(BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ) -- The Wharton Performing Arts School (PAS) invites families and community members to join the celebration of its 40th Anniversary Season at the annual Fall Festival and Suzuki Halloween Playdown on Friday, October 24, 2025, at 60 Locust Avenue in Berkeley Heights. The festivities run from 4:30pm–6:30pm, followed by the Suzuki Violin Playdown from 7:00pm–8:00pm.
This festive afternoon and evening of music and fun embodies Wharton Arts' mission to make the performing arts accessible to all. Guests will enjoy:
* Free ice cream for kids courtesy of Zita's Homemade Ice Cream
* Empanadas for sale by Patria Station Café
* Games, a costume contest, 50/50 raffle, instrument petting zoo, and more!
Said PAS Director Debra Joyal, "We are so excited to welcome families, friends, and neighbors to celebrate Fall at the Wharton Performing Arts School. We are especially grateful to K&S music for sponsoring an instrument petting zoo where children can try out different instruments from cello to trombone. With interactive performances, a stage combat demonstration, and delicious food from local favorites Patria Station Cafe, and Zita's Homemade Ice Cream, this year's festival has something for everyone."
At 7:00pm, Wharton Performing Arts School's talented young violinists take the stage for the Suzuki Halloween Playdown, performing favorite pieces in costume as part of this beloved annual tradition.
"We're thrilled to celebrate 40 years of inspiring students through music and theater arts," said Executive Director Gina Caruso. "The Performing Arts School's Fall Festival brings our community together in the same joyful spirit that has defined Wharton Arts for four decades."
This year's Fall Festival is generously sponsored by K&S Music, with additional support from Zita's Homemade Ice Cream and Patria Station Café.
The Wharton Performing Arts School is proud to be part of Wharton Arts, New Jersey's largest independent non-profit community performing arts education center, serving nearly 2,000 students each year through a wide range of programs.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit WhartonArts.org.
Wharton Arts' mission is to offer accessible, high quality performing arts education that sparks personal growth and builds inclusive communities. Wharton Arts' vision is for a transformative performing arts education in an inclusive community to be accessible for everyone.
Wharton Arts is New Jersey's largest independent non-profit community performing arts education center serving nearly 2,000 students through a range of classes and ensembles. The 5 ensembles of the New Jersey Youth Chorus, an auditioned choral ensemble program for students in grades 3–12, encourage a love and appreciation of choral music while nurturing personal growth and creative development. The 15 ensembles of the New Jersey Youth Symphony, which serve over 500 students in grades 3–12 by audition, inspire young people to achieve musical excellence through high-level ensemble training and performance opportunities.
Based in Paterson, the Paterson Music Project is an El Sistema-inspired program of Wharton Arts that uses music education as a vehicle for social action by empowering and inspiring young people to achieve their full potential through the community experience of ensemble learning and playing. From Pathways classes for young children to Lifelong Learning programs for adults, the Wharton Performing Arts School has a robust musical theater and drama program and offers both private and group classes for instruments and voice for all ages and all abilities. With the belief in the positive and unifying influence of music and that performing arts education should be accessible to all people regardless of their ability to pay, Wharton Arts offers need-based scholarships.
Wharton Arts is located in Berkeley Heights, New Providence, and Paterson, NJ and reaches students from 12 counties. All of Wharton Arts' extraordinary teaching artists, faculty members, and conductors hold degrees in their teaching specialty and have been vetted and trained to enable our students to achieve their personal best.
