Beer by the Bay, Cannoli on Main Street: Your Central Jersey Week, September 15

School is back in session, which means my annual tradition is back too: getting stuck behind a school bus at the exact moment I am already late. Nothing builds patience like hitting every single stop between here and where you are supposed to be.

Good news is the calendar is finally worth the trouble. Here is what is actually happening in Central Jersey over the next two weekends, with the details checked — including one big date change the flyers going around still have wrong.

Brew by the Bay in Highlands moved to September 26

Saturday, September 26, noon to 5 p.m., The Seafarer, 1 Atlantic Street, Highlands. Read that date twice. The 9th annual Brew by the Bay was originally set for September 12 and has been rescheduled to the 26th. Tickets already bought for the 12th are honored on the new date.

Tickets are $45 and include eight 4-ounce tastings plus one full pint of whatever you liked best; extra pours are $3 each. It is 21 and over only, and it runs rain or shine. This year''s lineup: Twin Lights, Yale Terrace, Icarus, Wild Air, Last Wave, Lokal, Skinny Flowers and Carton, each pouring two beers. Fresh on the Bay — Farm to Table is handling the food.

The reason to go is not really the beer. It is the pier — fire pits, live music, and Sandy Hook Bay with the New York skyline sitting out there on the horizon while you nurse a pint. Buy ahead; it has sold out before. Tickets and details are on the Highlands Business Partnership page.

Cannoli, costumes and Italian flair in Belmar

Saturday, September 19, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Main Street from 8th to 10th Avenue at Pyanoe Plaza, Belmar. Free to walk in. The rain date is Sunday, September 20, which is the single most useful thing to know about this festival — a bad forecast is not a reason to cancel your plans.

At 11:30 a.m. there is a Mass at St. Rose conducted in Italian, followed by the procession of the statue of San Gennaro down Main Street. The cannoli eating contest is at 1:30 p.m., entry is $30, and a share of the proceeds goes to the West Belmar Methodist Church food pantry. The Cagnolino doggie costume contest gives the four-legged members of the family their own shot at the stage.

Sausage and peppers, zeppole, vendors, live music and dogs in costume. Belmar understood the assignment. Details and registration are on the borough calendar.

A million sunflowers in Cream Ridge

Open now through October 12, Holland Ridge Farms, 108 Rues Road, Cream Ridge. The U-Pick Sunflowers Fall Festival opened September 10 and runs seven days a week, with sunflowers, gladiolus, dahlias and the farm''s largest wildflower planting yet across 350 acres.

Pricing is the part people get wrong: admission is ticketed in advance, and the stems are 50 cents to a dollar each — you pick as many as you can carry and they hand you the clippers. Food trucks run daily from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., the bakery barn is open Friday through Sunday, and the horse-and-carriage and pony rides are weekends only, for an extra fee. There is also a makers market, free hayrides, farm animals and a climbable Dutch windmill.

Go on a weekday morning if you can. Same flowers, a third of the people, and you will actually be able to park. Tickets and hours: Holland Ridge Farms.

Tinton Falls turns out for America''s 250th

Saturday, September 26, 3:30 to 8:30 p.m., Sycamore Recreation Complex, 977 Sycamore Avenue, Tinton Falls. Free. Rain date is October 3.

Community Day 2026 is the borough''s tie-in to the nation''s 250th anniversary: kid-friendly activities, entertainment and food trucks all afternoon, building to a drone show after dark. If you have not seen one of these yet, it is worth staying for — quieter than fireworks, and considerably stranger to watch.

Come hungry, bring a chair, and plan on spending the last part of the evening looking straight up. Details from the borough.

If you only pick one

Two collisions to plan around. September 19 is Belmar''s festival and a prime sunflower Saturday — do Belmar, and save the farm for a weekday when the fields are empty. September 26 is Brew by the Bay and Tinton Falls Community Day, and those two actually work together: beer on the water until 5, then a short drive and a drone show at dusk. Just make sure whoever is driving stuck to the 4-ounce pours.

Live music lowdown

Friday, September 18
The Proving Ground, Highlands — Skinny Amigo, 6 p.m.
The Wonder Bar, Asbury Park — Sea.Hear.Now: There Goes the Neighborhood, 7:30 p.m.
The Sandbox, Highlands — Patty C, 4–7 p.m.
Red Rock Tap + Grill, Red Bank — Liam Davis Band, 7 p.m.
The Stone Pony, Asbury Park — Sea.Hear.Now: The Offspring, 7:30 p.m.
Donovan''s Reef, Sea Bright — Party Til Dawn, 6 p.m.

Saturday, September 19
The Proving Ground, Highlands — Ty Mares, 1–4 p.m.
The Proving Ground, Highlands — Liam Davis Band, 6–10 p.m.
The Wonder Bar, Asbury Park — Sea.Hear.Now: Makua, 10:30 p.m.
The Sandbox, Highlands — John Rafferty, 4–7 p.m.
The Sandbox, Highlands — No Surrender, 7–10 p.m.
The Stone Pony, Asbury Park — Sea.Hear.Now: The Ocean Ave Stomp, 11 p.m.
Donovan''s Reef, Sea Bright — The Haven, 6 p.m.

Sunday, September 20
The Proving Ground, Highlands — Carl Gentry, 5–9 p.m.
The Sandbox, Highlands — Hang Loose, 2–5 p.m.

Bar bookings change on short notice. Call the venue before you drive.

Which of these events are free?

Belmar''s San Gennaro Festival and Tinton Falls Community Day are both free to attend — you only pay for food, vendors and contest entries. Brew by the Bay is a $45 ticketed tasting event for ages 21 and over. Holland Ridge Farms charges timed admission per person, purchased in advance, and flowers are priced separately at 50 cents to a dollar per stem.

What happens if it rains?

Brew by the Bay runs rain or shine. Belmar''s festival has a rain date of Sunday, September 20, and Tinton Falls Community Day has a rain date of October 3. Holland Ridge Farms runs seven days a week through October 12, so a wet Saturday simply means picking flowers another day — check their site for weather policies before you drive out.

Which of these is best with grandchildren?

Tinton Falls Community Day is built for it — kid activities all afternoon and a drone show at dusk. Holland Ridge Farms is the other easy one, with hayrides, farm animals and weekend pony rides. Belmar''s festival works too, especially the 1:30 p.m. cannoli contest and the dog costume contest. Brew by the Bay is 21 and over, so that one is an adults-only afternoon.

Second Act 360 receives no payment from any event, farm, brewery or venue named here. Dates, prices and hours were confirmed with official sources at publication and can change — check before you go.