Walk for Mary's Place, see 'Clerks III' soundtrack star and more things to do at the Shore

“Clerks III” is Kevin Smith’s latest love letter to East Coast DIY attitude. The film is about convenience store employee Randal (Jeff Anderson) who, following a heart attack, turns his life into an independent film – the sort of movie Smith made with 1994’s original “Clerks.”

The independent energy permeates the soundtrack, featuring songs solicited by Smith via social media — including “Tractor Beam,” a big-hearted slice of funk and soul from Philadelphia native Mega Ran. The song, from Mega Ran’s 2021 “Live ’95” LP, “reminded me of a sonic version of ‘Clerks,’ ” said Smith.

“Just very specific, very straightforward, no-nonsense, it could only be generated by one artist," Smith said. "It’s not art by committee by any stretch of the imagination. (He) has a vision behind the song and I fell in love with it instantly.”

Mega Ran, a teacher-turned-rapper now based in Phoenix, has been releasing records for nearly 20 years. But “Tractor Beam,” with Mega Ran’s full-throated, impassioned singing — “If I had a tractor beam, I would use it to bring you right back to me" — stands apart.

“(I) was really afraid of putting it out,” he said. “I’ve written different pieces of it, re-wrote it, let a couple friends hear it, and no one told me that it stunk. People kept telling me ‘This is really cool and really special,’ so I just felt something was going to happen with that song.”

Mega Ran has shows Friday at Silk City Diner in Philadelphia and Saturday at Kingsland Bar and Grill in Brooklyn, and will be part of the Saturday, Oct. 29, “Devil’s Night Eve” livestream with MC Lars, MC Frontalot and Schaffer the Darklord.

“Clerks III,” screening in an open-ended run at Smith's SModcastle Cinemas in Atlantic Highlands, arrives on digital outlets on Friday. "Tractor Beam" appears during a sequence where Randal’s co-worker Elias (played by Trevor Fehrman) is lamenting his friend’s heart attack, blaming himself for the near-tragic turn of events.

“It’s beautiful when an artist’s work makes yours better, and that was the case with Mega’s tune,” Smith said. “It made ‘Clerks III’ better.”

Info: clerks3.movie, megaran.com.

JBJ Soul Kitchen hosts annual chili cook-off

JBJ Soul Kitchen, a nonprofit community restaurant at 1769 Hooper Ave. in Toms River, will host its seventh annual chili cook-off from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Who's cooking? Members of local police, fire and EMS departments, and first aid squads. As of press time, participants include fire departments from Toms River and Sayreville, police departments from Toms River, Union Beach and Sayreville, the Holmdel barracks of the New Jersey State Police, Ocean County Sheriff's PBA Local 379, and EMS members from Lanoka Harbor in Lacey, and Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson.

Attendees will pay a $20 donation for admission, which allows for tasting and voting.

The event also will include a pig roast, a variety of appetizers and children's entertainment. Guests are asked to bring nonperishable food items for a food drive led by Fulfill's Peoples Pantry.

Go: jbjsoulkitchen.org/chili-cook-off-2022.

Walk and run for Mary's Place in Ocean Grove

Located in the Ocean Grove section of Neptune, Mary's Place by the Sea offers care and comfort to women with cancer. The organization will be supprted with its 11th annual walk-a-thon and fourth annual 5K run, happening 9 a.m. to noon Saturday.

Go: Walk and 5K Run for Mary's Place by the Sea, 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Ocean Pathway, Ocean Grove section of Neptune, $40, $25 for students; runsignup.com/marysplacebytheseawalk2022.

Build Me Up Butternut drops at Icarus Brewing

On Saturday, Icarus Brewing of Lakewood celebrates the annual release of Build Me Up Butternut, a 6.7% ABV porter brewed in collaboration with New Jersey Craft Beer’s Mike Kivowitz, utilizing his homemade butternut squash soup, then conditioned on smoked chipotle peppers and smoked guajillo peppers.

The day will include Bad Brains-inspired T-shirts, as well as glassware, stickers and evening performances by The Foes of Fern, and the Snipped in the Icarus brewhouse, plus a costume contest.

Go: Build Me Up Butternut release party, noon Saturday, Icarus Brewing, 1790 Swathmore Ave., Lakewood; icarusbrewing.square.site.

Drag brunch in Red Bank

The Vogel at the Count Basie Center for the Arts complex on Monmouth Street in Red Bank will host a drag brunch at 11 a.m. Sunday featuring Asbury Park nightlife fixutre Lady Celestina and company.

All tickets include brunch service, with a vegetarian option available, as well as one complimentary mimosa, bloody mary or orange juice.

Go: Drag brunch hosted by Lady Celestina, doors at 11 a.m. and showtime at noon Sunday, Vogel at the Count Basie Center for the Arts, 99 Monmouth St., Red Bank. Tickets are $39, with a bottomless mimosa add-on package for an addition $20, and VIP tickets including champagne available for $79; thebasie.org/events/dragbrunch.

Talking Heads tribute at the Stone Pony

Acclaimed Talking Heads tribute act Start Making Sense returns to Asbury Park for a Saturday night engagement at the Stone Pony.

The Pennsylvania-based band is fronted by David Byrne proxy Jon Braun, a Bergen County native who grew up in Phillipsburg, Warren County.

Go: Start Making Sense, doors at 7 p.m. and show at 8 p.m. Saturday, Stone Pony, 913 Ocean Ave., Asbury Park, $25 in advance, $30 at the door; stoneponyonline.com.

Thompson Park Day in Lincroft

The Monmouth County Park System presents Thompson Park Day from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. There will be free activities including kids’ races, mini golf, pie-eating contests for kids and adults, and more. Some events will require tickets or wristbands, including archery, a climbing wall and wagon rides.

Go: Thompson Park Day, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, 805 Newman Springs Road, Lincroft section of Middletown; monmouthcountyparks.com.

Sarah Griesemer contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Jersey Shore things to do: Clerks III stream, Mary's Place walk