New Jersey has no shortage of fall traditions. Darkside New Jersey is offering a different one: preserved specimens, dark art, oddities, tattoos, food, live entertainment and enough macabre shopping to make the usual seasonal craft fair feel remarkably well adjusted.
Darkside New Jersey Art & Oddities Market currently has two major dates remaining on its 2026 calendar. The first is Season of the Witch, an indoor-outdoor night market at Mercer County Park in West Windsor on Saturday, Sept. 12. The second is the Friday the 13th Dark Market at the New Jersey Convention & Expo Center in Edison on Friday, Nov. 13.
The two events share Darkside’s core formula: artists and makers working on the stranger end of the spectrum, oddities and curiosities, vintage finds, live entertainment, food and tattooing. The organization grew from the same New Jersey DIY event culture behind the Trenton Punk Rock Flea Market, and its own description makes clear that this is not designed as a conventional vendor show. Taxidermy, preserved specimens, funeral curiosities, occult-inspired work and dark handmade art are part of the expected landscape.
The Fall Calendar
| Date | Event | Location / Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Sept. 12 | Season of the Witch | Mercer County Park Ice Skating Facility, West Windsor 3–11 p.m. | VIP entry 2 p.m. |
| Fri., Nov. 13 | Friday the 13th Dark Market | NJ Convention & Expo Center, Edison Confirm public start time before attending |
Season of the Witch: September 12
The first descent comes quickly. Season of the Witch is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 12, from 3 to 11 p.m. at the Mercer County Park Ice Skating Facility in West Windsor. Darkside describes the setup as indoor-outdoor, with vendors positioned inside and beneath the facility’s covered pavilion.
That setting gives the September market a different texture from a convention-center show. It is still built around shopping, artists, oddities and entertainment, but the evening format lets the event stretch from late afternoon into night — a particularly suitable timetable for a market whose branding has never shown much interest in daylight.
General adult admission is listed at $20 in advance, while a four-person ticket package is $68. Children 12 and younger are admitted free with an adult. A $75 R.I.P. V.I.P. package includes one-hour-early entry at 2 p.m., access to a VIP lounge, a swag bag, reusable water bottle, drink ticket, coat and bag check and other perks. Parking is controlled by Mercer County Parks and may carry a fee at the park’s discretion.
Friday the 13th: November 13
Then Darkside gets the calendar date every oddities market would circle in black ink anyway. On Friday, Nov. 13, the Friday the 13th Dark Market moves the operation indoors at the New Jersey Convention & Expo Center in Edison.
The November market again promises Darkside’s mix of artists, handmade goods, oddities, vintage finds, food, tattooing and live entertainment. General admission is currently listed at $20, with a four-ticket package at $68 and the R.I.P. V.I.P. package at $75. Children 12 and younger are free with an adult, and parking at the Expo Center is listed as free.
The later date also gives people who regard Halloween as less a holiday than a year-round operating system one more sanctioned reason to keep the season going. A Friday the 13th in November does not require much additional branding help; Darkside simply has to put its particular collection of artists, performers and beautifully strange merchandise inside the building.
PLANNING NOTE: Darkside’s November ticket page is internally inconsistent about the public opening time. Individual ticket descriptions say 3–11 p.m., while the detailed event-information section says 4–11 p.m.; the VIP section also says VIP entry begins at 2 p.m. Attendees should confirm the final schedule with Darkside before traveling.
More Than a Market
Darkside’s appeal is not that every visitor wants a jarred specimen, a piece of funeral ephemera or an occult-inspired print. It is that the event makes room for people who do — and builds an entire environment around artists, collectors, performers and curious visitors who are usually spread across much smaller niches.
The organization describes itself as a place where the unusual thrives, and its event model backs that up with spectacle beyond the vendor tables: sideshow and performance elements, tattooing, tarot, workshops and other programming have all been part of the Darkside mix. That gives both remaining dates the potential to function less like shopping trips and more like full evening outings.
For anyone who has been waiting for fall to get a little stranger, Darkside has two dates left on the calendar. One arrives this weekend. The other lands, appropriately enough, on Friday the 13th.
Event Details
| What | Darkside New Jersey — Season of the Witch (Sept. 12) and Friday the 13th Dark Market (Nov. 13) |
|---|---|
| When | Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, 3–11 p.m. (VIP entry 2 p.m.); Friday, Nov. 13, 2026 (confirm public opening time) |
| Where | Sept. 12: Mercer County Park Ice Skating Facility, West Windsor; Nov. 13: NJ Convention & Expo Center, 97 Sunfield Avenue, Edison |
| Tickets | General adult admission $20; four-packs $68; R.I.P. V.I.P. packages $75. Children 12 and under free with an adult. |
| Policies | Tickets are listed as final sale. Only service dogs are permitted. Event lineups, vendors, attractions and entertainment are subject to change. |
| Calendar | Add event to calendar |
SOURCE NOTES
• Darkside New Jersey
• Season of the Witch ticketing and event details
• Friday the 13th Dark Market ticketing and event details
Official information and listings verified against public pages on September 7, 2026. Observational passages are based on the reporter's advance dispatch. Event details are subject to change; check organizers before travel.