San Diego, CA
17 Things to Do in San Diego This Weekend: Oct. 17–20
Celebrate the best part of the week with 17 exciting things to do in San Diego, from a bunch of boozy festivals to a Stranger Things–inspired musical and a gathering of zine makers and enthusiasts, plus several other San Diego events.
Food & Drink | Concerts & Festivals | Theater & Art Exhibits | More Fun Things to Do
Food & Drink Events in San Diego This Weekend
Rancho BEERnardo Festival
October 19
Though the name of this event is all about the brews, there will be much more than beer on tap at Rancho BEERnardo, with over 35 local breweries, wineries, and distilleries to check out from 2 to 5 p.m. at Webb Park this Saturday. This 21-plus event will include live music from Setting Sons and Par Avion and food from Mama V’s Lumpia, Tony’s Pepperoni Pizzeria, and Duffs Doggz. General admission ($65) comes with unlimited two-ounce pours, while VIP ($90) includes early admission at 1 p.m., an exclusive lounge, preferred parking and complimentary food. Tickets for Rancho BEERnardo can be purchased here.
11666 Avena Place, Rancho Bernardo
Santee Brews and Bites
October 19
Find a nice balance of neighborhood eateries, chain food spots, and local drink makers at Santee’s Brews and Bites fundraiser at Town Center Community Park East from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. this Saturday. Fast Times will provide the ’80s-inspired soundtrack for the night. Attendees can also place their bids at the silent auction and try their luck in the opportunity drawing to win weekend getaways, free yoga classes, in-home wine samplings, and more. Tickets, including general admission passes ($59.78), can be purchased on Eventbrite.
550 Park Center Drive, Santee
San Diego Spirits Festival
October 19–20
The Museum of Contemporary Art hosts the 15th annual San Diego Spirits Festival this weekend. Enjoy unlimited sips from a selection of more than 65 spirit brands serving bourbon, gin, mezcal, and more (or cocktails and seltzers if that’s your preference). There will also be bites from local restaurants, a silent auction for the Center for Culinary Culture, and plenty of live entertainment, including belly dancers, DJs, and a flamenco guitarist. Tickets are $75 for Saturday (2 to 6 p.m.) and $85 for Sunday (1 to 5 p.m.)
700 Prospect Street, La Jolla
Concerts & Festivals in San Diego This Weekend
San Diego International Film Festival
October 16–20
Watch the California premiere of the Amy Adams horror-comedy Nightbitch, dive into the works of female filmmakers in the Women’s Film Series, and take a bite of movie magic with Culinary Cinema at the San Diego International Film Festival. Attendees can stop by industry parties, Q&As, and special events like the glamorous Night of the Stars Tribute. Participating festival venues include the Museum of Photographic Arts, AMC 14 UTC, and the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center. Explore the variety of ticket options, from $20 individual screening tickets to the upscale $550 VIP pass, here.
La Jolla & Balboa Park
Charli XCX & Troye Sivan at Viejas Arena
October 18
Over the course of “Brat Summer,” Charli XCX’s inescapable masterpiece evolved from an album into a full-fledged phenomenon, spreading from limeade green billboards to politicians’ social media accounts. But just because summer is gone doesn’t mean the moment is over; the party is still raging, and fans will hear “Von Dutch,” “Mean Girls” and all of the club classics at Viejas Arena Friday night. Charli is joined by pop sensation Troye Sivan, whose music embraces the “Rush” of a night on the dancefloor. Resale tickets for this concert start at $211.82 on Ticketmaster.
5500 Canyon Crest Drive, Rolando
BirdStock
October 19
La Jolla Boulevard will be closed from Midway Street to Camino De La Costa as BirdStock, the Bird Rock neighborhood’s free annual music festival, returns bigger than ever. This Saturday, listen to all-day live music from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. as local bands (including headliners Lioneer) hit the main stage. Plus, stop by an artisan market, a pop-up pickleball court, a kids’ entertainment stage, and several nearby shops for discounted items. Proceeds from BirdStock will go towards Bird Rock Elementary and future iterations of the festival.
5509 La Jolla Boulevard, La Jolla
University Heights Fall Festival
October 19
While supporting local artisans, makers, and growers from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday at the Birney Joint Use Field, attendees at the free University Heights Fall Festival can pick a gourd in the pumpkin patch, play field games, take a community yoga class, and enjoy plenty of live entertainment from mariachi groups, ballet folklorico troupes, and tribute bands. Additional paid activities include a horse drawn hayride, a pie-baking contest, and a make-your-own-caramel-apple station. Proceeds benefit Birney Elementary.
4324 Park Boulevard, University Heights
San Diego Zine Fest
October 19–20
Dive into San Diego’s DIY zeitgeist at the 12th annual San Diego Zine Fest, where dozens of local artists will display and sell their self-published writing, photography, and artwork at Bread & Salt all weekend long. Drinks from Mujeres Brew House and food from Murillos Menu and Flavor Lab will be available for purchase at this weekend’s festival.
1955 Julian Avenue, Barrio Logan
Bella Vita Fest
October 19–20
At Bella Vita Fest, ArtWalk San Diego’s two-day celebration of Little Italy, explore over 50 chalk art paintings, hear live music, and learn recipes from local chefs cooking onstage from 12 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Plus, there will be more than 20 neighborhood wine samples to try, plus Italian culinary favorites like cannoli, Neapolitan-style pizza, and cheese wheel pasta. Admission to the festival is free. Wine-tasting tickets for five ($27.05) and 12 ($60.05) samples for each day can be purchased here.
550 West Date Street, Little Italy
Escondido Grand Avenue Festival
October 20
The Grand Avenue Festival offers live entertainment, international culinary options, and shopping from more than 400 retail, craft, and artisan vendors this Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Downtown Escondido’s favorite fall festival will also feature children’s rides, four live music stages, and a beer and wine garden.
Grand Avenue, Escondido
Theater & Art Exhibits in San Diego This Weekend
Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical at Brooks Theater
Through October 20
Stranger Sings! flips the hair-raising adventures of Stranger Things into irresistible rompy fun. The musical embraces the zaniness of the ’80s, with songs inspired by the show and tons of love for nostalgia, geek culture, and unlikely heroes. There will be four final shows this weekend at the Brooks Theater as the production ends its first run in SoCal. Tickets for Stranger Sings! are available for $40.
217 North Coast Highway, Oceanside
Carlos Castro Arias: The Splinter In The Eye at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library
October 19–January 11, 2025
The new Athenaeum Music & Arts Library exhibition The Splinter In The Eye will feature 11 new paintings from La Mesa–based artist Carlos Castro Arias, plus an assortment of created objects, sculpture and natural elements that supplement his insight on shared and solo identity. There will be a free opening reception for the exhibition this Friday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
1008 Wall Street, La Jolla
Foster + Partners: Architecture of Light and Space at San Diego Museum of Art
October 19–April 27, 2025
SDMA’s new Foster + Partners exhibition showcases the designs and models of architect Norman Foster, whose global firm of architects focuses on open space, daylight, and sustainability. The show explores his nature-driven ethos in three sections: Working with History, Embracing the Environment, and Community and Culture.
1450 El Prado, Balboa Park
More Fun Things to Do in San Diego This Weekend
Haunted Hangar Halloween Bash
October 18
The USS Midway Museum’s annual Haunted Hangar Halloween Bash features group and solo costume contests, a flash mob set to Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and spooky cocktails and snacks this Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. Other highlights from this family-friendly event include Halloween bag decorating, face painting, trick-or-treat stations, music from DJ Danny, and AirCombat flight simulator sessions ($5). General admission is $25 for this event and $20 for museum members.
910 North Harbor Drive, Embarcadero
San Diego Gulls Home Opener vs. Coachella Valley Firebirds at Pechanga Arena
October 18
The San Diego Gulls are back on home ice at Pechanga Arena and looking for their first win of the 2024–25 season as they face off against the Coachella Valley Firebirds in this Saturday’s home opener. Players to watch this season for the Gulls include highly touted prospect Nathan Gaucher, along with newly acquired veterans Roland McKeown and Ryan Carpenter. Fans in attendance at Saturday’s game will receive a rally towel, belt bag, and light-up wristband. Tickets range from $37 to $182 on AXS.
3500 Sports Arena Boulevard, Midway
Fright For Future
October 18–20
While most haunted attractions focus on the supernatural, Fright For Future finds horror in our everyday reality. While there will still be witches, mad scientists, and ghouls, the real-world inspirations for the haunted maze include polluted waters, fast-fashion consequences, and cruel treatment of animals. Over three days at the San Diego Made Factory, thrill seekers ages 10 and up can stand face-to-face with man-made horrors. Reserve your free spot at Fright For Future on Eventbrite.
2031 Commercial Street, Logan Heights
The Big Birthday Block Party at The Nat
October 19
The Nat celebrates 150 years of archeological preservation with a Big Birthday Block Party this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. At the party, chat with scientists, partake in themed games and activities, check out relics from the museum’s past, enjoy cocktails at The Nat’s rooftop bar, and much more. Admission to the block party, as well as the museum and the halls of its new Paleontology Center, is free.
1788 El Prado, Balboa Park
A new club at UC San Diego in La Jolla is rooted in Chinese art, language and food, but its primary focus is on bridging the gaps among different cultures.
When second-year UCSD student Lydia Xie moved from Singapore to San Diego, she began to notice a general lack of understanding about Chinese culture, she said. Her interest grew as she read a social media thread of UCSD students discussing international students’ tendency to socialize with people from the same background.
Looking to foster cross-cultural sharing and understanding, Xie decided to form a new campus club, Lotus Bridge @ UC San Diego.
“We do have some Chinese student organizations on campus, but based on my understanding, they’re usually focused on having Chinese international students in those groups,” Xie said.
“[There’s] nothing wrong with that,” she added. “I think that is great for them to be finding community here in a foreign country. But for me … I would love to have a platform where we can share Chinese culture to other people who might not be as familiar with it.”
Lotus Bridge aims to unite diverse cultures, hold activities such as dessert-making and foster teamwork and leadership, Xie said. The group registered as a student organization in September, followed by a promotional push on social media starting Jan. 7 and its first general meeting Jan. 22.
Xie is the group’s founder and president. Other founding members are UCSD students Helena Ren, Qianqian Yang, Anny Ma and Chloe Zhang.
Yang, a fourth-year visual arts student, said she got acquainted with the group through a social media post.
“It kind of just popped up,” she recalled. “I never saw this before on campus, so I really wanted to join.”
Ma said the club offered a meaningful way of getting connected with the university in her freshman year as a sociology student.
Ahead of its first meeting, the club set up a table by the university’s Geisel Library to quiz fellow students on Chinese culture, such as when the Mid-Autumn Festival takes place (this year it’s Sept. 25) and how many tones are in the Mandarin language (four).
People who registered for the meeting were asked to fill out a form, with one of the prompts asking them about their level of familiarity with Chinese culture. On a scale of 1-10, most respondents scored themselves between three and seven, Xie said.
At the event, guests baked Chinese peach blossom pastries at Marshall College’s Umoja Community Kitchen. The pastries are a popular dish year-round, including during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
“[By] learning to make traditional pastries, we can understand the festival and the folk tales behind them,” Ma said. “We hope through baking, we can promote cross-cultural communication and enable people from different backgrounds to experience Chinese culture.”
Xie said she hopes the introductory event and others to follow will create unity among UCSD students.
“I think success for this club is just about boosting people’s understanding of Chinese culture,” she said. “I really want to build a community where everybody can be more empathetic and more understanding of people from different backgrounds.”
According to the Center for Student Involvement, UCSD is home to 692 student organizations for the 2025-26 academic year. See a full list at studentorg.ucsd.edu.
To learn more about Lotus Bridge @ UC San Diego, visit @lotusbridgeatucsandiego on Instagram. ♦
The San Diego County Gun Owners PAC (Political Action Committee) calls the fatal shooting of Minnesota man Alex Pretti by ICE agents “tragic and deeply troubling.”
The executive director of that organization, Michael Schwartz, told NBC 7 he’s calling for full transparency and due process moving forward.
“Both sides, Mr. Pretti and whoever the border agent was involved in the shooting, deserve a thorough investigation,” Schwartz said.
Schwartz says gun owners are loyal to principles, not parties, and believes it’s important to not turn Alex Pretti’s death into a political narrative.
“The Second Amendment has never been a Republican, Democratic or Libertarian or Green or any party issues, it’s nonpartisan. When people no matter their party do something to support the Second Amendment, we sing their praises and when they do something against it, we harshly condemn them. You saw that in this case, you saw Gun Owners of America and the National Rifle Association quickly come out with statements that were bashing certain Trump Administration officials and saying, hey we need to investigate this shooting,” Schwartz said.
On Tuesday, when talking about the most recent deadly ICE shooting in Minnesota, President Donald Trump said, “You can’t have guns. You can’t walk in with guns.”
Schwartz disagrees with what the Trump Administration has recently said about those legally carrying a firearm.
“I am completely opposed to some of the statements by Trump employees, like Kash Patel and others, who implied that somehow being a concealed carry permit holder somehow makes you more dangerous to law enforcement or implies that you’re a criminal,” Schwartz said.
According to Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, strict regulating of public carry laws are associated with lower rates of firearm crimes. Schwartz believes the rise of physical interactions between citizens and ICE might provide an opportunity.
“I think law enforcement needs to be better educated on who a concealed carry permit holder is. The fact that they go through a background check and training and the fact that as a group they tend to commit fewer crimes than the general public. Educating on who they are and what their motivation is is important to all levels of law enforcement,” Schwartz said.
Schwartz says gun rights advocates have been concerned with government overreach for decades surrounding the Second Amendment and will be closely following how current events play out.
While California has some of the most restrictive gun carry laws in the nation, it’s interesting to note that San Diego County has gone from 11,000 carry permits to over 26,000 in last seven years.
An investigation is underway after one person was shot and injured by an Escondido Police officer early Tuesday.
Police were called to a transitional house on the 100 block of S Elm Street, on reports of a man who cut himself and was armed with a knife, San Diego Police Homicide Lt. Lou Maggi said.
Police tried to negotiate with the man, who then barricaded himself inside a bathroom. Officers then left to try to de-escalate the situation, Maggi said.
Police were called again after the man had left the bathroom and was roaming the outside of the property. A K-9 officer arrived to find the man in an alleyway with a “24-inch stick.” After multiple calls from the officer to drop the weapon, the man then charged at the officer, prompting the officer to shoot the man, Maggi said.
The man was shot multiple times and taken to a local hospital in critical condition. The Escondido officer involved in the shooting was not injured.
Neither the man nor the officer has been identified at this time.
The other residents at the transitional housing were safely evacuated.
The San Diego Police Department is investigating the incident per a memorandum of understanding that prevents law enforcement agencies from investigating use-of-force cases involving their own officers.
Please refresh this page for updates on this story. Details may change as more information becomes available.
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