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Heavy smoke lies over the San Francisco Bay Area, wind-borne evidence of the devastating Camp Fire in Butte County, and air-quality concerns are keeping us indoors. Even the Cal-Stanford Big Game has been postponed. Fortunately, there are still plenty of fun things to do this weekend that don’t involve spending more than a minute or two outdoors.
1 SEE: Dumbledore, Grindelwald and Viola Davis
The holidays brings an onslaught of movies to local cineplexes … cineplexi … er, theaters. This weekend kicks off with the big-buzz “Fantastic Beasts” sequel — which we saw last night in all its special effects glory and slightly muddled storyline, but hey, the Hogwarts sightings and a dapper Dumbledore, played by Jude Law, were big fun. There’s also the Oscar-buzzy thriller “Widows,” starring Viola Davis, and the heartwarming holiday-themed comedy “Instant Family.” Plus there’s the colorful “Grinch,” which opened with a roar last weekend. Here’s the full rundown on what’s opening this weekend.
2 VISIT: Museums
SFMOMA and the San Francisco Fine Arts Museums (including the de Young and the Legion of Honor) are both offering deals all weekend for folks who want to have fun indoors. SFMOMA’s 2nd floor permanent collection is free to visitors (details here). And the de Young and Legion offer free general admission (details here). Some other possibilities: Hands-on fun (and learning) for kids is available at The Exploratorium in San Francisco, The Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose and the CuriOdyssey Museum in San Mateo, which offers a colorful, interactive light show and exhibit for kids.
3 BINGE: TV
Kids home from school? There are lots of great family-friendly streaming options, from “Anne With an E” to Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events” on Netflix. (Check out the “Unfortunate Events” trailer here.) Also, “Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny” just dropped on Amazon Prime. It’s a series spawned by the big-screen franchise that follows Po and his pals on a new adventure. And for you grown-ups, may we suggest you go all-Maisel? Here are five reasons you’ll go bonkers for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” And we have more streaming suggestions here.
4 READ: Cormoran strikes again, and Kindle has kids fare
And speaking of J.K. Rowling, the newest Cormoran Strike thriller, “Lethal White,” is out under her nom-de-plume Robert Galbraith. It’s a twisty tale with enough blackmail, deceit and, of course, murder to get your mind off what’s happening outdoors. (You can read the New York Times review here.) And if you enjoyed “Crazy Rich Asians,” you might also love “Family Trust” by Kathy Wang, a wealthy Chinese immigrant family saga with a dying patriarch, dating 70-something and their two stressed-out adult children with messy personal lives. Here’s what the author had to say about the book.
Meanwhile, the holidays always brings a great rush of new children’s books, including some fun fare your kids can read on their iPad, Kindle or tablet this weekend. Among them: “Lights! Camera! Alice!” the story of the first female filmmaker, the adventures of “Mac B. Kid Spy” and all of these new books, too.
5 HEAR: The divine Joan Baez on her farewell tour
The legendary folk-music star, who has long called Woodside home, has been making amazing music now for nearly 60 years. And she’s been a regular road warrior over the decades, performing countless concerts for her fans across the United States and well beyond. Now 77 years old, Baez has decided to bring the long road show to a close. She’s performing Nov. 17-18 at Oakland’s Fox Theater. We caught her show earlier this week and it was amazing. Check out our review and concert photos, then pick up tickets ($55 and up) at www.ticketmaster.com.
6 SEE: “Chicago”
Not the actual city — although, we do love deep-dish and Blackhawks games. But the popular musical “Chicago” runs through Nov. 18 at the San Jose’s Center for the Performing Arts. Even if you saw the Academy Award-winning 2002 film version, which starred Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere, there’s simply no topping “Chicago” on the live stage. Check out our full preview. Tickets ($43 and up) and more infor is at www.broadwaysanjose.com. Other theater options include “The Wizard of Oz” in Berkeley and “Dracula” in Hayward.
7 LAUGH: Kevin Hart in Oakland
Hart’s a busy guy with a slew of recent film credits, including “Night School,” “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” and, best of all, “Captain Underpants.” Fortunately, he still makes time to tour and he’s performing Nov. 17 at Oakland’s Oracle Arena. Find more (indoor) concert recommendations here, then order Hart’s stand-up tickets ($35 and up) at www.ticketmaster.com.
