Halloween Lands on a Saturday in Cresskill This Year. The 9 p.m. Curfew Doesn't Move.

"We understand that Halloween falls on a Saturday and that children may want to start early."

That line comes from Mayor John Morgan's October 8, 2026 Weekly Community Update. It sits inside a short notice that the borough will again apply a 9:00 p.m. curfew to everyone under 18 on Cabbage Night, Friday, October 30, and on Halloween, Saturday, October 31. The update asks families to plan trick-or-treating and outdoor activities so that minors are home by then.

On a school night, a 9 p.m. cutoff hardly changes anyone's plans. On a Saturday, kids have no classes and the whole day is open, so the cutoff ends up shaping everything before it. In Cresskill this year, Halloween is a daytime holiday. The town's own calendar for the last ten days of October already runs that way, and nearly every event worth planning around ends well before dark.

A Custom the Borough Announces Every October

The borough describes the curfew as a custom, and it announces the curfew again each fall. In an October 2019 letter published by Northern Valley Press, then-Mayor Benedict Romeo wrote that it had "been a custom for a number of years" that a curfew for all children under 18 would begin at 9 p.m. on October 30 and October 31, and that the Mayor and Council had decided to continue it. The 2026 update uses nearly the same wording and calls it "longstanding Borough custom."

Neighboring towns have done the same thing for years. A day after that letter, Northern Valley Press reported that police officials across the Northern Valley and Pascack Valley credited local curfews on teens under 18 with sharply reducing the Mischief Night vandalism that had been common "a decade or two ago." Park Ridge's police chief told the paper his borough had kept a 9 p.m. curfew on both nights for nearly three decades. He also said he was glad Mischief Night and Halloween fell on school nights that year.

That remark explains why 2026 is different. In 2019, school already kept most kids busy until mid-afternoon on both curfew nights. This year, both nights fall on a weekend, and the only fixed boundary is the clock.

Working Backward From 9 p.m.

Halloween is on a Saturday, so the useful way to plan it is to start at the cutoff and work backward through the day:

1. 9:00 p.m. The curfew starts for everyone under 18, as it did the night before.
2. Early evening. Trick-or-treating, which the mayor has already said may start earlier than usual. He also asks families to be mindful of residents when they head out.
3. 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. The Halloween Party at the Cresskill Public Library, the borough's one listed Halloween-day event for kids.
4. Morning. Costumes get a final check. The borough's update includes a full list of costume-safety tips, such as flame-resistant labels, reflective tape on treat bags and soft props instead of hard ones.

The borough's posted calendar for late October lists municipal meetings and no Halloween parade or trunk-or-treat. That leaves the library party, the school dance and Union Avenue's pumpkin patch as the town's main gathering points, and all three run in daylight or early evening.

The Ten Days on the Calendar

This post publishes Thursday, October 22, and the town's Halloween run starts that afternoon. Here's how the next ten days line up, with Cresskill events and the nearby ones that fit before the cutoff:

Even the latest item on the list, the Hillsdale light show, ends at 8 p.m. Nothing on the table runs past 9.

Union Avenue Closes Out the Season a Day Early

The Cresskill Pumpkin Patch on the lawn of Cresskill Congregational Church, UCC, at 85 Union Ave., across from Kings, makes its last sales at 7 p.m. on Friday, October 30. That's two hours before the Cabbage Night curfew and a full day before Halloween. The church advertises more than 1,000 pumpkins and gourds. The patch is open every day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and takes cash, cards and Venmo, and groups such as daycares and classrooms can book mini-field trips ahead of time. The patch is a fundraiser for the church's local outreach and for the Navajo Nation, who grow the pumpkins.

Anyone planning to carve on Saturday morning needs to buy by Friday evening. The same goes for the Cresskill Farmers Market, which ends its season today. The borough lists produce, homemade goods and specialty foods there, including dried fruit, nuts, juices, desserts and pickles. In his October 8 note, the mayor asked residents to support the market "so that they return next year."

The Weekend Before Is the Real Halloween Weekend

If Saturday the 31st has a hard stop, the open-ended part of the holiday moves to the weekend before, and the area's calendar puts its biggest events there.

Tenafly Nature Center's Haunted Forest runs one day only, Sunday, October 25. The tours aren't scary. They focus on local wildlife, with owls, snakes and other nocturnal animals up close, and end with games, a themed craft and refreshments around a campfire. Space is limited, pre-registration is required, and the program goes ahead in bad weather. The nature center's lot is closed for the event. Free shuttles run from 12:45 to 6:30 p.m. from the Tenafly Borough Hall and Public Library lot at 100 Riveredge Rd., and the limited parking on Hudson Ave. means walking up a steep incline.

The day before, the nature center holds Apple Cider Making at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m., with online registration and per-person fees. The same Saturday, Closter holds its MacBain Farm Annual Fall Festival. The address, MacBain Farm at 203 Hickory Lane, and the October 25 rain date both appear in the borough's September 9, 2026 Mayor and Council agenda. Neither the announcement nor the agenda lists hours, so check closterboro.com before you go.

For one evening outing that still ends early, the Demarest Farms Halloween Light Show at 244 Werimus Road in Hillsdale is a drive-through tour of about 20 to 25 minutes. It runs nightly from 6:30 to 8 p.m. through October 31. Reservations are required, one ticket covers one car at a listed $37.72 including the booking fee, and the organizer warns that tickets can sell out.

Two Borough Rules Already in Effect

Halloween is also the night many households have guests, and one seasonal rule took effect on October 15. According to the borough's October 8 community update, Cresskill's overnight street-parking restrictions now run through April 15. A car parked overnight on the street needs a request through PD Linx, and each vehicle needs its own request. The borough says requests open each night at 8 p.m. Submitting one doesn't guarantee approval, and permission can be denied or revoked because of weather or other restrictions. Rules like these are general borough guidance and not legal advice, so for your own situation, confirm with the Cresskill Police Department.

For anyone clearing out a medicine cabinet before relatives visit, the Cresskill Police Department at 67 Union Ave. hosts DEA National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Drop-off is free and anonymous and needs no appointment. Syringes, sharps and illicit drugs aren't accepted, and liquid medications should stay sealed in their original containers. Details are at DEATakeBack.com.

Knowing that the pumpkin patch closes the day before Halloween, or that the busiest weekend comes a week early, is the kind of local timing The Taylor Lucyk Group follows all year in Cresskill. If you're curious what that knowledge of the town says about your own property, Request Your Luxury Home Valuation and we'll give you a clear, current read.