San Diego’s top weekend events: from Trolley Dances to Oktoberfests
Top events this weekend include Trolley Dances, Oktoberfests in El Cajon and La Mesa, Crime Junkie Podcast Live, and Flavors of San Diego.
10.3: Taste + Tequila Old Town
Get your fill of Old Town’s most famous meals and wet your whistle with top-shelf tequila and other sensational spirits during this self-guided dining tour featuring musicians and other entertainers who keep the fun flowing between bites.
Throughout Old Town, oldtownsandiego.org
10.3: Crime Junkie Podcast Live
True crime obsessives, meet fellow fans and spend time with popular Crime Junkie podcast hosts Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat. The live show focuses on a case that’s never been told before, so get ready to analyze all sorts of clues and evidence.
Balboa Theatre, downtown, crimejunkiepodcast.com
10.3: Orchids & Onions Awards Ceremony
Every year, The San Diego Architectural Foundation crowns the county’s most beautiful new buildings, projects and designs. But also? Finding out which not-so-pretty projects will earn onions is what makes this a nail-biting, must-attend event for local designers, architects and artists.
US Grant Hotel, downtown, orchidsandonions.org
10.4-6: Oktoberfest in El Cajon
Do the chicken dance, sing time-honored tunes, and tantalize your taste buds with authentic German eats during two fun-filled weekends featuring a ceremonial keg tap, the crowning of the Oktoberfest queen and a raffle for a flight to the Fatherland.
German American Societies, El Cajon, germanclubsandiego.org
10.4-6: 46th annual La Mesa Oktoberfest
Billed as the largest Oktoberfest bash west of the Mississippi, this free, three-day event attracts more than 100,000 attendees and boasts live local music, traditional German dishes and plenty of Bavarian bier along with sing-a-longs, stein races and oodles of other games.
10.4-27: Fern Street Circus Neighborhood Tour
You know in the movies when you see a circus coming to town? That’s the inspiration behind this locally based arts group. Acrobats, actors and puppet artists perform free shows -- with socially conscious messages -- in neighborhoods from North Park to City Heights and beyond. (See site for tour schedule.)
Neighborhoods throughout county, fernstreetcircus.com
10.5: Valle Food & Wine Festival
Wolfgang Puck, Javier Plascencia and other culinary heavy-hitters from both sides of the border join forces to celebrate the wines and cuisine of Valle de Guadalupe at this must-attend festival that also features live music, craft breweries, art, vendors and more.
Valle de Guadalupe, vallefoodandwinefest.com
10.5: Taste of Oceanside
Take a ride on the Taste Trolley (or hoof it to hit your step goal) during O’side’s premier culinary experience featuring food, beer and wine from the neighborhood’s most reputable eateries and alcohol purveyors.
Throughout Oceanside, mainstreetoceanside.com
10.5: Pacific Beachfest
Billed as “San Diego’s premier beach festival,” this family-friendly fest promises live music from artists like Big Daddy Blues Band, Martin McDaniel, The Routine and more, plus a 5K, fish taco contest and the Big Josh Beer Garden, which benefits the Big Josh Foundation.
Along the boardwalk from Felspar to Thomas streets, Pacific Beach, pacificbeachfest.org
10.5-6: Trolley Dances
Modern dance has a very specific audience, but when it’s performed at trolley stops and public buildings, it suddenly becomes an art form for everyone. Take a guided tour along the trolley’s green and orange lines to see dances created by San Diego Dance Theater choreographers, and inspired by their urban surroundings.
12th & Imperial Transit Center, East Village, sandiegodancetheater.org
10.6: Flavors of San Diego
This culinary experience transcends traditional foodie fests by hosting local chefs who prepare signature dishes and multicourse meals directly at guests’ tables.
Fairmont Grand Del Mar, Del Mar, alfflavors.org
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