🎨 Visual art
Helena Westra, Farshid Bazmandegan and Tony M. Bingham: 'Field Notes on Memory'
On view for just two more weekends, the culminating exhibition for three artists-in-residence at California Center for the Arts Escondido is called "Field Notes on Memory." The exhibit unifies the work of three very different artists, working in different mediums and informed by the landscapes, memories and ancestries of different corners of the planet. I loved Helena Westra's solo installation, "Lying Fallow," last summer at the Athenaeum Art Center. At CCAE, she's using clay, soil and other natural materials to recreate the Okinawa folktale of a grieving guardian beast whose ceaseless tears carve into the rock in her sculpture, "Namida Ishi."
Farshid Bazmandegan also works with mourning and displacement, inspired by Persian culture in sculptures and video works. Tony M. Bingham explores the African American history of the regional mountain town of Julian during the Gold Rush, using pinhole photography, found objects and sound. At the CCAE Museum, one admission grants you access for the rest of the year — or pop in on Saturday during the Chicano Block Party for free admission.
11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday; 1-5 p.m. Sunday; through Aug. 16 | CCAE Museum, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido | Free-$12 | MORE INFO
San Ysidro Archive Launch
Celebrate the San Ysidro Archive at a special event this Saturday. The San Ysidro Archive is a new initiative — a community, living archive for the history, movements, memories, art and subculture in the 92173 ZIP code. Guests are invited to bring their own personal objects, mementos, clippings, etc. for the archive. The event is also a chance to check out the art currently installed at The Front Arte & Cultura, the "MOMENTOUS" exhibition and parent organization Casa Familiar's 50-year collection of artwork by regional artists, including PANCA, Marianela de la Hoz, Marcos Ramirez ERRE and more. A keynote presentation and archive demonstration will take place at 2:30 p.m., and a live DJ set by FKA Viktor will start at 3.
2-4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8 | The Front, 147 W. San Ysidro Blvd., San Ysidro | Free | MORE INFO
🎵 Music
SummerFest
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the La Jolla Music Society's annual, monthlong summer chamber music festival. Directed once again by Inon Barnatan, this year's program includes 21 concerts, more than 50 free community shows and events, and will bring more than 100 musicians and composers. This weekend's highlights include Friday evening's "Eastern Visions," exploring Eastern music elements in the work of Western composers, including Debussy, John Cage and Rimsky-Korsakov — and featuring local legend Steven Schick on percussion. Saturday evening's "Roots" concert includes folk songs and dances from Eastern European composers. On Sunday afternoon, explore recently rediscovered pieces by Bach, Chopin, Vaughn Williams, Mozart and Charles Martin Loeffler in "Lost and Found. And if lost classical music is your jam, check out our recent episode of The Finest about San Diego's lost composer Alice Barnett.
La Jolla Music Society also offers free programming throughout the month. This weekend's free offerings are: Prometheus Quartet will hold a free "musical prelude" at 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 7. An open rehearsal for Vaughn Williams' "Piano Quintet in C Minor" is 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 8. Kairos Piano Quartet will perform a free preview of Faurè’s "Piano Quartet No. 1 in C Minor" at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 8. Note: Registration is required for the free events.
July 31 - Aug. 29 | La Jolla Music Society, 7600 Fay Ave., La Jolla | Prices vary | MORE INFO
Greg Mendez, Maria BC and Aly Rowell
Local singer-songwriter Aly Rowell is about to release her new album, and two excellent singles are now available on Bandcamp. I've followed Rowell's work for the past few years, thanks to discovering her from the NPR Tiny Desk Contest. Her songwriting evokes a raw vulnerability and knack for storytelling, and the full-band sound on her new singles is an impressive development.
Rowell performs with Philadelphia indie musician Greg Mendez and Oakland ambient singer-songwriter Maria BC at Soda Bar. Rowell is the opening act, so be sure to get there on time.
7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 9 | Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights | $22.15 | MORE INFO
🎭 Theater
The Fairy Tale Monologues
Presented by Riot Productions at Moxie's intimate theater space, playwright, composer and performer Sarah Alida LeClair's "The Fairy Tale Monologues" is a feminist, musical spin on the lore of the Brothers Grimm. The musical won "Most Outstanding Premiere" at this year's San Diego Fringe Festival. In a recent interview with KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando, LeClair reflected on how both traditional folklore and Disney alike often reduce the power and agency of women — even killing off moms from the beginning. "Why did the Grimm Brothers and storytellers in general have to eliminate mothers in order for someone to be worthy of a story?" she said. "Why did we have to be written out as women?
7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 7-9 | Moxie Theatre, 6663 El Cajon Blvd., Rolando | $21.50 | MORE INFO
'ha ha ha ha ha ha ha'
This La Jolla Playhouse WOW Experience is an improvisational brew of clowning, performance, social experiment and public therapy — from the mind of Estonia-based performer Julia Masli. The production is wrapping its two-week run in San Diego, after appearances around the world, including the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Edinburgh Fringe, The Public Theatre, London's Soho Theatre and more. Each performance is entirely different, hinging on the unique problems Masli coaxes from her audience.
7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 5-9 | La Jolla Playhouse, 2910 La Jolla Village Drive, UC San Diego | $25-$59 | MORE INFO
'Hadestown: Teen Edition'
"Hadestown" is my favorite musical; singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell's retelling of the ancient myth of Orpheus and Eurydice intertwined with that of Hades and Persephone. Ovation Theatre in San Marcos presents the official Teen Edition, which is still a full-length production but with slightly modified vocal keys. The script maintains the often-challenging (and beautiful) storyline, but somewhat adjusted for younger audiences and performers — recommended for ages 10 and up. So if you've been waiting to share this musical with the young folk in your life, here's your chance.
Aug. 7-16 | Howard Brubeck Theatre, 1140 W. Mission Road., Palomar College | $27-$37.50 | MORE INFO
📚 Books
'Under the Perfect Sun' Book Talk
Some of the most eye-opening and captivating anecdotes and histories about San Diego sit within the pages of "Under the Perfect Sun," by Kelly Mayhew, Jim Miller and the late Mike Davis. Mayhew and Miller just celebrated the book's 20th anniversary with a new edition, and will discuss the book and the city's turbulent history with labor, activism, the military, injustice and corruption.
6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6 | San Diego History Center, 1649 El Prado., Ste. 3, Balboa Park | $15-$20 | MORE INFO
🍿 Film
CatVideoFest 2026
Why watch cat videos alone at home on your phone when you can watch them in community, on the big screen? And the San Diego stop on CatVideoFest's screening circuit supports a local feline nonprofit, Los Gatos De Barrio Logan. Launched in 2019, CatVideoFest is an annual, curated collection of the best, cutest and funniest cat videos, including submissions from cat owners, animation and cat-related music videos. The 70 minute screenings run through Thursday, Aug. 13.
7 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday, Aug. 7-9; through Aug. 13 | Digital Gym Cinema, 1100 Market St., downtown | $9-$13 | MORE INFO
🎉 Festivals and more
Chicano Block Party
California Center for the Arts Escondido hosts the second annual Chicano Block Party, with lowriders, live music, demonstrations and an art and printmaking fair to build your own local and indie art, book and zine collection. The festival coincides with "Amoxtlis," an immersive exhibit by José Hugo Sánchez featuring a massive series of printmaking banners, carved wooden sculptures and a mural inspired by Mesoamerican traditions, symbols and myth. Museum admission is free during the festival. Sánchez will work on a new mural in the exhibit during the block party.
11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8 | California Center for the Arts, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido | Free | MORE INFO
For more arts events and ongoing happenings, visit the KPBS/Arts Calendar.
