Leonia, NJ: Local Events and Community Snapshot | September 2026
Leonia calls itself the Athens of New Jersey, and September is when that starts to mean something again. The Players Guild opens its fall stretch, Leonia Arts picks back up, and Oktoberfest closes the month. The borough also sits directly on Overpeck County Park, which puts the county's 25th anniversary 9/11 observances on Fort Lee Road, a few minutes from Broad Avenue. Here is what is happening this September.
Local Events in September 2026
Bergen County 9/11 Memorial Vigil
Date: Thursday, September 10, 2026
Time: 6:30 PM
Location: The Amphitheater at Overpeck County Park, Fort Lee Road, Leonia
Bergen County hosts a candlelight vigil marking 25 years since the September 11 attacks, featuring the New Jersey Wind Symphony, with remarks from community leaders, a tribute to the victims and their families, recognition of first responders, and a candle lighting ceremony. Free and open to the public. The county's own release lists both 6:00 and 6:30 PM in different places, so confirm at bergencountynj.gov.
Bergen County 9/11 Memorial Ceremony
Date: Friday, September 11, 2026
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: Bergen County 9/11 Monument, Overpeck County Park, Henry Hoebel Area, Fort Lee Road
The county's annual ceremony at the monument. Free and open to the public.
Leonia Oktoberfest
Date: Saturday, September 26, 2026
The borough's fall anchor event, featuring seasonal beers and food from local breweries. Along with Leonia Day in May, this is one of the two events that draw the whole borough out at once. The date comes from a statewide 2026 festival listing rather than the borough directly, so confirm the time, location, and any ticketing at leonianj.gov before planning around it.
Leonia Public Library
Location: 227 Fort Lee Road
The library shifts to fall programming. It also runs a rotating exhibit of work by local artists, offers half-hour one-on-one technology help appointments, and carries a Korean-language eBook, film, and TV collection alongside Kanopy and Hoopla access. Check leonialibrary.org for the September calendar.
Borough Recreation Fall Season
Location: Recreation Center, Broad Avenue
The Recreation Department moves into its fall session. Registration runs through Community Pass. The department manages the Recreation Center, the borough parks and playgrounds, the Senior Center and its programs, and the Leonia Swim Club, which closes for the season around Labor Day. Reach the Recreation office at 201-592-5783.
Players Guild of Leonia
Location: The Civil War Drill Hall Theater
New Jersey's oldest continuing community theater company runs its season out of the historic Drill Hall. Check the Guild's schedule for September and fall performances.
Leonia Chamber Musicians
The Chamber Musicians perform a concert series at local churches through the season, including the Presbyterian Church in Leonia at 181 Fort Lee Road. Check the season calendar for September dates.
Borough Meetings
Mayor and Council, Planning Board, and Zoning Board return to their full fall schedule. Agendas and minutes are posted at leonianj.gov. In a borough this small, a single approval on Broad Avenue changes the character of the block, so the agendas are worth reading if you are serious about buying here.
Ongoing and Seasonal Highlights
Overpeck County Park
Overpeck covers more than 800 acres and borders Leonia on the west, accessible from the Fort Lee Road and Grand Avenue entrances. September and October are the best months of the year for the trails and the waterfront paths. Having a park that size at the edge of a two-square-mile borough is the single most underrated thing about living here.
Wood Park and the Borough Parks
Leonia has five public recreational areas. Wood Park, at Broad Avenue and Fort Lee Road, is the most central, with a playground, athletic courts, and one of the borough's satellite sculpture installations. Sylvan Park on Grand Avenue adds greenspace, and the borough also maintains the Leonia Swim Club on Grand Avenue, the Recreation Center on Broad Avenue with an indoor basketball court, and the Dudley C. Allen Playground and Dog Park.
Sculpture for Leonia and Leonia Arts
The borough's arts colony roots date to the 1880s and 1890s, and the outdoor public art program and Leonia Arts keep that going. Leonia Arts has historically co-sponsored a Meet the Artists showcase with the library in the fall. Watch the borough community highlights page for this year's date.
Broad Avenue
The downtown stays quiet and walkable, with locally owned restaurants doing most of the work. This is a dinner-and-home town rather than a nightlife town, and residents generally consider that the point.
More on all of it is here: https://sellecksellsnj.com/blog/10-things-to-do-in-leonia-nj-2026-local-guide
Living in Leonia Right Now
September returns the borough to its ordinary rhythm, which in Leonia means a walkable two square miles, a theater company older than most of the housing stock, an 800-acre county park at the western edge, and a downtown that runs on regulars rather than destination traffic.
The tradeoff is honest. Leonia does not have the restaurant density of Fort Lee or the downtown of Englewood. What it has instead is scale. You can walk the whole borough, you will recognize people at Wood Park, and the commute is the same one the bigger towns are selling.
Why Buyers Continue to Choose Leonia
Leonia appeals to buyers who want a genuine small-borough feel with Manhattan still within practical reach. The housing stock runs older and more varied than the newer Bergen County subdivisions, with a mix of colonials, Tudors, capes, and two-family properties, which creates more than one entry point rather than a single price band. The commute picture is here: https://northernnj.sellecksellsnj.com/blog/bergen-county-nyc-commute-guide/
September is the post-Labor Day inventory wave. Listings and competition build together from here, which cuts both ways. Buyers get a wider selection and a deeper bidding pool at the same time. Sellers reach more buyers but stand next to more comparable inventory than they did four weeks ago. In a borough this small, that matters more than it does elsewhere, because Leonia never has many listings at once and two similar homes on the market in the same month change each other's outcome.
Two diligence items specific to Leonia.
First, on older housing stock, budget the inspection seriously. Much of this borough predates modern systems, and the difference between a well-maintained older home and a deferred one does not show in listing photos.
Second, on any two-family purchase, confirm the certificate of occupancy requirements and rental registration status before you underwrite the rent roll.
If you are weighing whether to list now or wait, this walks through the timing: https://northernnj.sellecksellsnj.com/blog/sell-or-wait-bergen-hudson-county-2026/
If you want current pricing and recent comparable sales for a specific street or price band, I can pull those for you. You can also start with a valuation here: https://sellecksellsnj.com/home-valuation
Thinking About Buying or Selling in Leonia?
Leonia offers a walkable borough, a deep arts tradition, direct access to Overpeck County Park, and a Manhattan commute comparable to towns that cost more. If you are considering buying or selling here or elsewhere in Bergen County, local knowledge is what separates a well-timed move from an expensive one. Scott Selleck helps clients evaluate Bergen County neighborhoods and pricing trends, read inventory and days-on-market conditions street by street, assess small multi-family properties, and time a transaction against a long-term plan. Current Leonia listings are here: https://sellecksellsnj.com/leonia-nj-homes-for-sale
Call or text: 201-970-3960
Plan Your Next Move in Three Steps
Start with the assessment, explore the community guides, then dig into the advisory site.
Step 1. Take the Seven-Question Assessment
Answer seven quick questions and get a clear read on where you stand and what your next move should be.
https://quiz.sellecksellsnj.com/
Step 2. Explore the Northern New Jersey Community Guides
Compare Bergen and Hudson County towns with interactive local guides. The Leonia guide is here:
https://northernnj.sellecksellsnj.com/towns/leonia/
Step 3. Visit the Real Estate Advisory Site
Go deeper on strategy, timing, and the full picture with The Selleck Group advisory site.
https://scott.sellecksellsnj.com
Ready to talk it through? Schedule a conversation: https://tidycal.com/slselleck
Scott Selleck, REALTOR, Broker Sales Associate
The Selleck Group | KW City Views Realty
2200 Fletcher Avenue, Suite 502, Fort Lee, NJ 07024
Cell or text: 201-970-3960 | Office: 201-592-8900
[email protected] | SelleckSellsNJ.com
Schedule a conversation: tidycal.com/slselleck
The Selleck Group | Keller Williams City Views Realty | Broker Sales Associate | E-Pro | SRES | AI-Enabled Agent Certified by the Krem Institute of Technology
Equal Housing Opportunity
https://sellecksellsnj.com/blog/equal-housing-opportunity-scott-selleck-and-the-selleck-group-at-kw-city-views-realty
