You may be thinking of shopping this Thanksgiving weekend. Heaven only knows where you got that idea.
Need to recover from the turkey, the shopping or the fam? Try some music, some community, and well, some Christmas. Yep, folks, it’s right around the corner now.
The San Diego Jazz Festival continues through Sunday at the Town & Country Hotel in Mission Valley. Musicians and dancers will perform every style from swing to Dixieland to ragtime in six ballrooms. The jams start at 10 a.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, continuing through the evening. Daily badges range from $40-55, with full event passes available. Big bonus for active-duty military, too. Admission isn’t just discounted – it’s free.
It’s time to put away the leaves, pumpkins and gourds, people. It’s all about the wreaths, trees and menorahs now. Two renditions of a timeless classic open this week, and tree lightings are breaking out all over too.
The Old Globe offers up “Ebenezer Scrooge’s BIG San Diego Christmas Show,” their offbeat, and rather local take on “A Christmas Carol.” If you prefer your Dickens traditional, turn to the Cygnet Theater in Old Town, which performs its annual run of the ghosty tale of redemption. Both shows run through Dec. 29. Cygnet tickets start at $25, while the Old Globe’s begin at $86.
Tree lightings will light up the night Friday at Liberty Station in San Diego. On Saturday, they take place in East County for Julian’s Country Christmas, and at Grossmont Center in La Mesa. In addition, on Saturday in North County at Rancho Guajome Adobe, enjoy Rancho Christmas, a vision of the holidays in the 19th century.
Have a Main Street in your community – you know, that favorite block or district of local shops and eateries where folks maybe, just might, know your name? They’re all over San Diego and Small Business Saturday was made just for them. Try Adams Avenue in University Heights and Normal Heights, where they host the Spirit Stroll to coincide with #smallbizsat, as the socials put it. If you need some ideas, use this map to search out small businesses in your area.
Finally, if your very being cries “no, non, and nay!” to the notion of more turkey, how about some chili? Or lots of chili, from 40 restaurants no less. Head to North Park at 11 a.m. Sunday for the SoNo Fest & Chili Cook-off at 32nd and Thorn streets. A 5-taste ticket costs $17, and there will be food trucks and music too.
– Staff reports