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.

Anybody see Bruuu-ce? How about Naaad-ja?

Springsteen is NJ’s own, and so is the New Jersey Symphony, which opens its season this weekend with violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg playing Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1. Also on the program: Svendson’s Norwegian Rhapsody No. 1 and Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5.  They’ll be at NJPAC Friday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. On Saturday evening at eight the concert is at Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank. $20–$75. (800) 255-3476 and www.njsymphony.org.

Is it really mid-October? You can’t tell from the recent weather. But, yup, Halloween is only two and half weeks away.

Find the Great Pumpkin—or at least a great pumpkin—at the South Jersey Pumpkin Show on Saturday. Everybody will listen to music, check out the more than 100 crafters expected and eat pumpkin, in one form or another. The big moment: a pumpkin weigh-off, with $1,000 to the winner. It’s at the Cumberland County Fairground in Millville. www.sjpumpkinshow.com.

Mount Holly, too, is gearing up for Halloween. Downtown on Saturday there’s the Cirque de la Lune masquerade. Festivities include a costume contest, spinners, contortionists, Tarot readers, Haunted Holly ghost stories and a “Sleepy Holly” Scavenger Hunt. www.mainstreetmountholly.com.

Mid-October is also harvest time. And wineries from throughout the state will be celebrating the new vintage-in-progress at the Grand Harvest Festival, Saturday and Sunday at Alba Vineyards, in Milford. More than two dozen wine makers will offer samples of their bottlings. www.albavineyard.com.

And mid-October is migration season. Have birds been flying south in the warm weather?  Ask the New Jersey Audubon Society. From the mountains (Weis Ecology Center, Ringwood) to the prairies (Plainsboro Preserve) to the ocean (Cape May and Sandy Hook observatories), most of its sanctuaries will host bird walks and other nature programs. The calendar is at www.njaudubon.org/Calendar/caldate.html.

Tomorrow, we’ll take you on a spectacular hike in the Skylands region, in search of the best foliage viewing in the state!

Ever see a Tyrannosaurus rex? No? A little before your time?

Walking with Dinosaurs: The Live Experience (www.dinosaurlive.com) ambles into the  Continental Airlines Arena through Sunday. The internationally acclaimed show features life-sized dinosaurs, like the 75-foot long Brachiosaurus, moved by master puppeteers and technology. Beware: it all sounds a bit intense for the Barney crowd,  but the older kids will be enthralled.  Tickets $27-$87. Show times at www.meadowlands.com. 

We bet you weren’t around during Victorian times, either. It’s another era you can relive, tonight through Oct.14, at Cape May’s 35th annual Victorian Week. The Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts (MAC), sponsoring the festivities, has scheduled historic house tours, Victorian teas, vintage dance workshops, tours by boat around Cape Island, evening ghost tours, concerts and antique vendors.  A schedule is at www.capemaymac.org.

Bordentown salutes a very Enn-Jay crop with its 18th annual Cranberry Festival, all day Saturday and Sunday. There will be an arts and crafts show with more than 100 vendors and entertainment. Call (609) 298-8066 or visit www.downtownbordentown.com.

Or, feed your mind at the Collingswood Book Festival, one of the state’s largest annual literary events. Find thousands of new and used tomes and related merchandise for sale, plus book readings and writing workshops led by more than two dozen authors. Most of the events are Saturday, with a few during weekdays. www.collingswoodbookfestival.com.

Celebrations abound for Hispanic Heritage Month. Listen to the less known side of the culture at a free concert by the Alturas Duo (www.alturasduo.com), at Rutgers’ Zimmerli Art Museum (www.zimmerlimuseum.rutgers.edu). Scott Hill on guitar and  Carlos Boltes on viola and the guitar-like charango bridge the European baroque and South American folk music.

A more traditional tribute is the 31st annual Hispanic State Parade of New Jersey (www.desfilehispanoamericanodenj.com). Marchers and floats set off Sunday at noon, on Bergenline Avenue from North Bergen to Union City.

Down the Shore, a few early Columbus Day parades. Saturday there’s one in Atlantic City (www.accolumbusdayparade.org) and another in Sea Isle City (www.sea-isle-city.nj.us). Sunday it’s Seaside Heights, which is hosting a weekend-long Italian festival featuring the Sicilian folk music group Lilybetano.  More at www.seasideheightstourism.com.

Finally, help fund the battle against autism by joining the North/Central New Jersey Walk Now For Autism (www.autismwalk.org/ncnj). The locale is Nomahegan Park in Cranford – registration starts at 12:30.

Parade, walk, or strut with a Dinosaur. There’s plenty to keep you moving as we roll into this first weekend of October!