Happy MLK Day! Enjoy your 3-day weekend with these top events
Hello long weekend! From San Diego Lunar New Year Tet Festival to the Martin Luther King Jr. Parade, here’s how to celebrate.
1.16-18: Samuel Comroe
Known for: America’s Got Talent, having Tourette syndrome, Real Husbands of Hollywood
@ American Comedy Company, americancomedyco.com
1.17-19: Heather McDonald
Known for: Chelsea Lately, being friends with the Kardashians, Juicy Scoop with Heather McDonald podcast
@ The Comedy Store, thecomedystore.com/la-jolla
1.17-19: San Diego Lunar New Year Tet Festival
Celebrate lunar new year by vying for the title of San Diego’s Phở Eating Champion — or enjoy dance and music performances — at this annual festival featuring food, firecrackers, lion dances and more.
SDCCU Stadium, Mission Valley, lunarnewyearfestival.org
1.17-21: “Shen Yun”
You’ve seen the leaflets; now check out the ubiquitous (and much-memed) show, which brings its large-scale tableaux of Chinese dance to greater San Diego twice this month, first to Escondido and then to downtown. Also on Jan. 24-26.
@ California Center for the Arts, Escondido and San Diego Civic Theatre, downtown. shenyun.com
1.18: Fifth annual Women’s March San Diego
Join a grassroots group of volunteers and march in support of women’s rights, human rights, access to healthcare and the end of social and environmental injustice.
Waterfront Park, Little Italy, womensmarchsd.org
1.18-19: Travel & Adventure Show
Discover more than 200 vacation destinations during two days of travel-centric seminars featuring celebrity speakers, hands-on demonstrations and exclusive deals on unforgettable experiences.
San Diego Convention Center, East Village, travelshows.com
Through 1.18: “Anne Mudge: Flexus”
Artist Anne Mudge (who won the San Diego Art Prize in 2018) has a new exhibition of work on display featuring quartz beads and stainless steel wire, repeating over and over in some of her pieces until finding the balance she seeks.
@ Quint Gallery, quintgallery.com
Through 1.18: “Kelsey Brookes: Perception and Hallucination”
Inspired by his own experiences with insight meditation and questioning his existence each morning, artist Kelsey Brookes presents this exhibition featuring his veil paintings, along with paintings from his Form Constants series, based on a concept developed by psychologist Heinrich Kluver, who studied the recurring patterns people experienced in altered states of consciousness.
@ Quint Gallery, quintgallery.com
Starting 1.18: “Hunt Slonem: A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
With his neo-expressionist style, artist Hunt Slonem draws inspiration from nature (and his own pet birds), along with historic personalities and architecture in his A Midsummer Night’s Dream exhibition at the Solana Beach gallery. Through March 20.
@ Madison Gallery, madisongalleries.com
Starting 1.18: “August Wilson’s Jitney”
This 1979 play by the late, great chronicler of African-American life returns to the Globe — a place with significant ties to Wilson — after finally hitting Broadway in 2017. Through Feb. 23.
@ Old Globe Theatre, Balboa Park. theoldglobe.org
Starting 1.18: “Red Bike”
The acclaimed playwright and UC San Diego grad Caridad Svich penned this meditation on economic divides. Moxie calls it “wildly imaginative, physical and poetic.” Through Feb. 16.
@ Moxie Theatre, Rolando District. moxietheatre.com
1.19: Carlsbad Full and Half Marathon & Surf Sun Run 5K
Choose the full marathon, half marathon or Surf Sun Run 5K, each of which offer breathtaking views and live entertainment at every mile.
Three courses along coastal Carlsbad, inmotionevents.com
1.19: 40th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Parade
Floats, drill teams and high school bands (among other organizations) celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at one of the nation’s largest events held in the Civil Rights leader’s name.
Harbor Drive, Embarcadero, alpha-zsl.org
1.19: Tiffany Haddish
“My homegirl’s like, ‘We should go to the gym ... like, your body used to be banging. You was a track star, you used to run cross-country, you used to do all these things. Get that body back, get back in the gym, Tiffany.’ I said, ‘I became a comedian so that I could get fat if I felt like it, b***h.’” — Tiffany Haddish on Black Mitzvah
@ Pechanga Resort and Casino, tiffanyhaddish.com
1.20: Restaurants Give Back for Australia
Help the disaster relief efforts in Australia at participating restaurants around the county, who will donate a percentage of their sales on Monday to the largest wildlife rescue & rehabilitation charity in Australia. Bars and eateries include Union Kitchen and Tap (both Encinitas and Gaslamp locations), Backyard Kitchen and Tap, Pacific Beach AleHouse, Waterbar, or all four City Tacos locations (North Park, La Mesa, Imperial Beach and Encinitas).
@ Various locations around San Diego, omghospitalitygroup.com
Starting 2.8: “Illusion: The Magic of Motion”
Learn about the ways our eyes perceive motion — whether through still photography or motion pictures — through historic and contemporary art and hands-on devices that demonstrate how movement can be recreated. Through Jan. 17, 2021.
@ Museum of Photographic Arts, mopa.org
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