A whale of a festival (literally)

For whale enthusiasts, there’s one must-attend event in Northern California every year: Whalefest Monterey, taking place over two days with more fun stuff than you can shake a barnacle-covered flipper at.

The 15th annual Whalefest on Monterey’s historic waterfront this weekend has something for serious marine buffs, other things for foodies and then plain goofy events like the Racing of the Live Abalones. A weekend symposium gathers world-renowned scientists to discuss whale migration, the problems of entanglement, shark behavior and plankton. There’s a calamari cooking demonstration — squid being a favorite whale food source — and wharf walks where people get the chance to spot otters and dolphins.

Then there’s live music, interactive marine exhibits, sea-themed crafts like scrimshaw and gyotaku — the traditional Japanese method of “printing fish” — and the opportunity to tour research and rescue vessels. Also this year is a 30-foot, real whale skeleton attendees can assemble, and a life-sized inflatable humpback whale model you can walk inside. Now that’s a whale of a good time.

Details: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; Custom House Plaza and Old Fisherman’s Wharf, Monterey; free; whalefest.org.

— John Metcalfe, Staff

A jazz icon hits town

Bay Area Kenny Barron fans are in for a treat.

Actually, they are in for a number of different treats, as the legendary jazz pianist visits SFJAZZ Center to perform four very different shows in four nights.

First up, Barron — whose talent has graced literally 100s of recordings since he got his start in the late 1950s — leads his quintet into the San Francisco venue tonight 10 to perform music from his latest album, “Beyond This Place,” as well as other pieces. Besides Barron, this terrific group also includes bassist Christian McBride, saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, drummer Johnathan Blake and trumpeter Mike Rodriguez.

He follows up that opener with a solo piano show on Friday and then performs with a chamber orchestra on Saturday. Barron closes the SFJAZZ Center run on Sunday with the West Coast premiere of new chamber work with harmonica player Grégoire Maret, flutist Elena Pinderhughes and cellist Noah Johnson.

Details: Show times are 7:30 p.m. today through Saturday 7 p.m. Sunday; tickets start at $35; sfjazz.org. Barron also performs a sold-out show Monday at Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Santa Cruz; kuumbwajazz.org.

— Jim Harrington, Staff

Classical Picks: Outdoor “Bohème,” opera recitals, Baroque faves

Spring brings a week of opportunities to experience opera in Bay Area parks, hear recitals and new works in an intimate venue, and enjoy Baroque music designed for dancing.

“Bohème Out of the Box”: San Francisco Opera’s family-friendly “La Bohème” offers Puccini’s enduring masterwork in hour-long performances at four parks beginning this weekend. Directed by Jose Maria Condemi and performed by a cast featuring guest artists and company Adler Fellows with piano accompaniment, this “Bohème” is sung in Italian with English translations on audience smartphones. Details: Sunday through June 29, with performances in Sausalito, San Ramon, Los Altos Hills and Hayward; free with registration; sfopera.com.

Schwabacher Recitals: Presented in the Atrium Theater next door to the War Memorial Opera House, these recitals present top opera artists in an intimate atmosphere; Thursday offers a program by the powerhouse soprano Leah Crocetto, accompanied by pianist Carrie-Ann Matheson. Details: 7:30 p.m. today; Atrium Theater, San Francisco; $30; sfopera.com.

New and recent works by Saariaho, others: S.F. Opera isn’t the only organization to use the Atrium Theater; on Saturday, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players present “Northern Lights,” featuring “Lichtbogen” by the late Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. New and recent music by Jesper Nordin, Magnus Lindberg, and Mika Pelo are also on the program. Details: 7:30 p.m. April 12, Atrium Theater; $18-$45; sfcmp.org.

Feel Like Dancing: The Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra presents “Tout de Suite,” with Baroque dance music by J.S. Bach and Handel alongside pieces by French composers Jean-Féry Rebel and Jean-Philippe Rameau. Conductor Avi Stein leads three performances of the program, spanning works from poised to vivacious. Details: 7:30 p.m. today at Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; 7:30 p.m. Friday at First United Methodist Church, Palo Alto, and 2:30 p.m. Saturday at First Congregational Church, Berkeley; $20-$132; philharmonia.org.

— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent

A tail-wagging love story

“The Friend,” former Bay Area filmmakers David Siegel and Scott McGehee’s literary movie, is an exceptional adaptation of Sigrid Nunez’s acclaimed novel. The duo take what could have turned into a dog-eared tear-jerker about a New York writer (Naomi Watts) becoming more emotionally and metaphorically connected to a grieving Great Dane named Apollo (played with depressed stoicism by Bing the Great Dane) and made not only humane but profound.

Watts is transcendent as reliable Iris, the author friend of recently departed mentor Walter (Bill Murray), an author of renown who was recently caught up in a #MeToo scandal. Walter bequeaths Iris his Great Dane, a massive bummer of a canine who keeps sinking deeper into despair over the loss of his companion. As Iris faces more roadblocks in handing him off to someone, the two bond over their own grieving process and realize that they are both lonely and in need of a friend. It’s a lovely drama with light comic touches and many more insights about life, grief, writerly ambition and friendship.

Details: Rated R (language, sexual situation); 2 hours running time; in theaters now.

— Randy Myers, Correspondent

Lots of laughs in the Bay Area

We could all use a giggle or a guffaw these days, no? Here are a few noteworthy comedy shows to catch in the Bay Area.

Second City: The famed Chicago troupe that has birthed the careers of such chuckle icons as Tina Fey, Keegan-Michael Key, Steven Colbert, Tim Meadows and Bill Murray — among countless others — brings its tour to the Bankhead Theater in Livermore on Friday. Details: 8 p.m.; $25-$80; livermorearts.org.

Atsuko Okatsuka: The Taiwan-born comedian has been burning up the stand-up circuit and late-night TV landscape of late, with Variety dubbing her in 2022 one of the “Top 10 Comics to Watch.” She was also only the second Asian American female comedian to land a standup special on HBO. She’s bringing her latest work, “Atsuko Okatsuka Writes a New Show” to San Jose Improv for five performances Friday through Sunday. Details: $37.17 per show; improv.com/sanjose

Tommy T’s: The Pleasanton club hosts Jessica Singleton, whose shows are described as “high energy, overly honest, always silly, and often dark and dirty,’ for two shows on Friday, and Justin Silva, who dumped a career as an electrician (those people make a lot of money, you know) after killing it at an open mic event, for two shows on Saturday. Details: 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Friday; 7 and 9:45 p.m. Saturday; $25-$40; tommyts.com

— Randy McMullen, Staff