Call it what you like, this weekend is a long weekend.  The leaves are actually glowing with reds, yellows and oranges and the orchards are our destinations du jour. Oktoberfests are brewing left right and center and we’ve got so many new cider houses and breweries in the area that there is plenty to celebrate.

10/7 12-4p.m. (Cambridge) F#@k Slider Friday’s at Bukowski’s Tavern.  Start the weekend off right with a quick lunch date with your spouse that’s what all the hip parents are doing these days.  No babysitter needed if the kids are in school and you’re still functional because you haven’t had to go through the witching hour yet.  Chef Brian Poe’s teaching you the abc’s of burgers with versions made with antelope, bison and camel.  ($10/$15 with beer pairings)

10/7 8 p.m. (Boston) The Hunger with Anthony Bourdain.  There are a few tickets still left to hear Anthony Bourdain at Symphony Hall on Friday.  I say hear because they are blocked view seats, but really I could happily spend an evening just listening to Bourdain’s stories.  ($50-$250 VIP)

10/8 -10/9 (Hull) Fall Beach days are fun and if the weather is iffy you can still enjoy a stroll, and the sound of the waves. Then pop into The Paragon Carousel for a ride back in time.  The Carousel has been in operation for more than 80 years. Built in 1928 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, it boasts four rows of 66 intricately carved horses and two rare Roman chariots. The carousel is decorated with 35 original paintings, 36 cherubs and 18 goddesses who look down while a Wurlitzer Band Organ fills the air with music. The Paragon carousel is one of less than 100 “Grand” carousels remaining in the U.S. and is the only attraction left of the Paragon Park amusement park on Nantasket Beach that closed in 1985. The antique amusement is a lasting reminder of the “Golden Age” of Hull, MA, when the town was teeming with thousands of visitors each day in the summer for decades. The Carousel now attracts upwards of 100,000 visitors each summer.

10/7 – 10/9 (Somerville/Cambridge) If you haven’t been to HONK! Fest yet, it is worth checking out. Loud instruments, loud people and loud ideas roam the streets with concerts, parades and spectacles of all sorts.

10/8-10/9 (Wareham) Cranberry Harvest Celebration. Step into a New England postcard at the A.D. Makepeace Cranberry Harvest Celebration.

10/8 12-4 (Allston/Brighton) Harvard Community Football Day Free tickets to the Harvard/Cornell football game for all Cambridge and Allston/Brighton residents.

10/8-10/9 (Brookline) Puppet Showplace Theatre presents Puss in Boots by Perry Alley Theatre.

10/9 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. (Cambridge) Oktoberfest at Beat Brasserie. Beat Brasserie has the music, the fare, and the outfits to boot.  Celebrate the season in Harvard Square’s “pop up” Bavarian Beer Hall aka Beat Brasserie.

10/10 12-4 (Boston) Columbus Park Fall Festival is a great way to celebrate Columbus Day in Boston.  Enjoy the crisp fall air, get into the city, and have fun as  a family.

10/10 (Cambridge) Bruce Springsteen at the Harvard Coop (SOLD OUT)

Stay home and read all day together in a pillow fort, in a tent in the backyard, or under blankets on a couch.

Bake. Stock your freezer with meals for the month.

Go for a hike or a walk around the neighborhood.

Craft. Pick one of the many Pinterest pins you saved to your boards.