Hackensack|Local Event
Illumination 250: The Largest Interactive Public Arts Show in Bergen County
Illumination 250: A Free All-Day Arts & Community Celebration of America’s 250th Birthday in Downtown Hackensack
Join your neighbors at an all-day community arts festival bringing together six unique experiences across Downtown Hackensack from 10 a.m. through 9:30 p.m.. Giant puppets. Live music. Cultural folk performances. Free food tastings. A citywide audio adventure through Revolutionary War history. And a light installation that transforms one of New Jersey's oldest public squares into something you will never forget.
Free. Open to all ages.
All metered parking fees will be suspended throughout the city on Saturday, October 3, 2026 including metered spots on streets and in all city-owned parking lots and garages.
Register for the experiences you plan to attend below. You can register for one, a few, or all of them.
The Full Day’s Agenda:
🎨 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM | Family Fun Festival + Fiber Art Immersive Experience | Anderson Street Park
🌍 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM | Folk Artists on Main St
🥢 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM | Sips & Samples | Main Street, Downtown Hackensack
🎭 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM | Giant Puppet Procession | Anderson Park → Main Street → Atlantic Street Park
🍺 1:00 PM – 8:00 PM | Hackensacktoberfest — 7th Annual | Atlantic Street Park
🎧 8:05 PM – 9:00 PM | MP3 Experiment: A Revolutionary Adventure | Atlantic Street Park → The Historic Green
✨ 9:00 PM – 9:30 PM | My Signature: My Declaration | The Historic Green, 42 Court Street
For updates about the program, visit: Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter
Illumination 250 is a collaborative project of the Hackensack Performing Arts Center, Northern New Jersey Community Foundation's ArtsBergen, Main Street Business Alliance (Downtown Hackensack), Greater Bergen Community Action, Inc. supported by funding through the New Jersey Economic Development Authority's A.R.T.-Phase II Grant Program.
- For information: Contact: Danielle De Laurentis, Associate Director, Northern New Jersey Community Foundation. 201-568-5608, artsbergen@nnjcf.org