With the heat this week, San Diego has earned a fabulous weekend, about 37 cool drinks for every sweaty resident and a whole lotta AC-driven TLC.
Some of the fun this weekend, though, will give participants the chance to provide a little TLC to those in need. So let’s do this.
A local favorite steps up for First Fridays at Liberty Station, Point Loma’s free monthly arts celebration. Quarterly, the evening, beginning at 5 p.m., features a 6:30 p.m. concert, in this case by the B-Side Players.
In coastal entertainment, the OB Theatre Company features “American Idiot,” the musical based on the album Green Day described as a “punk-rock opera.” The show opens Friday and continues through Oct. 6. Admission begins at $28.
The next day, City Heights hosts its first Lantern Festival at 11:30 a.m. in the parking lot of the Vien Dong IV Supermarket on University Avenue. The free fest, to celebrate the community in the manner of the Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Harvest Festival – or Tet Trung Thu – features food trucks, live entertainment and vendors.
The San Diego Blues Festival will not only satisfy your taste for tunes, but also your generous nature. The show, at the Embarcadero Marina Park North, benefits the San Diego Food Bank. The lineup includes Taj Mahal, Whitney Shay and Larkin Poe. Gates open at noon Saturday and tickets cost $35.
Forty breweries and cider houses will crowd Holiday Park at 1 p.m. Saturday for Carlsbad Brewfest. Aside from paying homage to brews galore, the fest features music, games and fare from local restaurants. Admission costs $55.
Activists established Sleepless in San Diego to help those dealing with the pervasive problem of homelessness. The fest, at NTC Park, includes live music and family activities, but also service projects to benefit homeless people. It starts at 4 p.m. Saturday and includes a sleep over in the park for those who want to “stand in solidarity with the homeless.” Tickets cost $25.
Cardiff’s Greek Festival opens Saturday and continues from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday at the Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church. The fest, featuring food, cooking demos and folk dancing, isn’t free, but hey, it’s $3. For that price go – find your inner Zorba!
– Staff reports