It’s that time of year again: soon our sky and bay will be filled with the sights and sounds of Fleet Week. You may have already seen some of our service men and women wandering our streets and taking in the sights, and there are plenty of activities scheduled this weekend to show our appreciation for those who serve.

The first Blue Angels show starts this Friday from 3-4pm, but before that, there is the Parade of Ships from 10am-12pm, starting at the Golden Gate Bridge and then heading over to Pier 39. The big air show, which concludes with the Blue Angels, is on Saturday from noon- 4pm.

There’s also free, live music at Pier 39 throughout the weekend. Check out Neon Velvet’s “Modern Rock Hits” on Friday at 4pm, Naval Sea Cadet Corps Band of the West from 1-2pm on Saturday, or Mustache Harbor’s “Soft Rock Explosion” from 4-6pm, also on Saturday.

Follow all of this action up with another air show from noon-4pm on Sunday, as well as with the 148th annual Italian Heritage Parade.  The parade begins at 12:30pm at the foot of Jefferson and Stockton streets in Fisherman’s Wharf, and ends in Washington Square in front of Sts. Peter and Paul Church. The parade features Italian and Italian-American dignitaries, music, performances, floats and representatives from the Italian and Italian-American communities of San Francisco. And as far as this year’s grand marshals, U.S. Olympic figure skating gold medalist Brian Boitano and radio personality and 49ers announcer Paul Tonelli will be in attendance.

Now, on to our editor’s picks for the days ahead. For a full list of what’s going on around town this weekend and beyond, don’t forget to check our hoodline.com/events. If you see a local event missing and want to get in on the fun, submit it for free for the chance to see it featured in our next events roundup.