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May is when Morris County actually wakes up. The arboretums hit peak bloom, the farmers markets flip their open signs back on, the calendar fills up with carnivals, fundraisers, and outdoor concerts, and the historic sites that closed for winter throw their doors open for the season. If you have been waiting for the green light to start booking weekends, this is it.
Here is what is worth your time across the 39 towns this month.
1. St. Virgil Parish 50th Anniversary Carnival, May 6 to 9
St. Virgil’s in Morris Plains is celebrating 50 years with a four-night carnival at 250 Speedwell Avenue. Rides, fair food, games, and the kind of small-town energy that defines spring in New Jersey. The carnival runs Wednesday through Friday from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM, with extended hours on Saturday from 4:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Get the full carnival rundown here.
2. The Art of Valor at The Morristown Club, May 7
Veterans Valor is hosting its annual fundraiser on Thursday, May 7 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM at The Morristown Club, 27 Elm Street in Morristown. The night features more than 30 original art pieces in a live and silent auction, with all proceeds supporting local veterans. It is one of the most meaningful nights on the Morris County calendar and the kind of event that turns a Thursday into something you remember. Read the full event preview here.
3. Morris County Memorial Day Observance, May 20
The county’s annual Memorial Day Observance returns Wednesday, May 20 at noon along Court Street in Morristown, between the historic Morris County Courthouse and the Administration and Records Building. This year’s ceremony carries added weight as the country approaches its 250th anniversary, with a dedicated tribute to the Continental Army soldiers who lost their lives at Jockey Hollow. The ceremony will also be livestreamed on the county’s Facebook page. Read more about the America 250 tribute here.
4. Frelinghuysen Arboretum Plant Sale
The Frelinghuysen Arboretum at 353 East Hanover Avenue in Morristown is hosting its annual spring plant sale at 9:00 AM. If you are trying to fill a garden, build out a patio, or just want an excuse to walk through one of the prettiest properties in the county, go early. The good stuff sells out fast.
5. Fresh Perspectives 2026 at the Morris Museum, through May 10
The Morris Museum’s annual juried high school art exhibition wraps up on May 10. Fresh Perspectives is a window into what the next generation of Morris County artists is making, and it is consistently one of the strongest student shows in the state. While you are there, the museum has a packed May lineup including An Evening with Martin Guitar on May 7.
6. An Evening with Martin Guitar at the Morris Museum, May 7
Also at the Morris Museum, a special evening with Martin Guitar on Thursday, May 7 at 7:00 PM. If you play, collect, or just appreciate American instrument-making, this is the kind of intimate event you do not get in a bigger market.
7. Boonton Farmers Market Reopens, May 16
The Boonton Farmers Market is back on Saturday, May 16, running 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM at Upper Plane Street. Boonton’s market is one of the most walkable in the county, and the surrounding Main Street stretch makes it easy to turn a morning grocery run into a half-day outing.
8. Sparta Farmers Market Opens, May 10
A short drive over the Sussex County line, the Sparta Farmers Market opens Sunday, May 10 at the Health and Wellness Center, 89 Sparta Avenue, 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Worth the trip if you have not been.
9. Taylor Simon King at Mayo Performing Arts Center, May 14
Mayo PAC at 100 South Street in Morristown brings in Taylor Simon King on Thursday, May 14 at 8:00 PM. If you have not been to a Mayo PAC show recently, the room itself is half the experience.
10. Jamtoberfest ’26 in Roxbury Township
The Swim and Sport Club at 272 Emmans Road in Roxbury Township is hosting Jamtoberfest ’26, an outdoor tribute festival featuring the music of The Allman Brothers Band, Grateful Dead, Phish, and more, starting at 1:00 PM. It is exactly the kind of low-key, lawn-chair afternoon that May was made for.
11. Fosterfields Living Historical Farm
Now that Fosterfields is open for the season at 73 Kahdena Road in Morristown, take a Wednesday through Saturday morning, bring the kids, and watch costumed interpreters run a turn-of-the-century working farm. It is one of those Morris County resources that locals forget exists until they bring out-of-town visitors and remember why people love it.
12. Watnong Park Spring Fairy Walk in Morris Plains
Morris Plains is hosting its Spring Fairy Walk at Watnong Park, 21 Granniss Avenue, at 7:30 PM. A genuine charm-of-a-thing local event, and one of those nights where Morris County feels smaller and more connected than the population number suggests.
The bigger picture
May 2026 is also the unofficial kickoff to a much bigger year for the county. New Jersey is co-hosting the FIFA World Cup with New York this summer and marking the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding with a yearlong slate of historical commemorations. Morris County, with Jockey Hollow, Washington’s Headquarters, and one of the densest concentrations of Revolutionary War history in the country, is going to be at the center of a lot of it.
If you have been telling yourself you should get out more, May is the easy on-ramp. Pick three of these, put them in your calendar, and we will see you out there.
