Flexibility is the name of the game this weekend. No, we’re not talking about yoga. We have fun things to do whether you want to head out for some fresh air, see a show or, we don’t know, take a virtual cooking class. So let’s get started, shall we?
And if you are headed to a live performance or exhibit, please check the venue or production’s website for the latest COVID safety precautions before you go.
(Psst, if you want to get this Weekender lineup delivered to your inbox every Thursday morning for free, just sign up at www.mercurynews.com/newsletters or www.eastbaytimes.com/newsletters.)
1 WATCH: Intense, relevant ‘Last Duel’
Yes, it’s based on a 14th-century swordfight, and yes, that Matt Damon mullet would give Billy Ray Cyrus nightmares, but “The Last Duel” is another winner from Ridley Scott, and tops our list of new movies you should know about.
2 PLAY: Awesome autumn parks
It’s the perfect weekend for a good stroll-about, and we have five great parks and nature preserves for doing just that, from one of the West Coast’s best bird-watching preserves in Palo Alto to an extinct volcano in Oakland. (Yes, a volcano!) The deets are here.
3 SEE & HEAR: An opera prison break
Beethoven wrote only one opera, but it’s a doozy, about a desperate wife seeking to break her husband out of prison. Now S.F. Opera has debuted a new revival, and it’s got all kinds of modern echoes. We have all the deets here.
4 COOK: Take a yummy online class
There’s more to Zooming than awkward meetings and interviews. Like cooking classes. Here are five great online cooking workshops on everything from Thai green curry classics to DIY burrata.
5 EAT: Deals, deals, deals!
The Golden Gate Restaurant Association — bless its heart — is once again staging a fall version of its San Francisco Restaurant Week, offering deals at more than 160 eateries. It starts Oct. 15, and here’s what you need to know.
6 SEE: A legendary musical returns
“Jesus Christ Superstar,” the stage show that almost didn’t happen because everyone except Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice thought it was a crummy idea, is 50 years old now, and a special anniversary production is back in the Bay Area. Here’s what you need to know.
7 SIP: Bay Area Great American Beer winners
The Great American Beer Festival wasn’t an in-person event this year, but they still held the judging — and six Bay Area breweries brought back gold medals. Here’s how to sample those brews.