A scaled-back fair is still a fair, isn’t it? If it boasts farm animals, a few performers and of course, artery cloggers, we here at Weekend Guide decree – it’s a fair!
Call it what you like – the organizers of the San Diego County Fair have dubbed it “Home*Grown*Fun,” but it opens at 11 a.m. Friday where the fair always is – the Del Mar Fairgrounds, continuing through July 4. The four-week event offers “a taste of what San Diegans have grown to love about the annual fair,” but with just 35 food booths, 280 shop vendors, pony rides, a magician, racing pigs, plus lots of activities for kids. Tickets, at $10, must be bought online, for Wednesday through Sunday admission from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Virtual reality puts you right in the middle of the story, and Traveling While Black presents an uncomfortable one – the experience of Black Americans who’ve had barriers thrown in their path on their travels. Book a slot to see the Emmy-nominated short film Friday through Sunday at Liberty Station, thanks to Wonderspaces. Tickets cost $12, with several discounts available.
Mainly Mozart opens its week-long all-star event at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Del Mar Surf Cup Sports Park. Dozens of classical musicians, not just from the San Diego Symphony, but also the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic, will perform. Opening night features works by Beethoven and Mozart. On Saturday, it’s Ravel, Haydn and Mozart. Tickets start at $49.
Our favorite artists for the most part still can’t come to us, but country duo Florida Georgia Line’s concert screens at 11:30 p.m. Saturday at the South Bay Drive-In in San Diego. For $74, up to six people per car may enjoy the late show. See guests Nelly and Chase Rice too.
The Women’s Museum of California at Liberty Station offers the virtual Women’s Film Festival San Diego this month. Three films directed by women will screen, with the opener, Mu and the Vanishing World – about a refugee in Thailand – showing through Tuesday. Sisters Rising – about six Native American women – is available through June 22. Passes cost $30 or $15 for one screening.
The East Village gastropub Knotty Barrel celebrates its 10th anniversary Sunday and it’s gonna be a circus. Hey, we’re serious. It really is. From noon to 5 p.m., the owners will host a petting zoo, provide live music and be brave! – even a palm reader. Need more fair food? There will be funnel cake and cotton candy too. Better yet – it’s all free.
The San Diego Black Artist Collective kicks off a week-long Juneteenth celebration, the Say It Out Loud Festival, at 6 p.m. Sunday. Opening night, at the Flower Fields in Carlsbad, features music, play and poetry readings and an appearance by the Buffalo Soldier Mounted Cavalry Unit. Several theaters are collaborating on the fest, including New Village Arts, Moxie, Diversionary and San Diego Rep.