Summers Are Cooler at the Family Fun Nights at Turtle Back Zoo

Uncage your wild side and enjoy this annual summer series of events at the Turtle Back Zoo!

 

Anyone who has grown up in the Garden State surely has memories of family fun at the Turtle Back Zoo. Not as renowned as its nearby Bronx cousin, this small space in West Orange, NJ holds just as much animal amusements and childlike wonderment. One such example is the beloved series of Turtle Back Zoo events that have just returned for 2018. Every Wednesday and Thursday in July and August, the Zoo extends its hours of operation to 8:00 PM. These Family Fun Nights at Turtle Back Zoo allow you to visit and experience the wild wonders of the animal kingdom when the summer temperatures are cooler.

There are special events at the Turtle Back Zoo that coincide with these extended hours! Not only do you get a chance to see all of the exhibits that have captivated families for years, such as the beloved Prairie Dogs and majestic Black Bears, depending on the day of the week, there’ll be even more amazing animal action to enjoy.

Wednesdays become a trip to the “Zoo-vies”!

Enjoy family-friendly (and animal-inspired) movies on the rooftop of the parking deck. Paddington 2 and Deep have already lit up the screen, but don’t miss out on Kong: Skull Island and The Jungle Book!

Thursdays are a true behind-the-scenes affair!

Not only are you in the Zoo after hours, on Thursdays, the trainers give you even more access to your favorite exhibits. Tour behind the scenes at the Shores of Africa or take in a special night version of the beloved Sea Lion Show!

Only a short distance away, The Wilshire Grand is ready to cap off your night in truly memorable fashion. The comfortable accommodations of The Wilshire Grand NJ will help you refresh and recharge after your walk on the wild side.

Don’t Miss the Freestyle Fun of Wild N' Out Live!

Nick Cannon is set to bring a live version of his “all that” MTV show to the Prudential Center!

 

Who knew what started as a summer replacement show on MTV in 2005 would go on to span twelve seasons of sketch comedy greatness! And now, Nick Cannon’s Wild N’ Out is taking their brand of hilarious competitions and “ill improv” on the road! Wild N’ Out Live is not only the first full-length tour of this hit television series; it promises to be one of the top comedic can’t-miss Prudential Center events of the year!

What can you expect from this star-studded end to summer events in NJ?

Just like when watching from the comfort of your home, Wild N’ Out in NJ will feature a comedy lineup of the show’s regular cast members. From the comedy stylings of Chico Bean and Hitman Holla to the musical mastery of Fabolous and YFN Lucci, the action at the Prudential Center on Saturday, August 25, 2018, will be wild and out of this world in terms of stand-up savagery!

Yet what’s the best thing about attending the Wild N’ Out NJ stop on the tour? It has to be the chance to participate in some of the most popular games from the show with the cast. Can you imagine getting the chance to engage in a little “Talking’ Spit” in front of the PruCenter crowd with Nick Cannon himself? Or what about being chosen to come up on stage and assist with “Tore Up From The Floor Up”? These once-in-a-lifetime moments are only possible if you are there when the show kicks off at 8:00 PM!

The Wilshire Grand NJ is ready to get “wild” with you!

Being located less than 10 miles away from the Prudential Center NJ, The Wilshire Grand is the perfect luxurious haven to ensure your freestylin’ fun doesn’t have to end after the last punchline is thrown!

Frontiers Will Be Broken By Alejandro Fernandez at Prudential Center

The highly-anticipated kick off of the “Rompiendo Fronteras” (Breaking Frontiers) tour will bring a unique Latin flair to the Prudential Center!

 

His name may not light up the domestic charts like Taylor Swift or Drake, but pop/ranchero star Alejandro Fernandez has sold over 30 million albums over the course of his 30-year career. Nicknamed El Potrillo by his adoring fans (as he is the son of the “King of Ranchero Music”), this “colt” is kicking off his 20 city “Rompiendo Fronteras” (Breaking Frontiers) tour at the Prudential Center on Thursday, August 23. Making this concert tour, which is in support of his 19^th and latest album, even more legendary is the inclusion of the influential norteño group Los Tigres Del Norte.

These two juggernauts have differing musical styles, but after a massive fan campaign, their 2018 collaboration “Para Sacarte De Mi Vida" was born. You can be sure that during the Alejandro Fernandez 2018 tour, this collaborative effort will be unveiled for the first time on the live stage. That fact alone makes this one of the most anticipated summer events in NJ. Fans can expect these two legendary acts to live up to their solid reputations for bringing their stellar musicianship to the live stage in full force. Will Alejandro Fernandez continue his set-list of ranchera openings and stripped down pop tunes to send the crowd home happy? Or will this new pairing with Los Tigres Del Norte alter his tried and true formula for singles success?

When visiting the area for any Prudential Center Events, The Wilshire Grand is the perfect home base to ensure your experience is truly unforgettable. Located less than 10 miles away, let the luxurious comfort of The Wilshire Grand NJ be the ideal complement to your “frontier breaking” night! There are only a few summer concerts in NJ left for the season! Don’t miss out on this one-night-only event in the Garden State!

3 Reasons Why Summer Weddings at the Wilshire Grand NJ = Happily Ever After!

Even though weddings at The Wilshire Grand are wonderful in all four seasons, here are the reasons why you should consider sending a “save-the-date” invitation for a summer ceremony.

 

Planning a wedding in the Garden State is a choice between four differing seasons, with each one inhabiting its own inherent charm. At The Wilshire Grand, we know that there’s one season that reigns supreme in the eyes of many brides-to-be. From longer days to warmer temperatures, here are the top 3 reasons why summer weddings at The Wilshire Grand always connote ‘happily ever after’:

The natural ambiance of our outdoor courtyard is blooming with beauty.

If you are planning to have your actual ceremony with us at The Wilshire Grand NJ, there’s no better backdrop to exchange your vows than our beautiful gardens and gorgeous wooded canopy. We do offer luxurious indoor ceremonies as well, but when many think of Wilshire Grand weddings, they envision the natural, lush landscaping of our outdoor gardens that weave the wonderful summer season into their blessed event.

Summer events in NJ naturally coincide with your guests’ vacation mindset.

A wedding is a communal celebration of your love with friends and family. For all Wilshire Grand Weddings 2018, our luxurious ballrooms can accommodate up to 400 guests. Having both on-site and nearby overnight accommodations, you can invite everyone your heart desires! And during the summer, it’s a lot easier for people to RSVP with a confirmation of their attendance.

We have everything you need under one roof!

You’ll have full control of designing your personal wedding package with our expert team members. With full-service facilities, experienced chefs, hospitality suites, floral designers, photographers, musicians, and many other customizable features, you’re in control of ensuring the most important day of your life is exactly how YOU have always imagined!

Our on-line wedding planner has even more details on how The Wilshire Grand will ensure your summer wedding is the fairytale you always dreamed it would be!

Don’t Miss Out on the Summer Nights at SOPAC!

This series of summer events at SOPAC ensures that Wednesday is no longer the most dreaded day on your weekly calendar!

 

Every week, the dreaded Wednesday “Hump Day” blues sink in. This sentiment may increase to truly feeling like a “Slump Day” when the summer months roll around. The kids are out of school! The weather’s warm! The nights are longer! But the work week is still only halfway through!  The Wilshire Grand wishes to ensure you no longer feel wary of Wednesday by recommending this returning and highly-anticipated series of summer events in NJ: South Orange Summer Nights!

The SO Summer Nights are weekly Wednesday night programs jointly produced by the South Orange Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs and SOPAC. Three separate programs blend together to form these fun summer nights at SOPAC:

Art in the Park – Let your artistic soul shine at the remaining 2018 events taking place at Floods Hill in Meadowland Park from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM (adults and children age 6 and older is recommended).

Concerts in the Park – Arrive early to Floods Hill to sample the delicious delights from the food trucks and get your prime spot on the lawn before this concert series pumps up the jams at 7:30 PM (approximately 2 hours in duration). These four musical South Orange events will ensure you aren’t singing the Wednesday blues!

Moonlit Movies – Rounding out this season of SO Summer Nights are the three movie screenings at Floods Hill. Starting at 8:00 PM, a trio of 2017 family favorites (Coco, Jumanji, and Despicable Me 3) will light up the park.

Floods Hill is the place to be to wash away your case of the Wednesdays. The perfect complement to these South Orange events is booking a room with us at The Wilshire Grand NJ. Approximately five miles away, the luxurious comfort of our accommodations will guarantee your Wednesday is no longer weary and woeful, but wonderful, winsome, and worthwhile!

All Roads Lead to Family Fun at the Dover SummerFest!

Get your motor running and head out on the highway to the SummerFest in Dover, NJ!

 

The motors will be revving! The grills will be sizzling! And the family fun will be unforgettable when Dover SummerFest 2018 cruises its way to the top of the can’t miss local NJ events. On Saturday, July 28, Crescent Field in Dover, New Jersey will be taken over by Hot Rods and Harleys with a heaping side dish of the top local BBQ fare! Last year was the inaugural edition of this event, even though the SummerFest in Dover was being billed as the “First Annual Dover Car Show”. Yet after the success of that festival, this free day of family fun was rechristened as the Dover SummerFest, as it became so much more than just a car show!

This year, the event, running from 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM, promises to be bigger and better than last year’s test drive! It will be a day full of live music, kids’ activities, great food, and of course, a heavy dose of automotive adoration. There will even be different classes of trophies being awarded to many of the registered roadsters and their beloved wheels. Yet for most, the fun-filled event will be all about enjoying the local live tunes on the main stage and the classic BBQ eats from the grills of the many local food vendors. This community event promises to provide an endless supply of Americana charm and local summer fun.

After a day out in the sun, rev up your engine and take a short drive over to The Wilshire Grand. Our comfortable accommodations are the perfect version of a luxury rest stop after the checkered flag has flown, ending the fun at the Morris County SummerFest. The Wilshire Grand NJ will ensure that your day of summer motor madness wins the first place trophy for fun!

See The “Irresponsible” Kevin Hart at the Prudential Center This Summer!

The highly-anticipated return of Kevin Hart to the Garden State is only a few weeks away!

How will the Grown Little Man follow up his banner year in 2017? Last year, his international comedy tour “WHAT NOW” sold out some of the largest venues across the globe, making him the first comedian to officially “sell out” an NFL stadium! That is quite a feat to top, but the Kevin Hart Irresponsible Tour 2018 is making a serious attempt at reaching that sky-high goal!

Already setting records for selling over one million tickets worldwide in a little less than six months, the Irresponsible Tour 2018 needed to add more dates to its lengthy schedule to meet the demand of this comedic tour-de-force’s rabid fanbase. One such added stop on his trek across the globe is coming to New Jersey on Saturday, July 28th. Only a few weeks away, this is the perfect time to see Kevin Hart at the Prudential Center (show starts at 7:00 PM). Being one of the most easily accessible arenas in the country, no matter how many members of his legion of fans turn out, the Prudential Center is the ideal venue to catch this five-foot-four but larger than life comedian in his natural habitat… live on stage!

After all of the laughs, let The Wilshire Grand be the perfect encore to ensure your night of comedy does not take a turn toward a Shakespearian-styled tragedy. Less than 10 miles away from the Prudential Center, The Wilshire Grand NJ is the perfect blend of convenience and luxury. No matter if you wish to continue the laughs into the night or crash and get a good night’s restfully sated from the humorous event on stage, our well-appointed accommodations will ensure that Kevin Hart is the only “irresponsible” aspect of your night.

Take in the Sun and Fun at the Fanwood Summer Fan Jam!

Will the sequel be as crowd-pleasing of a summer kick-off as the original event in 2017?

 

Last year, thousands of people from across the Garden State came out to the inaugural Fan Jam festival in Fanwood, NJ. It was a full day of summer fun in NJ that ensured a repeat performance was going to be in the works. And judging by the previous overwhelming turnout, we doubt the Fanwood Summer Fan Jam 2018 will be the last!

Kick off the Summer at Fan Jam on Sunday, July 8th at La Grande Park in Fanwood. Some of the hallmarks of the initial Fanwood Fan Jam are returning this year. A classic car show opens up the event at 10:00 AM, which is subsequently followed by an expanded six-band lineup on the main stage. Whether you wish to rock out to the classics with The Alan Grant Band or get down with the funky beats of the Groove Gangstas, there promises to be a genre of music that will set your music-loving soul a flight. Headlining this year’s event is the Tri-State area’s premier U2 tribute band, Unforgettable Fire.

Some of the other returning favorites are the multitude of local and regional vendors and exhibitors, over a dozen food trucks, and two separate fun zones for both children and adults. For the younger set, take part in the obstacle course in the kid zone. For the young at heart, we’re sure that one of the highlights of your Fan Jam experience will be taking in the libations at the beer and wine garden.

For the perfect complement to your summer kick-off, book a room with us at The Wilshire Grand. Less than 20 miles away and whether providing a comfortable starting point or a relaxing haven to return to, The Wilshire Grand NJ will ensure your family fun is festively fabulous!

One Day is Not Enough to Contain the July 4th Celebrations in NJ!

New Jersey may be the third state of America, but our July 4^th celebrations take the gold!

 

Forget a bronze medal: the July 4^th celebrations in NJ deserve the gold! This year, the midweek July 4th celebrations can make this annual birthday a headache instead of a holiday. But the patriotic summer fun in NJ is not contained to the Wednesday date alone.

Starting on Thursday, June 28th and continuing through the end of Saturday night, join in and celebrate the 4th of July in NJ a little early in Montville Township. Complete with over 20 incredible rides, a multitude of entertainment and activities for the entire family and, of course, a stellar firework show, it will be hard for you to believe that the Montville Township 4th of July Celebrations have ended in the month of June.

Turn the page on your calendar as the summer fun in NJ continues its patriotic theme at the Maplewood July 4th Celebrations! Starting on Tuesday, July 3^rd, this two-day extravaganza is full of events from a 5K Run, the Zerbini Family Circus, Bike Races, Live Entertainment, and so much more. The preceding fun-filled events all lead up to the largest pyrotechnic display ever launched from Memorial Park on Wednesday night, concluding this July 4th Celebration in NJ with a big bang!

Yet on July 4th in NJ, there are many places to catch a spectacular light show. From the State Fair at the Meadowlands to the Jersey City Freedom & Fireworks Festival, there is no bad place to celebrate the 4th of July in NJ. But there is one perfect ending to America’s 242nd birthday party – book a room with us at The Wilshire Grand NJ! No matter where you choose to celebrate, let the luxury of The Wilshire Grand’s well-appointed accommodations be the best birthday present ever, for you and the Red, White and Blue!

Celebrate 18 Days of Spectacular Summer Fun at the Meadowlands State Fair!

Visit the Meadowlands this summer for the iconic New Jersey event that is fun for all and all for fun!

 

When you think of summer fun in NJ, thoughts may drift to the swampy northern area of our state so lovingly known as the Meadowlands NJ. For there is only one true summer tradition that embodies the heart and soul of our state: attending the Meadowlands State Fair. Can you think of a more quintessential American pastime than having a handful of cotton candy, while taking in the views of the pig races from the top of the Ferris Wheel? And the Meadowlands State Fair 2018 promises to be just as loud, boisterous, and wonderful as ever!

The Meadowlands State Fair only comes once a year. But for 18 glorious days, from June 21 – July 8, over 400,000 people will visit the Meadowlands to take part in this event that offers more than 150 rides and attractions on top of a vast lineup of free entertainment. From hypnotists to high divers, to petting zoos, and live bands galore – summer fun in NJ never seemed so sweet. And speaking of sweets, have we forgotten to mention one of the major reasons the Meadowlands State Fair always draws in the crowds? Food never tasted so sweet than when deep fried and served on a stick. We know the Meadowlands State Fair 2018 will offer up even more over-the-top carnival eats for you to break out the stretchy pants for.

Start making your plans to visit the Meadowlands for some summer fun in NJ. After all of the fried Oreos are consumed, we are sure you will need a place to nap and rejuvenate for your next swing on the midway rides! Well, the Wilshire Grand NJ has got you covered! Less than 20 miles away, at The Wilshire Grand, unwind in style as you relax in the luxurious comfort of our accommodations.