It’s Friday morning, and if you don’t have any weekend plans yet, well, you know what they say: failure to plan is planning to fail. They’re tough that way, whoever they are.
But take comfort: here are a few last-minute options to make your weekend memorable: some expensive, some free, some fun, some challenging, all here in San Diego.
Say Anything screening with John Cusack
By the time you read this, it will probably be too late. Which seems about right for an event built around a movie about a guy who was…not a guy who had everything planned out ahead a time. But as of this writing, there were still a few seats left for the Magnolia’s screening of this Gen-X ur-rom-com (pace, Reality Bites) with a Q&A hosted by Lloyd Dobler himself, actor John Cusack. Not in attendance, alas: writer-director Cameron Crowe, former music writer for the San Diego Door, who chose “In Your Eyes” for the boombox scene during the editing process after hearing it on a mixtape of stuff from his own wedding. Mixtapes: is there anything they can’t do? Someone ask John what song was actually playing on the boombox when they filmed the scene!
- Where: The Magnolia Performing Arts Center, 210 East Main Street, El Cajon
- When: Friday, January 23, 2026, 8 pm
- Cost: $76+
- Get tickets
San Diego Mojo vs Grand Rapids Rise
Many years ago, when your humble correspondent did frivolous things like rise early on a Sunday morning to sip mimosas and watch the Wimbledon men’s final (Andre Agassi’s first major!), he suddenly found himself sniffed at for missing the women’s final the previous day. “Women’s tennis is so much more interesting to watch,” he was informed. “With the men, it’s big serve, big serve, big serve, rally, big serve. The women actually play tennis.” Well, okay then! Some people might suggest something similar about volleyball. You can stream this here match on YouTube, but if you did, you’d miss out on a shot at a San Diego Mojo trucker hat!
- Where: Viejas Arena, 5500 Canyon Crest Drive, San Diego
- When: Friday, January 26, 2026, 7 pm
- Cost: $28-$65
- Get tickets
The Moral Defense: Nietzsche in the Clinic
If you don’t think you need to attend a Saturday morning discussion about the foundations of morality, that’s probably a sign you need to attend a Saturday morning discussion about the foundations of morality. From the event description: “Few thinkers have matched Friedrich Nietzsche’s psychological insights — a fact Freud acknowledged when he admitted to avoiding Nietzsche’s work to preserve the originality of his own ideas — yet the value of these insights for our clinical practice remains to be explored. In this presentation, we will focus on one of Nietzsche’s most clinically resonant observations: that morality is often deployed as a psychological defense, protecting against intolerable affect such as shame and helplessness.” No wonder he wrote Beyond Good and Evil! Back to the description: “Drawing on personal narrative and selections from her own research, Merrick will outline two common defensive structures rooted in moralization.” And who is this Merrick? A Cal State San Marcos philosophy professor and a research psychoanalyst to boot.
- Where: San Diego Psychoanalytic Center, 4455 Morena Blvd, Ste. 202, San Diego or via Zoom
- When: Saturday, January 24, 2026, 10 am
- Cost: $65
- Get tickets
Monster Jam at Snapdragon Stadium
What would ol’ Mr. Will To Power have made of monster truck shows? He would have loved them, of course! Vroom vroom! More like will to horsepower, amirite? Sorry, got carried away there. Joyously juvenile. Monster trucks! Maybe you skipped last week’s San Diego Rodeo out of moral concern for the horses. Here, they have a motorized unicorn; no moral qualms required!
- Where: Snapdragon Stadium, 2101 Stadium Way, San Diego
- When: Saturday, January 24 at 5 pm and Sunday, January 25, at 3 pm
- Cost: $59-$150
- Get tickets
North County Farmers Markets
How does the other half live? To answer that question, start by asking, how does the other half eat? And to answer that question, hie thee hence to a couple of North County farmers markets for a little restorative Sunday morning nutrition and general goodness. Start inland at Rancho Santa Fe, then head over to the coast for something a little more funky.
- Where: Del Rayo Village, 16079 San Dieguito Road, San Diego, and Paul Ecke Elementary School, 185 Union Street, Encinitas
- When: Rancho Santa Fe, 9:30 am to 2 pm; Leucadia, 10 am to 2 pm
Bunco tournament
Hot hand in a dice game, baby! It’s not just a housewife’s drinking game any more! Actually, it never really was. But it was social, and that’s the point. And there’s a charcuterie board!
- Where: McGuffie’s Live, 8515 Navajo Road, San Diego
- When: Sunday, January 25, 2 pm
- Cost: $15
