The Weekend Ahead: The 105th Far Hills Race Meeting, a Mushroom Festival in Hillsborough and Oktoberfest at Abma's Farm

Good morning, Somerset County. The biggest day on the local calendar is Saturday, when the 105th Far Hills Race Meeting brings steeplechase racing back to Moorland Farms. Hillsborough's farms carry the rest of the weekend, with a mushroom festival at Zell's Farm and a free Oktoberfest at Abma's. Three community theater productions are running, the Somerville Pioneers host their 45th marching band festival, and Saturday is the season's final household hazardous waste drop-off.

Friday

• Alpaca Yoga at Bluebird Farm Alpacas, 44 Willow Ave., Peapack, 5:30 p.m. Details
• Pumpkin carving with goats at Abma's Farm, 282 Amwell Road, Hillsborough, Friday evenings starting at 5 p.m. You get an hour of carving with the petting-zoo goats for company, and it's BYOB. Details
• Flashlight Corn Maze featuring the Headless Horseman at Abma's Farm, Hillsborough, from 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Details
• Almost, Maine opens with the Lord Stirling Theater Company in the English Barn Theater at Farmstead Arts Center, 450 King George Road, Basking Ridge, at 7:30 p.m. More shows Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., then October 23 to 25. Tickets are $25, or $23 for seniors, students, children and military. Details
• The Night I Died at the Palace Theatre, Open Door Arts Center's fall whodunit, at the PeopleCare Center Auditorium, 120 Finderne Ave., Bridgewater. Shows are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., and tickets are $20. Details
• Comedy returns to the Brook with Billy Garan and Melvin George at the Brook Arts Center, 10 Hamilton St., Bound Brook, 8 p.m. Details

Saturday

• The 105th Far Hills Race Meeting at Moorland Farms, 100 Liberty Corner Road, Far Hills. A full day of steeplechase racing benefits regional healthcare, with gates listed at 8 a.m. Expect heavy traffic around Far Hills all day, and check the race meeting's site for parking and tickets before you go. Details
• Household hazardous waste drop-off, the last one of the season, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the South County Public Works Garage, 410 Roycefield Road, Hillsborough. It's free, it runs rain or shine, and it closes early if the trucks fill up. Details
• Bernardsville Farmers' Market at Bernardsville Station, 50 Mine Brook Road, from 9 a.m. Details
• Exploring Nature with iNaturalist, a beginner's course at Duke Farms, Hillsborough, 9:30 a.m. Details
• NJ TCG Trading Card Festival on the lower level of Bridgewater Commons, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Expect hundreds of tables of trading card vendors. Details
• The 3rd Mushroom Harvest Festival at Zell's Farm, 820 Amwell Road, Hillsborough. The farm grows more than ten kinds of specialty mushrooms and opens up for a day of hands-on fall fun. Details
• The 45th Somerville High School Pioneer Marching Band Festival at Brooks Field, 222 Davenport St., Somerville, 2 p.m. Sixteen bands from New York and New Jersey perform, and the Pioneers close with their 2026 show, "Outlaw." Tickets are $15, or $10 for seniors and students. Details
• Spooktacular shows at the RVCC Planetarium in Branchburg, with four shows at 3, 4, 7 and 8 p.m. that include two laser concerts. Tickets are $11 for one show or $20 for two, and reservations are recommended. Details
• Oktoberfest at Abma's Farm, Hillsborough, 5 to 9 p.m. Admission is free, with Founders Brewing Co., German-style food, live music by Nikki Briar and a stein-holding contest. Details
• SONGBIRD, a Barbra Streisand tribute starring Karine Hannah, at the Sieminski Theater, 8000 Fellowship Road, Basking Ridge, 7:30 p.m. The show was rescheduled from April, and tickets are $51 to $71. Details
• The Underground's two-year anniversary party in Somerville, 8 p.m., with a Jersey club lineup. Details

Sunday

• Sunday matinees: Almost, Maine at Farmstead Arts Center, Basking Ridge, and The Night I Died at the Palace Theatre at the PeopleCare Center, Bridgewater, both at 2 p.m. (see Friday).
• The farm festivals below are open Sunday too.

All weekend

• Snyder's Farm Fall Festival, 586 South Middlebush Road, Franklin Township, from 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, running through October 25. Details
• Fall Harvest Days from 10 a.m. and the Scare Farm after dark at Norz Hill Farm & Market, 120 South Branch Road, Hillsborough. Harvest Days · Scare Farm
• Hayride, corn maze, pumpkin patch and petting zoo packages at Abma's Farm, Hillsborough. Details
• Woodland Halloween photo props at Shadowline Farm, 345 Burnt Mills Road, Bedminster. Details
• Fired en Masse, an exhibition at the Center for Contemporary Art, 2020 Burnt Mills Road, Bedminster, on view through December 7. Details
• The Somerset County Library System has story times, crafts and Halloween programs at its branches all weekend. See the events calendar.

Around the county

• The I-78 West on-ramp in Warren Township has reopened now that $6.1 million in bridge work is wrapping up. News
• New in retail and dining: Ross Dress for Less plans a new store in Bridgewater. Ricky's Thai & Asian Fusion plans to open in Bedminster in 2027. Somerville's Middlemist Meadery is now sold in local bars and liquor stores and in 40 states. Business
• Somerset County Library System director Peter Bromberg is retiring, and Lynn Hoffman has been named acting director. News
• Hillsborough Municipal Court was honored after Somerset County took first place in a statewide backlog-reduction competition. TAPinto
• On the high school fields: Bernards football has won five straight. Bridgewater-Raritan girls soccer and Pingry have both reached the Somerset County Tournament semifinals. Sports
• Coming up next weekend: North Plainfield's Halloween Parade, with costumes, prizes and a trunk-or-treat, is October 25. News

Have an event we should know about? Submit it here. Have a good weekend, Somerset County.