Saturday the 10th: the Fleet Week air show from Marina Green, then dinner on Green Street
- 11:00 AM Stake out grass on Marina Green — Saturday Oct 10. The air show runs from noon to 4 PM on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Oct 9 to 11, and the Blue Angels headline it. Four sources carry the dates and hours: Fleet Week's own calendar, ABC7, Funcheap and SFMTA. Marina Green is one of the standard viewing spots, which is why you should arrive an hour before the show starts rather than at noon. Bring a blanket, layers and water. Check the Fleet Week calendar that morning (see the shutdown note at the top).
- 12:00–4:00 PM The air show, overhead — Four hours, free, and you do not need all of them. We have not seen a minute-by-minute order of performers, so we are not telling you when the Blue Angels fly. If you leave early you might miss them, which is the honest cost of beating the crowd out. The Parade of Ships was on Friday the 9th at 11 AM, if you came for the ships.
- 5:30 PM Dinner at Equal Parts, 478 Green St, North Beach — Saturday hours are 11 AM to 2 AM: brunch until 2:30, dinner 4 to 9:30, late-night menu 10 to 11:30. We checked these before building the step. New American food and a cocktail bar, in the old Spaghetti Factory building between Grant and Kearny. Book on its site or OpenTable, or sit at the bar as a walk-in. From Marina Green it is about two miles. Walk east along the water past Fort Mason and Aquatic Park, then up Columbus, which takes about 45 minutes. Or take the 30 Stockton from Chestnut St, a few blocks south of the Green, which runs to North Beach. Expect it to be full right after the show. Sunset that evening is 6:40 PM.
Why it lands: An air show is a good first-hours date: you're side by side, looking up at something loud and impressive, and the gaps between passes leave room to talk. The walk to North Beach afterward gets you out of the crowd and gives you a stretch to talk properly. The bar that opens until 2 means the evening can be as long as you both want.
Weather backup: The air show also runs Friday and Sunday, noon to 4. Sunday has a catch: the Italian Heritage Parade starts in North Beach at 12:30, so you will be choosing between the parade and the first half of the air show (it is on the radar below). Fleet Fest at Pier 27 is free, 9 to 5, Saturday and Sunday. If the crowd on the Green is too much, it is a morning alternative on the other side of the northern waterfront.