For the food: 52nd Annual St. Bartholomew/UNICO Italian Festival, 4:30–10:30 PM. Fifty-two years of sausage sandwiches, clams, and zeppoles, plus a full carnival midway. Free to walk in, and Simply the Best plays at 7.

For families: Movies Under the Stars: Hoppers, from 5:30 PM. Food trucks, lawn games, and face painting for a couple of hours before the movie starts at dusk.

For something completely different: Sky guide at Sperry Observatory, 8:30 PM. A talk, then the telescopes, on a Cranford campus most people drive past without noticing.

Westfield Art Association Art Exhibition: "Small Art, Big Impact" — 6:00–8:00 PM
Westfield Memorial Library, 550 E Broad St, Westfield

Thirty-one local artists working small, all in one room. Easy in and out on a Monday night, and a low-commitment way to see what Union County artists are actually making right now.

Weekly Live Painting Demo: Lamont Draper Jr. — 2:00–3:00 PM
Westfield Memorial Library, 550 E Broad St, Westfield

The library's Artist in Residence paints in the open for an hour, so you watch the decisions get made instead of just seeing the finished piece. It runs weekly, so this is an easy one to catch.

Linden Summer Entertainment Series: 20th Anniversary Closing Celebration + Sensational Soul Cruisers — Celebration 6:00–7:00 PM, concert 7:00–8:30 PM
Raymond Wood Bauer Promenade, 400 N Wood Ave, Linden

Twenty summers of free concerts on the promenade end here. The anniversary celebration runs first, then the Sensational Soul Cruisers, a repeat favorite of this series, close it out. Free, and it's the last outdoor night of Linden's summer.

Garden Concert: Ginger Winn — Grounds open 6:00 PM, concert 7:00 PM
Reeves-Reed Arboretum, 165 Hobart Ave, Summit

The one ticketed night in a week of free events, and the setting earns it. Grounds open at 6 so you can picnic on the lawn before Charleston singer-songwriter Ginger Winn plays folk-pop at 7. Bring a chair or a blanket. Rain or shine, moving indoors if it turns.

ParkLife Book Club — 5:30–6:30 PM
Round Table Studios Library, 200 Connell Drive, Berkeley Heights (at The Park)

A book club inside a library on the old Connell campus, which is not where most people think to look for one. September's pick is "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue" by V.E. Schwab. Free to register, light snacks and a cash bar, and it meets the first Wednesday of every month if you want to make a habit of it.

"Bring Your Own Book" Book Chat — 7:00–8:00 PM
Lions Roar Brewing Co., Westfield

Bring whatever you're already reading. No assigned book, no homework, and it's at a brewery instead of a library, which changes the evening considerably. Register through the library.

The Market at Union — 5:00–8:00 PM
Town Hall/Union Public Library front lot, 1980 Morris Ave, Union

An evening farmers market, which makes it the rare one you can hit after work instead of setting an alarm for. Produce, handmade goods, and food trucks in the Town Hall lot. The vendor lineup shifts week to week.

Summit First Thursday Art Walk — Evening events 6:00–8:30 PM
Throughout downtown Summit

Downtown turns into a gallery for the night. Two anchors worth building a route around: "Aprajita Lal: Where Light Lingers" at the Summit Free Public Library, up until 9, and the Member's Show opening at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey from 6 to 8:30. Shops and restaurants stay open around them.

52nd Annual St. Bartholomew/UNICO Italian Festival — 4:30–10:30 PM
St. Bartholomew the Apostle Church, 2032 Westfield Ave, Scotch Plains

Running since 1974 and still free to walk in. There's a full carnival midway and nightly raffles, but the food is the reason to go: sausage sandwiches, clams, zeppoles. Simply the Best plays at 7. It runs four nights straight through Labor Day, so Friday is only the opening.

Movies Under the Stars: Hoppers — 5:30 PM, movie at dusk
Rabkin Park, 1 Swanstrom Place East, Union Township

The pick if you've got kids. Things open at 5:30 with food trucks, a DJ, lawn games, face painting, and a photo booth, so there are a couple of hours to burn before Disney and Pixar's "Hoppers" starts at dusk. Free, and they're collecting for the food pantry while you're there.

Summit Street Sounds: Opening Night — 5:00–8:00 PM
Throughout downtown Summit

Six bands, six corners, one walkable downtown, which makes this the Friday pick if you'd rather wander than sit still. Storer Avenue Jazz Project at the Promenade, Mitch Germansky Full Disclosure at Lyric Park, Itchy Ankle Boys at Starbucks, The DW Brothers at the Horse Trough, "Broke & Busted" on Union Place, and DON LEE on Maple Street. Free. If you made First Thursday the night before, this is the same few blocks with a different soundtrack, and it repeats every Friday into October.

Sweet Sounds Encore — 6:00–9:00 PM
Quimby Street, Downtown Westfield

Westfield wasn't ready for summer to end either, so Sweet Sounds gets four more Friday nights. Scarlet Magnolia opens the run with Grateful Dead covers on Quimby Street. Free, and there are three more Fridays after this one if you can't make it.

Fiesta Hispana y Latina — 6:00–9:00 PM
Michael J. Mauri Park, Roselle Park

Roselle Park's yearly celebration of Hispanic and Latino culture, with live music, dancing, and food vendors in Mauri Park. Free and family friendly, and it gets less attention than it deserves, which is exactly why we're flagging it.

What's Up: A Down to Earth Sky Guide — 8:30–9:30 PM
William Miller Sperry Observatory, Union County College, 1033 Springfield Ave, Cranford

The quiet alternative to a loud Friday. Amateur Astronomers, Inc. runs its monthly sky guide talk at 8:30, then opens up the 24-inch and 10-inch telescopes, weather permitting. The observatory is open every Friday from 7:30 to 10:30, and plenty of people drive past this campus without knowing it's there. Free, but register ahead.

Scotch Plains Farmers Market — 8:00 AM–1:00 PM
430 Park Avenue (Municipal Parking Lot), Scotch Plains

Still peak Jersey tomato and corn season, which makes early September one of the better weeks of the whole market year. Produce and baked goods in the municipal lot, rain or shine.

Springfield Townwide Garage Sale — 9:00 AM–6:00 PM
Throughout Springfield

Houses all over town open up their garages for the weekend, no permits and nothing to sign up for if you're just shopping. The township keeps a directory of who's participating, which is the difference between a good morning and driving in circles. It runs Sunday too, but go early Saturday.

Summit Farmers Market — 8:00 AM–1:00 PM
Park & Shop Lot #1, DeForest & Woodland Ave, Summit

A Sunday morning market that keeps going all the way through December, which makes it the one to know once everything else shuts down for the season. Local produce, baked goods, rain or shine.

Family Fun and Flix: A Minecraft Movie — Tuesday, September 8, Festivities 7:30 PM, movie at dusk
Warinanco Park, Roselle/Elizabeth

The one that closes out the county's free summer movie series. Festivities start at 7:30 and the movie rolls at dusk. If the kids miss Hoppers on Friday, this is the makeup.