San Diego’s top weekend events, May 5-8
Here are the top events happening in San Diego from Thursday, May 5 to Sunday, May 8.
Thursday, May 5
Gator By The Bay
Enjoy a jam-packed schedule of live music — featuring genres like zydeco, blues, Cajun, swing, salsa, country and jazz — set up across seven stages. The event, which takes place across the street from the San Diego airport, also features Madri Gras parades, free dance lessons, lots of Creole and Cajun food, kids activities and more. A full performance schedule is available to view online. 6 to 10:30 p.m. Thursday, noon to 10:30 p.m. Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Spanish Landing Park, 3900 North Harbor Drive. Ticket prices vary per day and time; children age 17 and under are free (with paid adult). gatorbythebay.com
The Flower Fields
This has been extended to Sunday, May 15: San Diegans have one last chance to visit the seasonal blooms of The Flower Fields in Carlsbad this weekend. In addition to exploring the 50 acres of colorful flowers, there will be Flower Flow Yoga on Saturday, along with performances by Rancho Buena Vista High School’s Ballet Folklorico and blues musician Bill Magee on Sunday. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today through Sunday. The Flower Fields, 5704 Paseo Del Norte, Carlsbad. Admission is $22 (adults), $20 (senior and military) and $10 (children age 3 to 10). Tickets must be purchased online in advance; theflowerfields.com
“Connecting the Dots”
The San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery has opened its doors for “Connecting the Dots,” the last exhibit of the spring semester and the first district-wide faculty and staff exhibition.The exhibit, which opened April 26 and will host a reception on Thursday, “seeks to reconnect our creative community through the power of art.” It features more than 70 established and emerging artists from the San Diego Community College District. The works vary from paintings to photography, including surreal-centric works, including “Cuckoobird and the Sands of Time” (pictured) by Saki of Mesa College. San Diego Mesa College, Fine Arts Building, Art Gallery, FA1037250 Mesa College Drive, San Diego. Free parking in student spots. Masks required. Reception is 4-7 p.m. Thursday. Gallery hours are 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Runs through May 26. sdmesa.edu/art-gallery
“Once”
CCAE Theatricals presents this Tony Award-winning musical inspired by the 2007 film about the musical magic that blooms between a Dublin street busker and immigrant Czech pianist. 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday. 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday. 2 p.m. Sunday. California Center for the Arts, Escondido, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido. $40-$75. (800) 988-4253. artcenter.org/education/ccae-theatricals
Friday, May 6
Reopening of Digital Gym Cinema
Digital Gym Cinema, which shut the doors of its North Park theater in August 2020, has moved to a new location in downtown San Diego. There will be a grand opening ribbon cutting, celebratory toast and red carpet photo-ops at 6 p.m. Friday, followed by free outdoor screenings of family-friendly and youth-produced short films at noon and 2 p.m. Saturday on the courtyard. Additionally, ticketed indoor screenings of the drama “Memoria” are scheduled for Friday through Thursday with 1, 4 and 7 p.m. showtimes; general admission is $12. Digital Gym Cinema, UC San Diego @ Park & Market, 1100 Market St., downtown San Diego. digitalgym.org
“In the Heights”
San Diego Musical Theatre presents Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical about a community of friends and family in New York’s heavily Latino Washington Heights neighborhood. Opens Friday and runs through June 5. Showtimes, 7 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays. 8 p.m. Fridays. 3 and 8 p.m. Saturdays. 2 p.m. Sundays. SDMT Stage, 4650 Mercury St., San Diego. $40-$75. (858) 560-5740. sdmt.org
Palomar Performing Arts presents ‘Kentucky’
Palomar Performing Arts, the arts department at Palomar College in San Marcos, will open a production of Leah Nanako Winkler’s comedy-drama “Kentucky” tonight. Directed by Michael Mufson, the play is about Hiro, a 30-something Japanese American who returns from New York to her Kentucky hometown, determined to stop her sister’s wedding to a born-again Christian. Armed only with anti-anxiety pills and the baggage of her dysfunctional upbringing, Hiro confronts forgotten friends, former flames and the family she fled seven years earlier. 7:30 p.m. tonight, Saturday and May 13 and 14. 2:30 p.m. Sunday and May 15. Studio Theatre, Palomar College, 1140 W. Mission Drive, San Marcos $10-$15. (760) 744-1150. palomarperforms.com
San Diego Symphony: Grieg’s Piano Concerto and “Scheherazade”
The Symphony returns to the Rady Shell with guest conductor Ruth Reinhardt and pianist Gabriela Martinez in a program that will include an overture by Grażyna Bacewicz, Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s symphonic showpiece “Scheherazade,” based on the ancient stories of the Arabian Nights, including the voyages of Sinbad the Sailor. 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, 222 Marina Park Way, San Diego. $25 to $99. (619) 235-0804. sandiegosymphony.org
Genesis Opera Theatre: “The Impresario”
This newly formed opera company presents Mozart’s rarely performed one-act comic opera about an impresario fighting with his assistant over which of two singers will get a prime operatic role. 7 p.m. tonight and Saturday. Star Repertory Theatre, 329 E. Valley Parkway, Escondido. $18-$25. genesisoperatheatre.com
Eric Church at Pechanga Arena
Country star Eric Church brings his “The Gather Again Tour” to San Diego this weekend. Church has has nine studio albums to his name, along with multiple Grammy nominations. 8 p.m. Friday. Pechanga Arena San Diego, 3500 Sports Arena Blvd., Midway District. Tickets start at $44; pechangaarenasd.com
Saturday, May 7
‘World of Orchids’ opening
After a successful inaugural event in 2021, the second edition of “World of Orchids” returns with a wide array of orchid species artfully placed inside the San Diego Botanic Garden’s conservatory. The five-week spring showcase will feature plants grown on-site, as well as loaner orchids raised by commercial and amateur growers in the region, along with vendors and orchid care classes on select days. Opens Saturday and runs daily through June 12.San Diego Botanic Garden, 230 Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas Free for SDBG members. Nonmember tickets are $18 for adults; $12 for students, seniors and military; $10 for children age three to 17. Visit the website to reserve a date and entrance time.sdbgarden.org/orchids.htm
An Evening with David Sedaris
ArtPower at UC San Diego hosts an evening featuring the writer Davis Sedaris, known for his satire and humor. Sedaris, who sold out last year’s ArtPower show, will share both published and unpublished works with the audience. All guests must be age 5 or older. 8 p.m. Saturday. Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., downtown. Tickets start at $42; sandiegotheatres.org
“Timeless: Black & White Portraits of Joan Agajanian Quinn”
This weekend, the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library opens an exhibit of portraits of Los Angeles journalist and art collector Joan Agajanian Quinn by artists that include Andy Warhol, Ed Ruscha and Helmut Newton. Opens Saturday and runs through June 4. 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. (858) 454-5872. ljathenaeum.org
Stephanie Trick-Paolo Alderighi duo piano recital
This husband-wife piano duo tour the world performing, either side-by-side on one piano or together on separate pianos, a mix of jazz stride, swing and boogie songs from the Great American Songbook. 4:30 p.m. Saturday. St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, 3502 Clairemont Drive, San Diego. Reserve tickets at stmarksumcsd.org/concert-series
Iliza Schlesinger
Comedian Iliza Schlesinger is on the road with her “Back In Action” tour and will perform an all-ages, rescheduled show in San Diego this weekend. Schlesinger has five comedy specials to her name — including “Elder Millennial” and “Unveiled” — as well as the rom-com movie “Good On Paper” (which she wrote and starred in), a self-titled sketch comedy series, and a late-night talk show (“Truth & Iliza”). 7 p.m. Saturday. Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., downtown. Tickets start at $39.50, with limited VIP packages available. sandiegotheatres.org
Plays by Young Writers Festival
San Diego’s Playwrights Project opens its 37th annual festival of award-winning plays by California teen authors. This year’s four plays were all filmed for streaming but an in-person opening-night screening party is planned this weekend. Opening night event, 7 p.m. Saturday , 6611 University Ave, San Diego. $50. Hosted online-only screening, 7 p.m. May 14. $20. On-demand screening, May 15 through 31. $20. playwrightsproject.org/productions/pbyw/.
Sunday, May 8
Symphony presents free Mother’s Day concert
Looking for a special way to celebrate mom this weekend? The San Diego Symphony will present a free concert overlooking San Diego Bay at the Rady Shell, featuring William Grant Still’s “Mother and Child,” Louise Farrenc’s Overture No. 1 in E Minor, Piotr Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet” Overture-Fantasy and Johann Strauss Jr.’s “On the Beautiful Blue Danube.” 2 p.m. Sunday The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, 222 Marina Park Way, San Diego. Free. (619) 235-0804. sandiegosymphony.org
Ensemble Correspondances
San Diego Early Music Society closes its season with the San Diego debut of this baroque orchestra from Lyon, France, performing works by Francois de Chancy, Antoine Boësset, Pierre Guédron and more. 7:30 p.m. Sunday. St. James by-the-Sea, 743 Prospect St., La Jolla. (619) 291-8246. sdems.org
Pam Kragen contributed to this report.
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