The Hoboken Girl Team 
A longstanding Hoboken tradition is changing for fall 2026. The City of Hoboken will no longer host its Fall Arts + Music Festival along Washington Street, instead bringing back an old event called the River City Fair. Read on for what we know about the fate of the 2026 Hoboken Fall Arts + Music Festival.
What’s Happening with Hoboken’s Fall Arts + Music Festival?
On Wednesday, July 15th, local account What Hoboken Sounds Like shared the news on Instagram, reporting that “Hoboken Cultural Affairs will no longer host a Fall Arts & Music Festival along Washington Street.”
The change was first reported by longtime Hoboken music journalist Jim Testa on his Constant Listener Substack. According to the piece, a memo was sent to vendors by Event Producer Angelina Ledesma that confirmed: “Hoboken will no longer host a Fall Arts & Music Festival along Washington Street. We will only host a Spring Arts & Music Festival.”
With rumors swirling, The Hoboken Girl team looked into it further, reaching out to the City of Hoboken directly for more details.
River City Fair Returns
A spokeswoman for the City of Hoboken confirmed that on Saturday, September 26th, the City will host a new event called the River City Fair. On July 14th, the City Council approved a resolution that awarded a $10,000 contract to Cherokee Social for a headlining performance at the “River City Fair,” confirming that the new event will take place.
The name is a nod to a previous Hoboken event of the same name. Testa noted in his Substack that the Arts + Music Festival was once known as the “River City Festival” and operated on a smaller scale. Over the years, the festival expanded into a major Washington Street event with multiple stages, local and national musicians, artists, food vendors, crafters, and community organizations.
Details about the event are sparse, but What Hoboken Sounds Like reported on Instagram that “the new River City Fair will focus on showcasing local businesses and crafters in a more intimate waterfront setting,” taking place on “1st to 4th Streets & Sinatra Drive.” The City of Hoboken has not confirmed these changes with The Hoboken Girl.
About the Hoboken Arts + Music Festival
In recent years, the Fall Arts + Music Festival was a Washington Street takeover held every September, featuring hundreds of local vendors, artists, food businesses, family activities, and live performances.
The Hoboken Girl will update this article as more details become available.
Follow @thehobokengirl on Instagram + TikTok for the latest Hoboken and Jersey City updates, sign up for our weekly newsletter here that shares everything you missed each week, and check out our events calendar, which has over 100+ events weekly to peruse.
