There’s the new season at NJPAC, there’s Rutgers and NJIT and Essex County College making their campuses more inviting (alas, poor UMDNJ can’t get out of its own way), there’s still those Ironbound Iberians packing them in, there’s last week’s grand opening of the Pru Center….

Is Newark officially cool yet?

At least, look up and see the cool art deco buildings downtown. The New Jersey Historical Society is sponsoring “Art Deco Confidential: A Narrated Architectural Walking Tour of Newark,”  led by architectural historian Glen Leiner. It’s Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Cost is $49 and includes a catered lunch from landmark Hobby’s Deli, access to The New Jersey Historical Society’s exhibits and a guided tour of the Newark Museum’s Modernist collections. Call (973) 596-8500 ext. 234 to make reservations or hit www.jerseyhistory.org.

And now for something completely different: Back in the early 1970s, deep in the Piney woods of Waretown, local fiddlers and banjo pickers would head to Joe and George Albert’s deer cabin for a Saturday night hoedown. It was the birth of what became the Pinelands Cultural Society, which this Saturday is sponsoring the Legend of the Jersey Devil Show at Albert Music Hall (www.alberthall.org), a venue that traces its Piney heritage to the old deer cabin.  Showtime is 7:30 p.m., adults $5 children $1. Try the website or (609) 971-1593 for tickets and more info.

You got to love our state. You can go from thoroughly urban to completely rural. And where else do people “go down the Shore”?  Go and see why some love it in autumn. Or, if you need entertainment by the sea, you can hear “Roxanne ” and “Don’t Stand So Close” at the 30th-anniversary reunion tour of the Police. Concert is Saturday at 8 p.m. $50–$350 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. (800) 736-1420 or www.thepolice.com.

Though we have urban and rural,  Enn Jay is mostly suburban. Sometimes, you can even find high culture in our ‘burbs. Like the performance of Carl Orff’s stirring choral work Carmina Burana by Morris County’s Masterwork Chorus (www.masterwork.org), Saturday at 8 p.m. at Drew University.  Concert also includes works by Bruckner, Stravinsky and Bartok. $25-$40.

Is New Jersey officially cool yet?  Click on the link below to Write the Editor, and let us know what you think of our Enn Jay.

The big Stuff-To-Do-This-Weekend news is the grand opening of the Prudential Center (www.prucenter.com) in Newark, with Enn-Jay’s own Bon Jovi. His ten-night stand runs tonight through Nov. 10. Schedule and ticket sales: www.islandrecords.com/bonjovi. 

Of course, it’s also the weekend before Halloween. We found activities North, Central, South and Shore.

In Morris County, historic 19th century Cooper Mill in Chester gets decorated for Halloween to welcome kids, who can listen to ghost stories and go on a scavenger hunt; Saturday, 1-3:30 p.m. Two hours later in Chatham, creep along the darkening trails of the Great Swamp in the company of spooky storytellers. www.morrisparks.net/halloween.asp.

In Princeton, scare’ums for grown-ups: the David Sarnoff Library (www.davidsarnoff.org),  which documents the history of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), is staging a reenactment of War of the Worlds, Orson Well’s radio program of Oct. 27, 1938 that scared America into thinking Martians had landed at Grover’s Mill, in West Windsor. Performances Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m.

In South Jersey, trick-or-treaters can hear goblin tales in the scary witch’s kitchen at the Discovery Museum in Cherry Hill (www.discoverymuseum.com), which closes at 5 p.m. and reopens at 6:30 for the festivities.

And down the Shore, the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts (www.capemaymac.org) is sponsoring rides through Cape May’s Victorian streets “with a guide who will relate the paranormal findings of Ghost Writer Craig McManus at various properties along the way.” Trolley leaves in the evenings: Friday at 8:45, Saturday at 7:30 and Sunday at 7.  $10 for adults, $5 for children,  (800) 275-4278 for reservations.

Ghosts are not the only things you may see flying around the Cape this weekend. It’s the peak of fall migration, time for the New Jersey Audubon Society’s (www.njaudubon.org) annual Autumn Weekend Bird Show. It’s three days of field trips, indoor workshops, nature exhibits with live birds of prey, and wildlife artists selling their work at Convention Hall. www.birdcapemay.org.

This weekend we also want to see one of the art world’s legendary photographs, Ansel Adams’ 1941 shot of an old Spanish village in New Mexico, Moonrise, Hernández. Four distinct prints (made in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s) will be on exhibit at the Princeton University Art Museum (www.princetonartmuseum.org) starting Friday and until January 13.

And if you want to feel good while doing good, go on the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Ocean City, on Sunday, opening ceremonies at 9 a.m. Check makingstrides.acsevents.org or call (908) 629-0386 x203.  

Get out and enjoy—rock the Pru, or go ghost busting.  You’ll feel the spirits!

This weekend, news of old:

Old everything…
The Atlantique City Fall Festival bills itself as “The World's Largest Indoor Antique & Collectible Show.” Ennnnywayyy…. it’s bound to be pretty big. See for yourself (and bring that odd little chachka on your shelf for an appraisal) Saturday and Sunday at the Atlantic City Convention Center. For more info, (800) 526-2724 or www.atlantiquecity.com.  

Old stage things…
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in Madison is cleaning out its wardrobe room. Great chance to get a costume and props for Halloween at monstrously good prices. Call (973) 408-5600 or  visit www.shakespearenj.org.

Old school…
Ah, kids these days. Why don’t they learn manners like our grandparents knew when they were little? Teach your children well, or let a pro do it. The Nanny Rose School of Etiquette offers a 90-minute program about dining at home, in a restaurant, or at formal affairs. It runs Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m., at Georgian Court University in Lakewood. $15 per child. (732) 987.2263 and www.georgian.edu/public_events/nanny_rose.htm.

Old money…
Late October means it’s time for the one of New Jersey’s biggest social events of the fall season, Far Hills Race Meeting Association’s annual steeplechase (www.farhillsrace.org).  It’s for a great cause: since the 1950s the event has raised more than $16 million for Somerset Medical Center (www.somersetmedicalcenter.com). The riders are great, too—some of the world’s finest steeplechasers compete for purses of $600,000. And it’s a great time for the 50,000 spectators expected, some of whom put together spectacular picnic buffets. Tailgating, but very upscale.

Old Jersey…
Take the New Jersey Lighthouse Society’s Lighthouse Challenge. The idea is to visit the state’s eleven historic land-based lighthouses, from Sandy Hook to Cape May, between 8 a.m. Saturday and 6 p.m. Sunday. Night climbs scheduled at five of the lighthouses.  Details at www.njlhs.org.

Or get two other, more leisurely, views of Enn-Jay’s days of yore: Celebrate 19th century Pine Barrens history at the Chatsworth Cranberry Festival (www.cranfest.org), where artisans offer their crafts for sale.  Or join Union County’s “Four Centuries in a Weekend” festivities, featuring historic re-enactors, demonstrations and musical performances at 25 historic house museums. Check www.unioncountynj.org/cultural/4centuries/index.html. Both events are Saturday and Sunday.

Have a good ol’ time!

This weekend, news of old:Old everything… The Atlantique City Fall Festival bills itself as “The World's Largest Indoor Antique & Collectible Show.” Ennnnywayyy…. it’s bound to be pretty big. See for yourself (and bring that odd little chachka on your shelf for an appraisal) Saturday and Sunday at the Atlantic City Convention Center. For more info, (800) 526-2724 or www.atlantiquecity.com

Old stage things…
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in Madison is cleaning out its wardrobe room. Great chance to get a costume and props for Halloween at monstrously good prices. Call (973) 408-5600 or visit www.shakespearenj.org

Old school… Ah, kids these days. Why don’t they learn manners like our grandparents knew when they were little? Teach your children well, or let a pro do it. The Nanny Rose School of Etiquette offers a 90-minute program about dining at home, in a restaurant, or at formal affairs. It runs Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m., at Georgian Court University in Lakewood. $15 per child. (732) 987.2263 and
www.georgian.edu/public_events/nanny_rose.htm. Old money…

Late October means it’s time for the one of New Jersey’s biggest social events of the fall season, Far Hills Race Meeting Association’s annual steeplechasewww.farhillsrace.org). It’s for a great cause: since the 1950s the event has raised more than $16 million for Somerset Medical Center (www.somersetmedicalcenter.com). The riders are great, too—some of the world’s finest steeplechasers compete for purses of $600,000. And it’s a great time for the 50,000 spectators expected, some of whom put together spectacular picnic buffets. Tailgating, but very upscale. Old Jersey… Take the New Jersey Lighthouse Society’s Lighthouse Challenge. The idea is to visit the state’s eleven historic land-based lighthouses, from Sandy Hook to Cape May, between 8 a.m. Saturday and 6 p.m. Sunday. Night climbs scheduled at five of the lighthouses. Details at www.njlhs.org. Or get two other, more leisurely, views of Enn-Jay’s days of yore: Celebrate 19th century Pine Barrens history at the Chatsworth Cranberry Festival (www.cranfest.org), where artisans offer their crafts for sale. Or join Union County’s “Four Centuries in a Weekend” festivities, featuring historic re-enactors, demonstrations and musical performances at 25 historic house museums. Check www.unioncountynj.org/cultural/4centuries/index.html. Both events are Saturday and Sunday.