What: 15th Annual Spring Arts & Music Festival
When: Sunday, May 3rd, 11am – 6pm
Where: Hoboken, Observer Highway to 7th St.
Why: When the Hobokeneers come out to street party with over 300 artistic folk, you’ll know it’s officially spring. On the other side of the Hudson, three stages will offer live music, including a headline performance by the reunited 60’s band, The Box Tops. Although they may not look like The Beatles, after a few beers and some mozzarella corn cakes (Mozzarepas!), we doubt you’ll hear the difference.
Beyond the music, you can enjoy a vivid mix of street fair, er, fare. Peruse the artist block between 2nd and 3rd streets, where the local bohemian set will display watercolors, oil paintings, and acrylic work. Craft vendors will also be in tow with pottery, metalwork, furniture, blown and fused glass, quilts, cementware, candles, and jewelry. Hoboken restaurants will have tents offering Thai, Indian, Greek, French, Mexican, Cajun, and Italian cuisine, so come hungry.
The kid’s stage promises live shows from The Theater Company’s production of “A Year of Frog and Toad,” based on Arnold Nobel’s beloved characters, the cheerful and ubiquitous “Frog” and his grumpy sidekick “Toad” as they gallivant through the forest learning life lessons along the way. The children’s area will also have games, creative activities, ponies, a petting zoo, magic shows, face painting, balloons, and of course, clowns.
Cost: Free
How to Get There: Take the PATH train to the Hoboken station and walk two blocks west to Washington Street. Check Hoboken 411 for a full schedule of events. (Hoboken Festival, 201.420.2207, myspace.com/hobokenculturalaffairs)
Photo: Courtesy of flickr4jazz
Sarah Knapp is a Brooklyn based entrepreneur whose love for the outdoors and community building led her to the October 2013 creation of OutdoorFest. She has a BA in History, is a Wilderness First Responder and a NY state hiking, camp and boating guide. Her proudest achievement to date is reading the Aeneid in Latin. 
Allison was one of our first top writers and Chief Editor but is no longer working with offMetro. Allison is a native New Yorker, who has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne, Toronto and Los Angeles. She frequently contributed travel pieces to Family Travel Forum, using her own children as guinea pigs as they travel the globe. She never missed a chance to sample local delicacies, as her love for travel goes hand-in-hand with her love for food and wine. 
Josh Laskin is a freelance travel writer and photographer based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. When he is not at work or on the road, you can find him in the mountains snowboarding, climbing, hiking, fly fishing, mountain biking, and eating bagel bites.
Annie is a travel writer, environmentalist, and surfer based in Venice, CA. She heads up our West Coast team, keeps our grammatical errors in check, and makes sure our California writers always have a plan for their next adventure. Follow Annie’s travels @annelisemcb.
Carly Pifer is a freelance writer who has been known to follow whims inspired by romantic movie scenes or colorful street style shots to India, Japan, Tunisia and Argentina. After stints living in Seoul, Boston, Paris and Los Angeles, writing and searching for something intangible, she landed somewhat steadily in Brooklyn and has begun to find inspiration in her more immediate surroundings. 
Kate E. O’Hara is a New York based freelance writer and photographer who loves all things food—especially the people who make it and market it. Her writing aims to capture the essence of the food experience; the stories that go well beyond a plate of ingredients. In addition to her love of food, Kate is also known to have a hankering for red wine and craft beer. You can also find Kate on Instagram