San Diego, CA
The best things to do this week in San Diego: Dec. 16-20
Here are some of the best things to do this week in San Diego, from Monday, Dec. 16 to Friday, Dec. 20.
Check back Wednesday for our guide to things to do this weekend.
Monday
Skating by the Sea: Hotel Del Coronado: Locals can enjoy views of Coronado Beach and the Pacific Ocean while ice skating at the Hotel Del Coronado. An outdoor temporary ice rink on the hotel’s Windsor Lawn will be open to the public through Jan. 5. General admission is $40 and $35 for hotel guests, military members and first responders. There are also $35 “value skate days” on Dec. 16 and 17. Admission covers rentals and ice skating sessions can last up to 90 minutes. There is also lounge seating around the ice rink available by reservation. Open and closing times differ each day. Check the Hotel Del Coronado’s website for the full schedule. 1500 Orange Ave., Coronado. 619-435-6611, hoteldel.com/events/skating-by-the-sea
“In the Christmas Mood”: The Glenn Miller Orchestra will play holiday classics. More than 18 singers and other musicians are featured in this show. 7 p.m. Monday. Balboa Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., B Street, San Diego. $72. sandiegotheatres.org/event/2024/12/christmas-mood-glenn-miller-orchestra
Ice skating at Fairmont Grand Del Mar: Glide on an “eco-friendly Glice skating rink” at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar this holiday season. The resort will use a synthetic ice product from Glice, a company headquartered in Switzerland, that functions “without electricity or water,” according to the company. Fairmont Grand Del Mar’s Glice rink will be available from Nov. 28 through Jan. 1. Rink hours are 5 to 9 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays and 3 to 7 p.m. Sundays. There will be special hours on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. It will cost $40 for adults and $20 for children, with skate rentals included. Skating passes will be available for $150 per person. 5300 Grand Del Mar Court, San Diego. 858-314-2000, granddelmar.com/holidays
Rady Children’s Ice Rink: The annual Rady Children’s Ice Rink returns to Liberty Station, benefiting cancer patients. This will be the 28th year Rady Children’s Hospital will host its ice rink. “Net proceeds from the rink” go to the Thriving After Cancer Program and over the years and more than $2 million has been raised, according to Rady Children’s Ice Rink organizers. This year, the outdoor ice rink will be open most days from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. through Jan. 5, with special holiday hours on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. It will cost $20 per adult and $15 per child, military member and Rady Children’s staff. Skate rental is covered with admission. 2875 Dewey Road, San Diego. 619-221-1970, rchicerink.org
‘All That Jazz’ at Hotel del Coronado: The Norfolk Island Pines on the Hotel del Coronado’s Founders Lawn are the centerpiece of the “All That Jazz” light show. From 5 to 9 p.m. Nov. 21 to Jan. 5., the Hotel del Coronado gives the public a free holiday light show that is synchronized with jazz music. There will also be a hotel duplicate 12-foot-tall red turret with holiday lights, a bar and lounge seating. The free light show is 10 minutes long and occurs every 30 minutes. 1500 Orange Ave., Coronado. 619-435-6611, hoteldel.com/events/at-first-light-lightshow-spectacular
Lights at the Lakes: The Santee Lakes Campground will turn into a holiday light show Dec. 1-31 from 5 to 8 p.m. The Lights at the Lakes is a free event that allows registered campground guests to walk or drive their golf court to see the light displays. 9310 Fanita Parkway, Santee. 619-596-3141, santeelakes.com/event/lights-at-the-lakes-campground-edition
Jingle Terrace Live: The Brengle Terrace Park at Moonlight Amphitheatre will present a holiday light show through Dec. 21. Jungle Terrace Live will feature live entertainment, holiday displays, seasonal activities, photo opportunities and light shows. This all-ages event is free to attend.1250 Vale Terrace Drive, Vista. 760-724-2110, moonlightstage.com/events-tickets/jingle-terrace-live
Jungle Bells: The San Diego Zoo will once again celebrate the holiday season with its Jungle Bells seasonal event. Through Jan. 5, the park will offer three holiday light trails: celebration, discovery and symphony from 5 to 8 p.m. These paths allow guests to venture into the zoo and explore exhibits such as the cactus garden and the tiger trail. Jungle Bells also brings holiday musical acts and performances. It is free with paid admission to the zoo or a membership. Parking is available for free. 2920 Zoo Drive, San Diego. zoo.sandiegozoo.org/jungle-bells
Tuesday
‘A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story Told by Jefferson Mays’ The Old Globe presents Tony-winning actor and UC San Diego graduate Jefferson Mays in a new adaptation of his acclaimed solo show where he plays more than 50 characters in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Old Globe artistic director Barry Edelstein directs. Through Dec. 22. 7 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays. 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, The Old Globe, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park, San Diego. $64-$96. 619-234-5623. theoldglobe.org
A Nat “King” Cole Christmas Tribute: Leonard Patton and Friends will play a Christmas tribute concert for Nat King Cole. 9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. The Jazz Lounge, 6818 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego. Tickets start at $40. thejazzlounge.live/
Wednesday
‘A Christmas Carol’: Cygnet Theatre will present its annual production of Dickens’ redemptive holiday tale, once again starring Cygnet artistic director Sean Murray as the miserly Victorian money-lender Ebenezer Scrooge. It was adapted for the stage and directed by Murray, with lyrics by Murray and original music by Billy Thompson. It features sing-along Christmas carols, puppetry, humor, dancing and special effects. The 2024 staging will feature an expanded storyline, fresh original music and a revitalized script. Runs through Dec. 24. 7 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays. Cygnet’s Old Town Theatre, 4040 Twiggs St., Old Town San Diego. $73. (619) 337-1525. cygnettheatre.com
Winter Fest: On Dec. 18, the Fallbrook Library will host its annual Winter Fest. There will be a photo booth and face painting for all ages and holiday music by the Mountain Dulcimer Club. The Bottom Shelf bookstore will also reopen starting Dec. 18 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will host its annual Christmas Boutique through Dec. 31, featuring art books, coffee table books, collector’s items and children’s books. 2:30 to 5 p.m. Wednesday. Visit 124 S. Mission Road. Visit fallbrooklibraryfriends.org.
Venice – ‘The Venice Christmas Show’: Jackson Browne, Roger Waters and the late David Crosby are just some of the notable artists the veteran Los Angeles band Venice has collaborated with over he years. The group’s harmonious vocal blend is a treat in any setting. 8 p.m. Wednesday. Belly Up, 143 South Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. $26-$46. Ages 21 and up only. 858-481-8140, bellyup.com
Lightscape: San Diego Botanic Garden will host its light show for the third time, opening on Nov. 15 and running through Jan. 5. Lightscape is a one-mile trail filled with flowers and trees covered in lights, illuminated tunnels, suspended lights and artistic installations from international artists. Holiday drinks and treats will be available on the trail. Ticket prices range from $13-31, based on age and time of day. The parking fee is $10-$25. 300 Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas. 760-436-3036, sdbg.org/lightscape
Thursday
Voctave – ‘It Feels Like Christmas’: San Diego Symphony presents this 11-member a cappella vocal ensemble performing songs from its just-released holiday album on a North American tour. 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Jacobs Music Center, 750 B St., downtown. $39-$93. purchasing.sandiegosymphony.org/9537
Jingle Jets: The USS Midway Museum is marking the season with its second annual Jingle Jets Holiday Lighting Celebration. The museum will be decorated with 750,000 festive lights, and themed events will take place on certain nights, including a dog night, Christmas pajama party, ugly sweater night and Christmas carol karaoke. Plus, ticketed guests can take a photo with Santa Claus. 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday through Monday. 910 North Harbor Drive, San Diego. $18-$30. 619-544-9600, midway.org
Friday
Coastal Christmas Del Mar: The Del Mar Fairgrounds hosts a Coastal Holiday Festival with holiday lights attractions. Highlights include a walk-through display of more than 1 million lights, “glice” skating, holiday market, Frosty’s Fun Zone, holiday wine walk and Santa and Friends. Igloos and fireside lounges can be reserved for cozying with some hot cocoa. S’mores kits, festive food, and drinks will be sold. Tickets are $19.95 and $12.95 for children ages 4-12. Admission is free for 3 and under. Holiday Wine Walk is $49.99. Promotional nights include military, first responders and teachers. 4 to 9 p.m. Dec. 20-23 and Dec. 26 at 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd. Visit delmarfairgrounds.com/events/2024/coastal-christmas
Holiday Lights: The Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum will put on its annual Holiday Lights event, which transforms the historic museum grounds into a winter wonderland with light display. Highlights include wagon rides through holiday lights, Santa photos, food and drinks, crafts, model trains, steam engine and tractor displays, s’mores, holiday movies, local vendors and Christmas tree raffle. 5 to 9 p.m. Dec. 20-21. Admission is $10, in advance online; $12 at gate; free for kids 6 and younger. agsem.org/holiday-light-2024
City Ballet of San Diego’s “The Nutcracker”: John Nettles directs the City Ballet orchestra for this production which won the Tommy Award for Best Nutcracker in San Diego. The pre-ballet show features holiday carolers in the lobby. The Victorian-era story is traditional with Clara, her Nutcracker Prince and Tchaikovsky’s famous 1892 ballet score. The choreography was created by Elizabeth Wistrich after Rudolf Nureyev and other masters. 7:30 p.m. Friday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Monday. California Center for the Arts, Escondido, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido. $39-$119. 800-988-4253, cityballet.org
Golden State Ballet’s “The Nutcracker”: The lavish downtown production choreographed by Raul Salamanca includes professional dancers and 90 talented students from the award-winning academy. The Tchaikovsky score is performed by a live orchestra from the San Diego Symphony. Recommended for ages 3 and up. Runs 20 hours, 10 minutes, with intermission. 7:30 p.m. Friday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 1 and 5:30 p.m. Sunday. San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., downtown. $35-$129. goldenstateballet.org
San Diego Civic Youth Ballet’s “The Nutcracker”: Danika Pramik-Holdaway directs the annual production featuring students of the Balboa Park-based company. The ballet follows the traditional story of Clara and her Nutcracker prince, the battle of the toy solders and mice and the dance of the Sugarplum Fairy. 7 p.m. Friday 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Casa del Prado Theatre, Balboa Park $27. 619-259-0220, sdcyb.org
Originally Published:
By Dave Rice
Is Measure A going to affect a significant number of properties? Is it going to affect affordable housing in any meaningful way? Come now, let’s not be dense – this hits a handful of rich people who can absolutely afford to drop $10K in the city coffers if they’re leaving a vacation home vacant on purpose – let’s say that’s their civic contribution that would be realized in other ways if they actually lived, worked, and shopped here full-time.
Or it hits STVR hosts, who can either factor the cost into their business model or give it up if margins are really that thin (maybe not everyone needs to fancy themselves an amateur hotelier). But let’s not kid ourselves and believe the kind of housing this will free up will be plentiful or affordable.
In the exceedingly rare instances where someone might be eligible for an exemption, will it be too hard to apply for? That’s something we can argue and refine but that’s the bathwater, or just the little bit of it that splashes out of the tub, not the baby. An argument that the whole proposal is DOA because military members are too stupid to file for an exemption is either dismissive of or telling tales out of school about what we really think of military intelligence.
Poor, poor grandma who needs a home near her doctor? If she’s really poor why does she have multiple houses, and if she’s not does this really affect her? I live in a neighborhood where “aren’t you afraid you’re going to get shot?” is the first thing outsiders ask me about where I’m from, and if Grandma has owned her mostly-unoccupied vacation house for any significant time I probably pay a lot more property tax than she does. You couldn’t trip over the limbo bar to gain my sympathy, it’s buried a few feet deep.
This is a tiny nod toward taxing the rich, but that’s all. It’s not significant or meaningful, it won’t do a lot, most of the housing stock in question even if returned to actual residents won’t make a dent in the astronomical cost of living in or anywhere near this city. But it’s a tiny step in the right direction – and watching how hysterical the moneyed class is about the rest of us asking for even the tiniest drop in the goddamned bucket we’re trying to fill without their help is telling.
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This is the first installment in a series of stories on the history of dining out in La Jolla, how it’s changed and how it continues to evolve.
It’s hard to imagine La Jolla without its restaurants, from the lines stretching down the block at The Taco Stand to the iconic views at George’s at the Cove.
But the way La Jollans eat and where has changed dramatically since the area’s founding in the 1800s.
In this first part of the new month-long series “Dining Out,” the La Jolla Light looks at local restaurants from the 1880s (when La Jolla was first developed and settled) to the early 1920s.
“La Jolla had very few people at that time,” according to local historian Carol Olten. “There weren’t a lot of restaurants, as far as we know.”
Olten said she gets information about La Jolla’s earliest days from the diaries of local pioneer Anson Mills.
“He kept track of where he went and what he did … but he did a lot of home cooking,” she said. “So when they went to a restaurant for dinner, it was a big occasion. It was something people mainly did on holidays or … a social occasion.”
One restaurant Mills would go to — believed to be one of the first in La Jolla — was Montezuma Cottage. Olten said it is believed to have opened in 1895 near the intersection of Prospect and Jenner streets.
Mills described the restaurant as a popular eating and gathering spot for locals and tourists, Olten said. He wrote an entry about a Thanksgiving dinner there with about 60 people.
Montezuma Cottage later became known as the Seaside Inn and Ocean View restaurant. It was torn down in 1931.
Culturally, eating at a restaurant was a more formal occasion at the time, Olten said.
“You didn’t go to a restaurant just to hang out with friends like you would today. It was purposeful then,” she said.
Around 1900, a restaurant known as the White Rabbit opened near the corner of Girard Avenue and Prospect Street. In addition to a rooftop garden, it featured a tea room, joining a national trend.
“Tea rooms went with the suffragette movement because in those days, [women] didn’t have a place to gather without an escort, so tea rooms started opening in hotels and women could go there and sit down and have a social tea or lunch,” Olten said. “La Jolla got in on the tail end of that thanks to [Green Dragon Colony founder] Anna Held and [La Jolla philanthropist] Ellen Browning Scripps.”
One of them, called The Cricket, opened in the early 1900s with white tablecloths. Olten said it was near what it is now Eddie V’s restaurant.
“It was originally part of the Green Dragon Colony … and was sold to a British woman named Daisy Mitchell,” she said. “It stayed a tea room for many years, and she kept a guest book that was decorated with reds and greens and had a medieval theme. So it was very British.”
Joining a trend toward more upscale dining, one of La Jolla’s “most well-established and well-known restaurants” opened in 1912 at 1227 Prospect St. The Brown Bear had “stylish, fashionable service and a menu to please the gods,” Olten said.
A house specialty was Welsh rabbit served in a silver chafing dish. The restaurant was in operation until 1941.
Several restaurants opened around 1915, about the same time as the Panama-California Exposition, a world’s fair-type event held in 1915-16 that brought 3.7 million people to San Diego.
One of La Jolla’s new restaurants, the Spindrift Inn, opened in 1916 and was considered a “last stop” out of town.
“Most restaurants at that time were located in the immediate Village area,” Olten said. “The one that was astray would have been the Spindrift Inn [in La Jolla Shores]. This was in the very early days of automobiles, so not very many people had cars, but those that did would … drive their cars and the last stop before you got out of town was Spindrift Inn.”
The Spindrift Inn later became The Marine Room, which still stands.
Olten said the restaurant was operated by the Hannay family for about 20 years. Their “rambunctious” fox terrier, Jiggs, would roam the dining room.
Another Expo-era restaurant was the Dining Car, which operated in an old trolley car parked near Goldfish Point. Dinner was $2 per person. It burned down on Halloween night in 1923.
Next installment: With new hotels being built in La Jolla in the 1920s came new hotel restaurants. But later, World War II would have an impact on La Jollans and San Diegans in general and on where and how they ate. ♦
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