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Another great weekend lies drippily ahead! Here are seven super fun ways to spend those days off, from a just-opened pinball arcade-meets-cocktail lounge to a blues festival, a fascinating art exhibit and more.
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1 SIP & PLAY: Pinball + cocktails
Air hockey, Street Fighter 2 and a rum cocktail, anyone? There’s nothing new about arcades or bars, but an arcade with a cocktail lounge? The Bay Area has two! The East Bay’s new Emporium Oakland opened its doors in Uptown near the Fox Theater this week. And San Jose’s Miniboss arcade and bar opened earlier this month. Check ’em out.
2 SEE: Hot new movies — and one very creepy one
Get cozy inside the cineplex this weekend watching the newest indie flicks, a super creepy movie — “Greta” — or its antidote, the newest entry in the Madea franchise, “Tyler Perry’s A Madea Family Funeral.” Here’s what’s opening this weekend at the big theaters — plus a “Mary Poppins” sing-along screening in San Jose.
3 EAT: Best new restaurant in America?
The James Beard 2019 award nominees were just announced this week, and as it turns out, the best new eatery in the U.S. just might be Oakland’s Nyum Bai or San Francisco’s Angler. (There are 28 other contenders, too, but they’re spread out across the country and we are here.) And a drippy weekend like this might also be the perfect time to check out some of the other Bay Area restaurants that drew James Beard-ian attention. Yum.
4 SEE & EAT: Cirque du Doughnut
You’ll definitely want to catch Cirque du Soleil’s latest jaw-dropping show, Volta, at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San Jose. Prepare to be dazzled by the high-flying stunts involved in this acrobatics-meets-street-sports show. Before you go: Check out San Jose’s Psycho Donuts’ homage to Cirque, a raised yeast doughnut infused with the “adventurous spirit” of this circus. We’re talking passion-fruit custard, raspberry icing, unicorn sprinkles and a powdered sugar acrobat.
5 HEAR: An indoor blues fest
For nearly two decades, the Delta Blues Festival was one of the most eagerly-anticipated events on the East Bay blues scene, an outdoor music party that was not to be missed. Now the bluesy celebration has moved indoors, powerhouse singer Shemekia Copeland is headlining and it’s this Saturday in Antioch. Classical music more your thing? Gotcha covered here (Symphony Silicon Valley!) and here (Chamber Music SF in Walnut Creek, San Jose).
6 SIP: Santa Clara wine tasting
Everyone knows all about Sonoma and Napa’s wineries, but the Santa Clara Valley has 32(!) wineries of its own — who knew? — and the winery association’s spring passport days start this weekend, with vino, tasty bites and entertainment at each participating winery. Find details on that and 15 other wine and beer events here.
7 SEE: Incredible African-American art
A visit to San Francisco’s Museum of the African Diaspora is not just an afternoon out of the rain. The current exhibit is a mind-bending exploration of works by more than 50 artists from California, Nigeria, Mali, Trinidad and Tobago, London, Mississippi and Georgia. And yes, of course, there’s a Kehinde Wiley. Here’s the scoop.
