This fall it's harder to just drop in at the Watchung Arts Center. The gallery and office now open on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and otherwise only by appointment. That's eight hours a week. Between Halloween and mid-December, though, the same building at 18 Stirling Road has a concert, a market or a workshop almost every weekend. The way in this season is the event calendar.
Here's how that calendar fits together, and how it lines up with the two borough traditions on either end of it.
A small building with short hours and a full weekend schedule
The Arts Center sits on Watchung Circle, just to the left of the Rescue Squad. There's free parking next to the building and more in the nearby municipal lots. According to the Center's About page, part of the building was the village's original schoolhouse. The homepage says improvements are underway, including work on the front porch, so expect some construction at the entrance. The second-floor gallery and the auditorium can both be reached by chair lift.
The new hours shape how you plan a visit. If you want to see an exhibit outside the four midday windows, call 908-753-0190 or email [email protected] and ask for a time. The Center says it will try to fit you in but can't promise. Concerts and markets are the other way to get inside. Most of them are on Sunday afternoons and evenings, when the office is closed. The Saturday holiday market goes from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., three hours past the office's 1 p.m. close.
Six weeks of dates on one page
All of these were listed on the organizers' own pages as of late October 2026.
Date | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
Sat., Oct. 31, noon–3 p.m. | Harvest Festival | Mobus Field, 40 Brookdale Road | Free |
Sun., Nov. 8, 7 p.m. | Chris DeVito Trio with Audra Mariel, jam at 8 p.m. | Watchung Arts Center | $25 |
Sat., Nov. 14, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. | Holiday market of local artists and crafters | Watchung Arts Center | Not listed |
Sat., Nov. 21, 11 a.m.–1 p.m. | Watercolor workshop with Anna Shukeylo | Watchung Arts Center | $50, or $45 each with a friend |
Sun., Nov. 22, 4–5:30 p.m. | Three of Us | Watchung Arts Center | $25 |
Sat., Dec. 5, 5:30 p.m. | 36th Annual Tree of Lights | Village Green | $50 per dedicated light |
Sun., Dec. 6, 3 p.m. | Marty Eigen and Amani holiday show | Watchung Arts Center | $25 |
Sun., Dec. 13, 3 p.m. | Chris DeVito Trio with Destiny Autum, jam at 4 p.m. | Watchung Arts Center | $25 |
Six of the eight dates are at the schoolhouse on the Circle. The other two are run by the borough and the Rescue Squad. The Rescue Squad is the Arts Center's next-door neighbor.
The jazz Sundays let the audience bring an instrument
Two of the shows on that list are more than concerts. Blue Truffle Music, the company behind jazz pianist Chris DeVito, sponsors a series at the Arts Center that pairs a concert with a jam session. Blue Truffle's event page for the November show describes the second half this way:
"Jazz fans will be treated to a unique collaborative experience featuring local music students jamming with veteran jazz pros and aspiring jazz musicians. All musicians are welcome to join in!"
Musicians have to register in advance by emailing [email protected]. According to the Arts Center, qualifying students and jazz pros who register ahead get in free. Everyone else pays $25. Blue Truffle also puts out free wine, cheese and snacks.
The two dates run on different schedules, which matters if you're bringing a teenager with a saxophone:
- Sunday, November 8: Chris DeVito Trio with special guest Audra Mariel. The concert starts at 7 p.m. and the jam at 8 p.m., so it runs into a school night. Tickets on Humanitix.
- Sunday, December 13: Chris DeVito Trio with special guest Destiny Autum. The concert starts at 3 p.m. and the jam at 4 p.m., so everyone's done before dinner. Tickets on Humanitix.
The other Sunday shows are ordinary sit-and-listen concerts. On November 22, Three of Us, made up of Chip Mergott, Alan LeBoeuf and Elizabeth LeBoeuf, play music from the 1960s and more from 4 to 5:30 p.m. On December 6 at 3 p.m., Marty Eigen and Amani return for what the Center calls their annual holiday show. All of them are $25. Put together, that's a Sunday concert in four of the six weeks between November 8 and December 13.
Two outdoor Saturdays at either end
The borough's own events fall on the first and last weekends of this stretch.
The Harvest Festival is on Saturday, October 31, from noon to 3 p.m. at Mobus Field, 40 Brookdale Road. That's two days after this post goes up. It's free and has music, food and prizes. The costume contest has categories for adults, children and pets. If it rains, the festival moves to Sunday, November 1. Details on the borough calendar.
The 36th Annual Tree of Lights is on Saturday, December 5, at 5:30 p.m. on the Village Green. The rain date is Sunday, December 6. The Watchung Volunteer Rescue Squad runs it, and the money goes toward the squad's work. A red light on the tree honors someone, and a white light is in memory of someone. The donation is $50 per light. You can mail back the printed form that came to your house or pay online. If you pay through PayPal, put the honoree's name in the comments or email it to [email protected].
Dedications received by December 1 go on the illuminated display in time for the ceremony. Later ones still get added, since the squad keeps updating the display and its Tree of Lights page all season. If you want a name lit on December 5, give the form a few days in the mail.
The holiday show on December 6 also lands on the Tree of Lights rain date. If the weather holds, you can be at the Village Green on Saturday evening and at the Arts Center on Sunday afternoon.
Workshops and classes for doing, not just watching
On Saturday, November 21, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., artist and educator Anna Shukeylo teaches a single watercolor workshop. It costs $50 per person, or $45 each if you sign up with a friend. Materials are included, no experience is needed, and anyone 13 or older can come. Registration isn't finished until you've filled out the form and paid.
The Thursday-evening acrylic class, Compositions, runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. from October 8 through December 3, with no class on Thanksgiving. By the end of October, four of the eight sessions have already met, but the Center lets people join late. Anything short of the full course costs $45 per class plus a one-time $30 studio fee. Email [email protected] to sort out payment. Iyengar Yoga meets in the building on Tuesday evenings and Friday mornings.
Several of these dates line up with programs at Union County's Trailside Nature & Science Center, 452 New Providence Road in Mountainside. A Union County announcement from October 14 lists:
- November 14: Sound Bowl Meditation at Trailside, the same day as the holiday market at the Arts Center
- November 21: an adult art workshop at Trailside, the same day as the watercolor session in Watchung
- December 5: another Sound Bowl Meditation, the same day as the Tree of Lights
- December 12: a second adult art workshop, the day before the last jazz jam
You sign up for the Trailside programs at ucnj.org/trailside. Check the start times before you plan a two-stop Saturday.
If you live in Watchung and are thinking about what the next few years at home look like, whether that means staying, adding space or selling down the road, it helps to talk with someone who keeps track of what goes on around the Circle. The team at JLA Team is happy to talk it through at whatever pace suits you. Schedule a Consultation, and save us a seat at the December 13 jam.
