Things to Do in New Brunswick

The phosphorescent indoor landscape at Monster Mini Golf immerses putters in an eerie universe that inverts the sun-soaked cheer of conventional courses. Rimmed in glowing green barriers, 18 holes lure swingers of all sizes to challenge their coordination and resolve in the face of winged monsters, scowling animated trees, a creepy clown, and their opponents' shockingly dazzling smiles. Sheltered from searing rain and howling wind, the indoor course enables play around hazards such as a spell well and luminous, ghostly windmill at any time of the year. An in-house radio station and DJ mask the sound of pounding hearts with lively beats and course commentary, and golfers looking for additional glory can win prizes by participating in regular contests or at the on-site arcade.

Soon after Mimi Omiecinski moved to Princeton in 2006, a chance sighting of a Nobel laureate sparked her interest in the town's distinguished residents. When a local business owner informed her that Princeton has more Nobel laureates, Pulitzer winners, and Parakeet Best in Show recipients than any two-square-mile radius on Earth, she commenced an intense study about the town, its tenants, and its history.

The result of this fascination is Princeton Tour Company, an eclectic blend of tours that covers the breadth and depth of Princeton's history, including its culture, university, and local businesses. Ghost tours take guests on a cemetery walk past the gravesites of a United States president and a signer of the declaration of independence, whereas walking tours cover the stories of former Princeton residents including T.S. Eliot and Brooke Shields.

Debbie Coury was a child when she began dancing at Yvette Dance Studio. The passion cultivated in that community-focused studio catapulted her career, as she went on to dance on Broadway and in Atlantic City. Though she had a taste for the glamour of a big production, she was thrilled to return back to Yvette studio, which began as a focused training program in 1954, as head instructor. She has recruited professional dancers and certified-fitness instructors, along with guest Broadway dancers and choreographers to train children aged 3 or older and adults alike in dance fundamentals. Whether classical and barre ballet, tap, or jazz-funk hip-hop, they frequently incorporate character and lyrical work to familiarize students with all the elements of performing onstage and stomping out Morse-code commands to the band conductor.

In lieu of recitals, instructors dance alongside their youngest students in dance demonstrations, where students show their parents what they've learned without the pressure of performance or lights and makeup. Older children work out new techniques in front of judges for regular testing and receive specific feedback to foster a sense of accomplishment. With instruction spanning nearly 60 years, many former dancers now bring their own children to studio classes held in the original private home, a building that now hosts three private studios. Additionally, many former dancers have employed their movement skills to join companies such as the Rockettes, Alvin Ailey, and Geoffrey Ballet.

The organizers of Garden State BrewFest invite beer lovers to sample the ales and lagers of tri-state-area brewers in the name of charity. After collecting donations of canned food for the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, gate attendants usher visitors in to taste two-ounce samples, each freshly poured by representatives from breweries such as Philadelphia’s Yards Brewing Company and Cape May County’s Tuckahoe Brewing Company. An array of entertainment engages guests throughout the four-hour fete, including live bands, a beer-pong tournament, and a keg-icing contest. Their Homebrew Competition lets DIY brewers enter their best fall-season beers, and the grand-prize winner gets to work alongside master brewer Brendan O’Neil of New Jersey Beer Co. Brewery for a day. Garden State BrewFest’s team donates a portion of the proceeds to St. Jude Children's Hospital.

A two-tiered driving range and two 18-hole miniature-golf courses welcome visitors to Branchburg Family Golf Center’s 27-acre golf complex for game improvement and friendly competition. Each tier at the range comprises more than 30 hitting stalls and features a natural-grass tee area that remains open from April through September. In colder months, 12 recently installed heaters keep golfers cozy or help them sweat off pounds to drop a weight class in golf-cart jousting. Professional instructors roll in when players reach an improvement plateau, offering their keen expertise to develop consistent swings that lead to lower scores.

The center’s two miniature-golf courses summon putts past crashing waterfalls and through lush landscapes, fostering a sense of friendly competition in a pint-sized oasis. When swatting stationary spheres becomes too easy, visitors can head over to the batting facility to work on baseball swings and tackle techniques when charging the mound at a cyborg pitcher.:m]]

GT Dream Cars unleashes its elite fleet of exotic, automatic sports cars on a temporary basis to help add a touch of luxury, beauty, and raw power to an afternoon. The lineup of swanky steeds includes the powerfully sleek Aston Martin Vantage, the luxurious Bentley Continental GT, the Ferrari F430 Scuderia, the Maserati GranTurismo, or the Lamborghini Gallardo, with the power of 550 horses or 78 furious mastodons. Inside car cockpits, conquer the 2.7-mile road course, blasting down the straightaway and deftly maneuvering the mini corkscrew with the ease of a bobsled team weaving down a water slide.