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The weather’s turning gorgeous and St. Patrick’s Day is here. So set your Weekend Phasers on Awesome and check out these seven ways to have a blast in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, from Irish food and fun to Britney Spears’ most talented ex (it’s not much of a contest there, is it?) to a trio of hot new restaurants.
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1 EAT, DRINK & PLAY: St. Patty O’Festival
This weekend brings the perfect excuse to dress in green, chortle “Top o’ the morning” and indulge in some Irish-style cavorting, whether it’s at a St. Patrick’s Day show, festival or pub crawl, indulging in new-wave corned beef or sipping crazy-good Irish coffee.
2 SEE: Justin Timberlake and other great shows
OK, so J.T.’s latest incarnation is an outdoorsy man-of-the-woods guy. Fine. We still cherish Timberlake as Mr. SexyBack with the sizzling dance moves or the brooding, scorned lover shading his ex — the aforementioned Ms. Spears — in “Cry Me a River.” You’ll probably see all the many shades of J.T. when he stops at Oracle Arena this weekend. We’ve got a rundown on that and other cool concerts, from sax great Joe Lovano to comeback-minded comedian Aziz Ansari.
3 EAT: Trendy new bites
Looking for a cool new dining hot spot? Here are three to check out this weekend, from Santa Cruz’s beachy new, surf legend-inspired Jack O’Neill to a noon-centric Martinez spot and a Filipino pop-up-turned-brick-and-mortar in Oakland.
4 HEAR: All those great John Williams scores
Walnut Creek’s adventuresome California Symphony will be serving up Williams’ greatest hits this weekend — from “Star Wars” to “E.T.” to “Harry Potter.” We have a good feeling about this show. Details are here. Meanwhile, one of America’s greatest choruses has got a new all-American show and they’ll be bringing it to venues across the Bay Area beginning this weekend.
5 WATCH: Youth get served at Cinequest
Like her older sister Dakota (who is all of 25), Elle Fanning has been racking up the accolades and rave reviews for years now. This weekend, she gets another when Cinequest Film Fest in San Jose presents her with a Maverick Spirit Award while she attends the screening of her new film “Teen Spirit” on March 17. At 20, she’s the youngest Maverick winner in the festival’s history. Details on the event are here. And if you are headed to Cinequest, here’s where to dine, and our picks for the event’s best films (many of which are screening this weekend).
6 SEE: A brand new musical work about “Dreamers”
Berkeley composer Jimmy López and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz spent months interviewing undocumented UC Berkeley students before creating their new immigration-themed oratorio “Dreamers.” The work gets its world premiere this weekend by the London Philharmonia Orchestra led by Esa-Pekka Salonen (yes, the future S.F. Symphony conductor), with two choruses and vocal soloists along for the ride. Details on the concert and the orchestra’s big Berkeley weekend are here.
7 PLAY: Sonoma escapades
Rain or shine, the Sonoma Valley is gorgeous — and we have 10 new ways to play there, from the chic new cocktail-driven Fern Bar to a new distillery tasting room, a sparkly Champagne bar and more.
