Lifestyle

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Ludwigs is getting a Bavarian makeover. The German beer garden is now under new ownership, and while much of Ludwigs will remain the same, new owner Gisela Qasim plans to infuse the downtown Mountain View mainstay with a bit of her heritage. “I grew...

Nearly 1,000 rat-like creatures reported to be 2.5-feet and weigh 20 lbs have been spotted in the Bay Area, SFGate.com reports. The nutria rodents are reportedly continuing to spread to Contra Costa County and posing a risk to a critical watershed, Krysten Kellum, a spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Bay Delta region, and Matthew Slattengren, agriculture commissioner in Contra Costa County, both confirmed to the San Francisco Chronicle, which initially reported the invasion and is also owned by Hearst, the SFGate's parent parent company.

“If we disappear from twitter you'll know why lol.”

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Senior Focus is a monthly column about local events and news for older adults. DIA DE LOS MUERTOS … Or, Day of the Dead, is a Mexican tradition from Nov. 1 through 2 to honor loved ones who have died. Avenidas will celebrate the holiday for over two weeks, with activities ranging from traditional altar blessings to movie nights. The celebrations will kick off with altar building, where attendees can help create a mantel with photos of loved ones, treats, momentos and lights on Oct. 21 in Avenidas’ lobby – craft materials will be provided at the free event on 450 Bryant St. Activities will continue throughout the season, including an altar blessing on Oct. 23, with traditional Folklorico performances and complimentary refreshments like pan dulce, or Mexican bread, and a movie night with cookies and “Coco,” a Pixar film on the holiday. On Oct. 31, Avenidas will host a Day of the Dead, grieving traditions workshop for $10 per attendee, discussing “ways to create new beginnings from sad endings,” in the Blue Room of Avenidas’ Bryant street location. Find more Dia de los Muertos events by searching “Day of the Dead,” under the classes and activities tab on the Avenidas website.

A few years back, Laura Martinez Perez picked up a violin for the first time and joined a group of aspiring young musicians banded together at Santa Rosa’s Luther Burbank Center for the Arts learning to play mariachi music. She joined at her mother’s urging — who hoped Perez...

Shopping malls have evolved into vital social and cultural hubs, providing not just a space for shopping but also a venue for socializing, entertainment, and community events. Despite the rise of online shopping, malls remain popular destinations for individuals seeking a diverse and interactive retail experience. Retail Stores: Malls generally...

The FEI competition at the 2024 Woodside Fall International on October 4-5 produced the first-ever win by Molly Duda and Disco Traveler at four-star, cemented the comeback by Tamie Smith and Kynan with their second victory in a month at three-star, and represented the third two-star win in a row by Gabriella Ringer and Get Wild as well as the fourth blue ribbon this season at either one-star or Modified by Amber Birtcil and Milagro.

Bacchus Management Group plans to debut a new concept, Augustine, at Santana Row.

The eatery is planning to open a new outpost in San Jose at 1301 West San Carlos Street, taking over a spot that was formerly home to a Burger King.

As the temperatures slowly start to drop, get cozy crafting with San Mateo County Libraries! Learn a new skill or brush up on your technique with our plethora of crafting programs. We have knitting workshops, crochet clubs, sewing labs and more activities for all skill levels! If those aren’t enough to get you in the fall mood, we will also be hosting a virtual event for perfectly preserving pumpkins. Keep reading to learn more about the activity that’s right for you!

DANVILLE, CA – Long-time friends and first-time franchisees Linh Jee and Sophia Cheng are opening a brand new restaurant in Danville with a fascinating concept. Both Bay Area natives, Jee and Cheng met while studying fashion merchandising at San Francisco State University. Over the years, they pursued separate careers—Jee in product development in New York and Cheng in merchandising and later indoor playgrounds in the Bay Area.

Dianne de Guzman is a deputy editor at Eater SF writing about Bay Area restaurant and bar trends, upcoming openings, and pop-ups. There’s certainly no shortage of excellent food to be found in San Francisco and the Bay Area — but there’s plenty worth skipping, too. Luckily for you, Eater editors dine out several times a week (or more) and we’re happy to share the standout dishes we encounter as we go.

The Class of 2028 showcased its first-ever Homecoming performance, a “Teletubbies”-themed skit, on Wednesday, Oct. 2. The story followed the four main Teletubbies — Dipsy, Tinky Winky, Po and Laa-Laa — as they traveled between dimensions to stop the villainous vacuum Noo-Noo from stealing a book of knowledge. The freshman skit, supplemented with songs like “HOT TO GO!” by Chappell Roan and “Yeah!” by Usher, included a girls, boys and co-ed dance.

The first Paint Your Pet night at Woofboard in Downtown Campbell on Thursday, September 26, 2024 was a sold out success! Paint Your Pet night is an instructor led canvas painting workshop where you do a fun paint by numbers project with a pre-etched canvas created from a photo of your pet that you submit in advance.

You’re beholding Good Taste, a menu for treating yourself in the Bay Area. This week, we present a discerning index for approaching our bottomless boba scene. There’s no refined sugar, gluten, or animal products used in the tea and coffee drinks at Aura (101 Spear Street, SF), which are sweetened with sugarcane-derived jaggery. Customers can stay in familiar territory with matchas and mochas, or try something different like banana milk or housemade almond milk flavored with saffron and cardamom.

As seniors Felicia Huang and Seth Leung open up the oven, the warm and sweet, brownie-scented air fills the kitchen, ready to be packaged for this month’s customers. Cutting through the chocolate pastry and placing them into custom packaging, the duo prepare the brownies to be picked up by students. Through their variety of affordable dessert options, Big Buns Bakery brings convenient sweet treats to Lynbrook’s campus.

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... The Portola Art Gallery celebrates the opening of its October exhibit, “Meraki,” featuring works by ceramics artist Misako Kambe. The show highlights a variety of wood-fired, soda-fired ceramics and high-fired tableware. The show’s title is “a Greek word meaning to do something...

Bay Area filmmaker and journalist Ankita M. Kumar’s documentary film Far From Home won the Best Documentary award at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival held in September. The film, which tells the story of Afghan refugees in India, was adjudged the best among 73 documentary films showcased during the festival.