Looking for free things to do in the Bay Area this weekend? How about these three ideas:

Watch a Boat Parade in the Bay

Grab a comfy spot on San Francisco’s northern shoreline (or if you’ve got sharp eyesight, on the Golden Gate Bridge) to see the century-old Opening Day on the Bay boat parade, to mark the official start of the San Francisco boating season. This year’s parade theme is “Holidays on the Bay”, with participating boats — large to small, historic to contemporary — decorated to depict various holiday celebrations. (And if you want to watch boats congregate earlier with your morning coffee, the event kicks off with a “Blessing of the Fleet” event at 10:30 a.m. in Raccoon Strait, between Tiburon and Angel Island.)

Sunday, April 28 (starts at noon)
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Surround Yourself With Dogs

The 12th annual DogFest returns to San Francisco’s Duboce Park on Saturday, offering the opportunity to watch dogs of all breeds participate in costume contests, trick displays, a “Best Tail” competition and general canine merriment. There’s also an inflatable obstacle course and face painting for actual human children. Events are all free to watch, with food/games available for purchase — and if you want to enter your pup in the contests, there’s a registration fee.

Saturday, April 27 (11 a.m.—4 p.m)
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Support Your Local Independent Bookstore

Every year, Independent Bookstore Day aims to tempt book lovers away from Amazon and into the arms of their local indie bookseller. A large number of bookstores around the Bay Area will be joining in, so check the list of participating stores. As a taste, Green Apple’s Ninth Avenue location in S.F. will be offering Drag Queen Storytime, tarot and snacks, while Pegasus Books in downtown Berkeley will have special signed editions and a limited-run record of poetry by Charles Bukowski.

Saturday, April 27 (check stores for opening hours)
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