ultimate feast for chocolate lovers! Enjoy an all chocolate dessert buffet

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