There are worse things you could do than to try to give your kids a childhood that echoes the best parts of your own. Here are seven events and activities that harken back to pre-internet times, with just a slight nod to the notion of cultural literacy.
Peter and the Wolf
Yes, the cartoon is great. (You can have your David Bowie version; it’s Sterling Holloway all the way for your humble correspondent.) And Lord knows, a fair chunk of more than one generation owes its introduction to classical music to cartoons of one sort or another. But that’s just an introduction. Eventually, the time comes for a real meeting. That is, if you want to give this sort of thing a chance to enchant the little ones in your care. Tomorrow, the San Diego Symphony will present a one-hour performance featuring “Flight of the Bumblebee”, The Waltzing Cat, Gershwin’s Promenade (Walking the Dog), Right Whale, Wrong Letter, and oh yes, Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. And if you’re feeling ambitious, come early for an hour of crafts and activities before the show begins.
- Where: Jacobs Music Center, 750 B Street, San Diego
- When: Saturday, February 7, 2026 at 11 am
- Cost: $30-$52
- More info
Right in the Eye
Classical music was already fading from popular culture when I arrived on the scene. But movies? Movies were it. You saved up to see movies. When you found one you loved, you saw it again and again. For me, that meant The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark, but E.T. stayed on one of my hometown’s four screens for six months. And I seem to recall Titanic making a similar run. Now? Not so much. Apres moi, le deluge, indeed. What can movies do that AI can’t? Well, see for yourself. Then maybe take the kids to see this multimedia journey through the early days of moviemaking magic via the work of the brilliant Georges Méliès.
- Where: Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Avenue, San Diego
- When: Sunday, February 8, 2026, at 2 pm
- Cost: $22-$69
- More info
Story time at the Museum of Art
So much of the pleasure of a painting comes from its story: why the artist painted it, the time in which it was painted, the elements of its composition and what those elements signify. Here’s a farmer harvesting wheat. Oh, but the painting is called The Veteran in a New Field? And Winslow Homer painted it in 1865, just after the Civil War? And that’s his discarded army jacket in the lower right corner? It gives his reaping in a new field a new meaning to know the sort of reaping he did and the sort of fields he worked in the recent past. Granted, this sort of work probably won’t be covered as part of the museum’s “lively storytelling, songs, and readings of some of our favorite art-inspired children’s books.” But the kids gotta start somewhere.
- Where: San Diego Museum of Art, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park
- When: Thursday, February 12, 2026, 10:30 am to 11:30 am
- Cost: Free admission
- More info
Wild Kratts 2.0
Celebrity culture is probably not a great thing for kids. But it is a pervasive thing. And you could do worse than letting them geek out over getting to see the Kratt brothers doing their animal rescue thing live on stage. I’m not sure how I feel about the VIP tickets that “include admission to a special meet and greet with Chris and Martin Kratt right after the show.” But I do understand the appeal.
- Where: Civic Theater, 1100 Third Avenue, San Diego
- When: Wednesday, February 18, 2026
- Cost: $43-$84
- More info
Animal Farm
Once again, the cartoon is great. But there’s something to be said for hearing from a jury of your peers. Or at least a bunch of fellow young people, presenting Orwell’s allegory on behalf of The Theatre School at North Coast Rep. If all the world’s a stage, then your little ones should probably get a sense of what that means.
- Where: 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Suite D, Solana Beach
- When: Thursday, February 19, 2026 at 10 am and 5:30 pm; Friday, February 20, 2026 at 5:30 pm; Saturday, February 21, 2026 at 2 pm and 5:30 pm; Sunday, February 22, 2026 at 2 pm
- Cost: $25 adult/ $12 child
- More info
Annual Tet Festival
Dance battles, step up dance competitions, Miss Vietnam San Diego pageant, kids’ talent show, lion dancing, petting zoo, trading card show, carnival rides, and pop performers. Plus, you know, the immersion in (and preservation of) a culture. And there’s food. Happy Lunar New Year!
- Where: Preble Field, 2640 Cushing Road, San Diego
- When: Friday, February 20 from 5 pm to 10 pm; Saturday, February 21 from 11 am to 10 pm; Sunday, February 22 from 11 am to 6 pm
- Cost: Free admission
- More info
Farm tour adventure
Who’s up for a day in the country? Once again, a list may be sufficient: this one includes archery, tomahawk throwing, a slingshot gallery, an interactive reptile show, and time with farm animals. At a certain age, lizards and dangerous projectiles make everything better.
- Where: Fort Cross, 4425 Highway 78, Santa Ysabel
- When: Saturdays and Sundays in February at 1 pm
- Cost: $25
- More info
