College Football Championship: 5 cool Bay Area things to do

CLAUDE PARIS/ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES Saxophonist Wayne Shorter
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JOE GIBLIN/ASSOCIATED PRESSWayne Shorter played the Newport Jazz Festival Rhode Island in 2008.
Wayne Shorter Quartet pianist Danilo Perez (cq) (left) gets a signal from saxophonist Wayne Shorter (cq) during a SFJazz performance at the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco Calif., on Saturday, June 16, 2001. 6/16/01 (CONTRA COSTA TIMES/DOUG DURAN) 18SHORTER.JPG
MATT BEARD/CIRQUE DU SOLEIL A duet/duel between a BMX athlete and a ballerina is one of the highlights of Cirque du Soleil's "Volta."
The cast of "Come From Away" performs at the 71st annual Tony Awards on Sunday, June 11, 2017, in New York. (Photo by Michael Zorn/Invision/AP)
Karl Mondon/staff
With recycled plastic bottles and optical fiber, Bruce Munro created "Bacchus' Spring," an addition to the permanent leering sculptures of the Italianate Garden at the Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. The piece is one of 10 works by the British artist on display in a show titled "Stories in Light." (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Bacchus’ Spring,' installed in the marble fountain in Montalvo’s Italianate Garden, is constructed from 90 plastic bottles refilled with fiber optics. The piece is one of 10 works in 'Bruce Munro at Montalvo: Stories in Light,' on view through March 17 at Montalvo Arts Center. (Photo by Anne Gelhaus)
'Silver Sea' by Bruce Munro, the centerpiece of his 'Stories in Light' exhibition at Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, is made up of more than 4,000 illuminated stems that change color to create the sense of moving water. Munro's installations, linked by a 'Chronicles of Narnia' theme, are on display through March 17. (Photo by Anne Gelhaus)
Bruce Munro covered the Great Lawn of the Montalvo Arts Center with thousands of glass bulbs lit by fiber optics for "Silver Sea," one of ten exhibits on display in "Stories in Light," on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018, at the Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
A photo shoot takes place among the thousands of illuminated spheres covering the Great Lawn of the Montalvo Arts Center in "Silver Sea," one of ten exhibits by British artist Bruce Munro on display in "Stories in Light," Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018, in Saratoga, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Bruce Munro created "Light Shower" as a permanent display for the Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, Calif. The piece was one of ten works by the British artist on display in a show titled "Stories in Light," Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group
Thousands of fiber optically-lit spheres cover the Great Lawn of the Montalvo Arts Center in "Silver Sea," one of ten exhibits by British artist Bruce Munro on display in "Stories in Light," Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018, in Saratoga, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
The "Good Seed," a dandelion-like structure made of Victorian lampposts, glows in the dusk light on the Montalvo Arts Center grounds hosting Bruce Munro's "Stories in Light" in Saratoga, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group
Moviegoers wait in line at the main entrance of the Rialto Cinemas Elmwood theater on College Avenue in Berkeley, Calif., on Wednesday, March 21, 2018. Elmwood manager Joey Brite has been keeping track of the moviegoers who have used MoviePass in the theater. She believes MoviePass has increased her theater's attendance and their profit margins. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Bay Area News Group
The marquee of the Alameda Theatre and Cineplex lights up the evening sky June 3, 2015, in Alameda.
Vine Cinema and Alehouse is a one-stop date night to watch movies, sip craft beers and Livermore wines and enjoy a bite on cozy couches. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group Archives)
Photograph by George Sakkestad
Photograph by George SakkestadThe iconic Los Gatos Theatre re-opens to the public on Saturday, with residents invited to stop by between 1 and 6 p.m. for free theater tours. The movie house was closed for nearly 19 months while new owners completely re-furbished the theater that first opened in 1915.

By Jim Harrington | jharrington@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group

PUBLISHED: December 27, 2018 at 1:42 p.m. | UPDATED: December 28, 2018 at 5:06 p.m.

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So, you’re coming to town for the Jan. 7 College Football Playoff National Championship at Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium. Wondering what else to do while you’re in the Bay Area?

This being the Bay Area, you’ll have plenty of options, from world-class jazz and rock to Cirque du Soleil. Here are five best bets.

HEAR: Friends of Wayne Shorter

Some of the world’s greatest musicians are gathering together to honor legendary jazz saxophonist-composer Wayne Shorter Jan. 3-6 at SFJazz Center in San Francisco. Shorter himself was supposed to be playing at the venue on those dates, but fell ill and couldn’t keep the engagement. The “Friends of Wayne Shorter” lineup includes Herbie Hancock, Branford Marsalis, Kamasi Washington, Terence Blanchard, Joshua Redman, Ambrose Akinmusire and Terrace Martin. Find more details here.

SEE: Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Volta’

Cirque du Soleil’s 41st original production — and 18th under the big top — runs through Feb. 3 at AT&T Park in San Francisco (and then Feb. 13-March 10 at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San Jose). Like all Cirque efforts, “Volta” includes plenty of high-flying stunts and nearly unimaginable feats of strength, agility, skill and, of course, acrobatics. This particular show is inspired by action sports and includes hoop/shape diving, a trampoline act and even a duet between a BMX rider and a classical ballerina. “Volta” details are here.

SEE: A spectacular light installation

Saratoga’s lovely Montalvo Arts Center is just a short drive from where all the big pre-game festivities will be taking place in downtown San Jose. And right now it’s hosting the West Coast premiere of British artist Bruce Munro’s light installation, “Stories in Light,” through mid-March. There are 10 gorgeous, glittering, Narnia-inspired installations at Montalvo that have turned the grounds into shimmering, magical landscapes. Get a sneak peek here.

WATCH: ‘Come From Away’

Sticking around till Monday, Jan. 8? Check out the Broadway hit, “Come From Away,” which runs Jan. 8-Feb. 3 at the SHN Golden Gate Theatre in San Francisco. “Come From Away” tells the story of 7,000 passengers stranded in a small town in Newfoundland after 9/11. More details here.

SEE: A movie in luxurious surroundings

Forget the cookie-cutter multiplex. Experience a film at one of our many exceptional arthouses and independent, newly swankified cinemas, with comfortable seats and plenty of bars, cafes and restaurants nearby. Here are a baker’s dozen of choices around the Bay Area.