Manasquan's holiday season downtown has a set start and end date this year, and the borough's construction schedule sets both. Work crews thinned out on Main Street in early October. The streetscape job at Route 71 is scheduled to stop for the winter in December. Heavier work is scheduled to start in January and March 2027. The Scarecrow Contest, Ladies Night, Pink Friday, the Turkey Trot, Santa and the Candy Cane Hunt all happen in that gap.
The gap was requested. According to The Coast Star's October 16 report, the summer construction "caused a stir" among Main Street merchants, and business owners asked for a seasonal pause in the water, sewer and drainage work over the holidays. The 2027 timeline adds one more detail. The downtown sidewalk bricks have not been replaced since 1999, and the borough plans to swap them for patterned granite pavers starting in March 2027. If that schedule holds, this is the last holiday season on the old brick.
How August Led to a December Pause
The digging started August 5. The borough began replacing water, sewer and drainage lines at Main, Broad and South streets, the oldest known intersection in town, as groundwork for a Monmouth County roundabout. News 12's late-August report covered how the work affected Main Street merchants in peak season, including Bouquets to Remember, Mertens Jewelers and Squan Cleaners.
That $1.1 million segment, contracted to MSP Construction Corp., wrapped up in September. Manasquan Chamber of Commerce President Pauline Evans told The Coast Star, "We are happy to have a construction break so that visitors to Manasquan can easily access our great downtown area and shop and dine at our establishments."
The borough describes the whole effort in long-term terms. Mayor Michael Mangan called it "a once-in-a-generation upgrade" at the August 31 council meeting, and Council President Jay Bryant told The Coast Star the projects will "replace aging water, sewer and drainage lines that are needed to keep our town healthy and functioning reliably."
The Work That Continues This Fall
Some crews are still out. As of this week, two projects affect daily driving and walking in town:
| Project | Where | Fall 2026 | Next phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Streetscape improvements, $2.8M federal TAP grant | Main Street and Route 71, Exxon station to the train station | Lane shifts and sidewalk closures through December | Winter shutdown, then March to May 2027 |
| Fletcher Avenue Phase 1 | North Potter to North Farragut | Expected to begin in early November | Seasonal shutdown, then roadway work in spring 2027 |
| County roundabout, about $1.5M | Main, Broad and South streets | Possible pre-construction November to December | Construction from January to early summer 2027 |
The streetscape work covers new sidewalks, curbs, resurfaced pavement and energy-efficient lighting, according to borough engineer Joe Raftery. On Fletcher Avenue, the borough homepage says work is expected to begin in early November. The project page at squanprojects.com, last updated September 21, lists utility and concrete work through December 15, a shutdown until March 1, 2027, and roadway work from March 1 to April 30, 2027. The two sources give different start dates, so check the borough page before planning a commute around it.
The downtown business blocks themselves get a break, apart from the activity at Route 71.
What Fills the Window
The borough's community events calendar, the Chamber and Greater Manasquan each list the season's events. Here are the downtown dates still ahead as of this post:
- Halloween Scarecrow Contest, through November 2. Scarecrows line Main Street from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, according to Greater Manasquan.
- Mischief Night, October 29. The borough lists Parker Avenue as closed from 6 to 8 p.m.
- Autism MVP Foundation Walk/Run, November 8, from 1 to 2 p.m. on the borough calendar.
- Ladies Night Out, November 19, on Main Street from 4 to 8 p.m. Both the borough and Chamber calendars list it.
- Pink Friday, November 20, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., a Chamber and town event on the Manasquan Chamber of Commerce calendar.
- Manasquan Turkey Trot, November 21, at the Little League field.
- Santa Visits, November 28, downtown from noon to 4 p.m. That same evening, the borough also lists a Common Ground Remembrance Walk from 4 to 8 p.m.
- Candy Cane Hunt and Tree Lighting, December 4, at Main Street and Squan Plaza. The borough lists 6 to 9 p.m., and other calendars show different times, so confirm before you go.
- The rest of December. Greater Manasquan lists Santa downtown again from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, December 5, 12 and 19. Christmas in Manasquan brings hayrides and a petting zoo to Main Street on December 6, and a Shop and Stroll runs on Main Street on December 17 from 4 to 8 p.m.
The December events fall in the quiet stretch itself. The streetscape work is scheduled to stop in December, and the paver project is not scheduled to start until March, so the tree lighting, the Saturday Santa visits and the Shop and Stroll should all take place on an uninterrupted stretch of 1999 brick.
TAPinto's coverage of the 2025 event explains how it works. The lighting starts at Squan Plaza. Then children ages 2 to 8 walk the storefronts matching numbered candy canes to presents, with local dancers, hot chocolate and Christmas music around them. TAPinto's follow-up credited a long list of organizations: the Chamber, Elks, Tourism, MBIA, seniors, the Women's Club, the Sea Lavender Club, high school groups and the Boy Scouts. The storefronts are part of the game, and they are the same ones the pause was meant to protect.
The Turkey Trot Pays for the Town's Volunteer Groups
The race on the Saturday before Thanksgiving draws the season's biggest crowd. The 43rd Manasquan Turkey Trot starts at the Manasquan Little League Baseball Field, 69 Second Avenue. The one-mile race goes off at 10 a.m. and the five-mile at 11 a.m. Registration is closed because the race hit its limit, and the RunSignup race page says there is no race-day signup.
If you're not running, you can still watch. The Trot is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3), and the race director's 2025 thank-you note says the 42nd race raised more than $100,000. Recipients included the VFW, the public library, the Boy Scouts, recreation, the PTO, baseball and the volunteer fire organizations. Several of those groups, the Boy Scouts among them, also turned up in TAPinto's list of tree lighting supporters. The same volunteer groups that run the holiday events also get the race money.
Where to Spend the Pause
The new businesses on Main Street this year are worth a stop while the sidewalks are clear.
- Lenny's Main Street Market, 149 Main St. Lenny's Colonial Ranch Meat Market opened a Manasquan location in the former Rite Aid on March 1, NJ.com reported. It shares the space with Shore Fresh Seafood, Mueller's Bakery and Batch on Main. New Jersey Monthly described it as four Jersey Shore favorites under one roof. For Thanksgiving week, one storefront covers the butcher, the fish counter and the bakery.
- Coastal Canteen, 142 Main St. The Asbury Park Press included it in its 2026 roundup of new Jersey Shore restaurants. Coastal Canteen calls itself a coastal tavern in the heart of Manasquan. It's close by for dinner after Ladies Night.
- The merchants who worked through the summer construction. Bouquets to Remember, Mertens Jewelers and Squan Cleaners all appeared in News 12's August coverage. Holiday flowers, a gift from the jeweler and a pressed outfit for the tree lighting are all within walking distance.
What Returns in 2027
The pause is short, and spring 2027 is the busiest stretch on the schedule. The county roundabout at Main, Broad and South is scheduled to start in January 2027 and finish in early summer. Monmouth County expects a 30- to 40-day road closure and detour, with access to all driveways and businesses maintained. The borough timed its utility work so the new roundabout won't need to be torn up later.
In March 2027, the streetscape crews return, and two more projects begin. The next sewer phase covers Segment A along Atlantic Avenue to South Street Plaza and Segment C along downtown Main Street from Joe Leone's to the Exxon station. The block-by-block business district work, including the granite pavers, follows the same calendar. Both are scheduled to pause for summer 2027, resume in September and wrap up around November 2027. The business district project is still in design, with bids, awards and a cost estimate expected in January 2027.
If those dates hold, Manasquan's 2027 holiday season will start just as the new sidewalks are finished. That makes this year's Candy Cane Hunt the last one on the 1999 brick.
Downtown upgrades shape how buyers see a Main Street address, and our team follows the Manasquan schedule block by block. If you own near Main Street, Route 71 or Fletcher Avenue and want to know where your home stands before spring construction, Salvatore Ventre can show you with an instant home valuation.
