Want to have a super time (wink, wink) this San Diego weekend? We’ve got ideas for you in the many hours leading up to that big show starring Usher and lots of fancy commercials (we kid, we kid).
The 2024 San Diego Lunar New Year Festival opens at 5 p.m. Friday at Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park, and the free party for the Year of the Dragon goes on all weekend. Enjoy folk and traditional performances, arts and cultural exhibitions, lion and dragon dances, cherry blossom trees, lotus flowers, celebrations with firecrackers and more. The fest opens Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m.
Barbie has been having a moment, sparked by the blockbuster hit film from last summer. Her Barbie Truck Dreamhouse Living Tour comes to Chula Vista all day Saturday, arriving at 10 a.m. at Otay Ranch Town Center’s Food Court entrance. Aside from the Oscar-nominated flick, she is celebrating an anniversary – the 60th anniversary of moving into her first Dreamhouse – and naturally, there will be exclusive merchandise to mark the occasion.
Whether it’s a big go-to because it’s almost Valentine’s Day or duh, chocolate, the Escondido Chocolate Festival is guaranteed to sell out. And, of course, it has. But – and it’s a good but! – tickets for chocolate-making classes at Fusion Esco remain, one at 11 a.m. and another at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. The fest, if you can swing it, begins at noon in downtown Escondido along Grand Avenue.
Bottlecraft in Little Italy hosts a special Russian River Brewing Company tap takeover at 2 p.m. Saturday with one mystery beer – only certain bars and breweries are granted a keg. The catch? Bottlecraft agrees not to name the beer ahead of time, though in-the-know Russian River fans typically ferret out the selection based on the time of year. There’s a second-chance opportunity too and on Valentine’s Day: Bottlecraft in North Park will have the same mystery beer at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Face it, most of us aren’t very graceful or athletic. Dare we say, we’re kooky? So while those rather athletic blokes work hard over in Vegas on Sunday, you can dress up and head out to the Kook Run in Encinitas, for at least the 5K, and hey, why not the 10K? The finish line festival will feature live music, a beer garden, local vendors and games. Fees start at $55 for adults. Note: Make a weekend of it and take the young’uns for the Junior Kook at the Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA Saturday.
Of course, that event in Vegas might be the highlight of your weekend. It’s one thing to choose a sports bar, but if you’re in San Diego and looking for like-minded folks because you’re a 49ers or Chiefs diehard, here’s a couple choices for where to be at 3:30 p.m. Sunday:
- San Francisco fans – Moonshine Beach, 1165 Garnet Ave, in Pacific Beach hosts a 49ers
watch party for Super Bowl LVIII as will Bootlegger, 804 Market St., which welcomes official 49ers fan chapter San Diego Gold Rush. - Kansas City fans – Kansas City Barbeque, 600 W. Harbor Drive, near the Embarcadero, naturally leans toward the Chiefs, while Old Town’s Home & Away, 2222 San Diego Ave. is also a fine choice for Super Bowl LVIII.