Stafford Fall Harvest & Wine Fest Returning

Get ready to toast to the many joys of Autumn at The Stafford Fall Harvest & Wine Festival. This can’t-miss event at Heritage Park in Manahawkin, NJ on October 12 and 13 from 12 pm to 5 pm each day is the perfect blend of seasonal ambiance. Taking place in a quaint park that is nestled along the foot of Long Beach Island. This festival will feature 9 amazing NJ wineries, great live music on Saturday and Sunday, 4 delicious food trucks, and talented artisan crafters.

So, be ready to sip, savor, and soak up the essence of fall as we celebrate one of the most anticipated events of the season here in Ocean County! Sip, learn and ask about each of the wines brought from 9 different vineyards across the state of NJ. Find one or ten you like, no worries, you can purchase by the bottle directly from each winery onsite. Participating wineries include Angelico Winery, Chestnut Run Farms, DiMatteo Vineyards, Plagido’s Winery, The Vintner’s Wife, Tomasello Winery, Valenzano Winery, Villari Vineyards, and Wagonhouse Winery.

Balance out the wine samples with tasty plates from 4 different food trucks.

From savory BBQ and burrito bowls to pretzels and waffles, your palate will be covered!

Food trucks onsite include Big Papa Jais BBQ, Dan’s Waffles, Philly Pretzel Co., and Wholly Bowls.

Take a stroll through the artisan crafters' tents to see their talents and do some shopping.

Crafters attending the Stafford Fall Harvest & Wine Festival include American Made Craft, B. Baths, Carolyn Smith jewelry, Coffee Goddesses, Colours of Raine hand-painted glass wear, Cynful Bliss alcohol-infused desserts, For Goodness Cakes, Gracie Moo Candles, Jerky James, Keystone Farm Cheese, Mimi’s by the Sea Gourmet Mixes, Poppa B’s salsas and sauces, and The Bacon Jams.

It's going to be a great day of tunes at the Stafford Fall Harvest & Wine Festival with Blue Abyss performing on Saturday and 99 Reasons on Sunday.

Get your advanced tickets today for a celebration that brings together the best of what New Jersey has to offer.

Find out more about the Stafford Fall Harvest & Wine Festival here.

On Saturday, my daughter and I went to the opening weekend of the new Burger 25 at Icarus Brewing at 2045 Route 88 in Brick. Icarus opened earlier this summer, as first reported here.

Icarus Brewing, which never disappoints, was packed at 5:30pm as expected. There was a nice young fellow on guitar, singing music from the likes of The Band, John Prine, The Eagles, and others. The weather was beautiful so the outside yard of Icarus was packed with young and old, singles and families, strollers and dogs on leashes. Inside was just as busy with every table taken both upstairs and down. Plus, there was a private party happening in one of the other rooms. Truly a lot going on. We enjoyed a couple of pints after we were told that while we could get small-tasting glasses of beer, Icarus was not doing flights right now due to the volume of customers and still working things out, as they have only been open a few weeks. I really hope they do resume doing flights soon. That's such a fun part of going to a brewery on the scale of Icarus.

After a while, we made it over to the Burger 25 at Icarus Brewing. This is such a genius pairing, in my opinion. After all, Burger 25 is a craft burger joint, that works so well with the craft beers of Icarus. You can order online from their menus located throughout the brewery, or do as we did and just walk over, place your order, and head back for another beer. We kept checking back in to see when the burgers would be ready, as we were taking them to go, but Burger 25 at Icarus Brewing will bring them over to your table at the brewery if you want. Pretty cool! You may remember Burger 25 is a past winner in the Rat's Shore Awards as well!

The burgers were bangin! My daughter got a turkey burger and I got a turkey bacon burger. We also brought home a traditional cheeseburger with pickles and raw onion for my son. I was tempted to get one of their awesome shakes, but I figured my beer and burger intake was enough for the day.

Burger 25 at Icarus Brewing is the third Burger 25 location. The original is in Toms River, and last year they opened on Long Beach Island. Check out the menu for the Burger 25 at Icarus Brewing here.