Jersey Fringe Festival, kids carnival, and other things to do Down the Shore Aug. 4-6

Hammonton, N.J., usually known as the heart of the blueberry industry, will shift its focus this weekend from small fruit to small, one-act productions scattered around the downtown area. Starting Friday, the streets will be packed with live music acts, food and art vendors, and the pop-up trappings of a beer and wine garden, as curtains drop in theaters, bars, and other local venues. Among the offerings will be several original productions, an interactive "choose-your-own-adventure-style" experience, and a lineup of cabarets at the Eagle Theatre.

6 p.m.- midnight Friday; 12:30 p.m.-midnight. Saturday; 12:30-7 p.m. Sunday. Eagle Theatre, 208 Vine St., Hammonton. Day pass $19; weekend pass $39, 609-704-5012, jerseyfringe.com.

On any given day, the third bedroom in Woodbine Councilwoman Mary Helen Perez's home will be filled with presents for kids. Perez has been on the Woodbine City Council for seven years and has spent six of them preparing for her annual Kids Carnival in Woodbine Lincoln Park —— and a lot of the evidence lives in her guest room. This year's Kids Carnival takes place Saturday, and it will bring back all the old favorites: waterslides, pony rides, games, an ice cream truck, face painting, a petting zoo, and free food. Perez says she spends days cooking with her friends and family in preparation. "It's a lot," she says. "We're cooking so much, my son is like, 'Moooooom.' " Smokey Bear, representatives from the Sheriff's Department, and two members of the National Guard also will be in attendance. As kids leave, they can pick a present from Perez's gift table — the collection she has been storing up all year.

1-5 p.m. Saturday. Lincoln Park, Dehirsch Avenue., Woodbine, N.J. Free, 609-778-8172.

On Season 5, Episode 27 of the hit TV series America's Got Talent, magician Michael Grasso dances onto the stage in a black suit with a face-covering hood and escorts his dancing blond assistant onto a pedestal. A cage and gold curtain descend from the ceiling, covering the woman in a shimmering makeshift tent. The tent shoots up from the floor and hovers just over center stage. With a couple of tightly choreographed gestures, Grasso knocks off the curtains to reveal that his assistant has disappeared. That trick got rave reviews from the TV judges — although Grasso says he's "not about tricks," he's "about real magic." This weekend, you have the chance to review his act yourself. The magician, who has been practicing since age 9, will perform at the Cape May Convention Center, with special local guest Sideshow Superstar Doc Swan.

8-9:30 p.m. Saturday, Cape May Convention Hall, 714 Beach Ave., Cape May. $40; $25 ages 11 and under. 609-884-9565, discovercapemaynj.com.

For six years, the Victorian-era Emlen Physick Estate has held a festival in early August to celebrate the apex of crab season, a time of year usually associated with the Chesapeake Bay, but that is equally important in New Jersey. On Saturday, check out folding tables of steamed crabs and crab cakes, and wash it down with a selection of craft beers. If crabs aren't your thing, there will also be teams of acrobats and jugglers, an array of food and crafts vendors, a farmers' market, and of course, commemorative pint glasses.

10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday. Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St. Cape May. Free, 609-884-5404, capemay.com/eventcalendar/.