Festivals and Events

Festivals and Events

Winter

Dec.

Balboa Park December Nights (619/239-0512. www.balboapark.org) draws 100,000 guests on the first Friday and Saturday of December. Attractions include carolers, holiday food, music, dance, handmade crafts, a visit from Saint Nick, a candlelight procession, and free admission to all the museums.

The Ocean Beach Parade and Tree Festival (619/226-8613) takes place on Newport Avenue, generally the second weekend in December. The Ocean Beach Geriatric Surf Club tops any entry in any parade, anywhere.

Old Town Holiday in the Park (619/220-5422) includes candlelight tours of historic homes and other buildings in Old Town by costumed docents; reservations are recommended.

The Port of San Diego Bay Parade of Lights (619/224-2240 Oct.-Dec. only. www.sdparadeoflights.org) fills the harbor with lighted boats cruising in a procession that begins at Shelter Island and ends at the Coronado Ferry Landing Marketplace.

The Wild Animal Park Festival of Lights (760/796-5621) includes free children's activities, Christmas caroling, live-animal presentations, and real snow.

Jan.

The Buick Invitational (619/281-4653. www.buickinvitational.com), a major golf event since the 1950s, attracts more than 100,000 people, including local and national celebrities, to the Torrey Pines Municipal Golf Course.

Spring

Feb.-Mar.

Mardi Gras in the Gaslamp Quarter (619/233-5227. www.gaslamp.org). This Fat Tuesday celebration features live music on several outdoor stages and traditional cajun food and drink.

Feb.-Apr..

Wildflowers at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (760/767-5311; 760/767-4684 wildflower hotline. www.anzaborrego.statepark.org) are in bloom during these months. They are at their peak only for a two-week period, which varies according to winter rainfall. Phone the hotline for information.

Mar.

The Kiwanis Ocean Beach Kite Festival (619/531-1527) features a kite-making, decorating, and flying contest, plus a craft fair, food, and entertainment.

Mar.-mid-May

Tiptoe through fields of brilliantly colored ranunculuses. They're arranged rainbow-fashion on a hillside at Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch (760/431-0352. www.theflowerfields.com) in Carlsbad.

Apr.

The ArtWalk Festival (619/615-1090. www.artwalkinfo.com) showcases visual and performing artists in their studios and in staged areas; self-guided tours start downtown in Little Italy.

The San Diego Crew Classic (619/225-0300. www.crewclassic.org) brings together more than 3,000 high school, college, and masters athletes from across the United States for a rowing competition at Crown Point Shores in Mission Bay.

Apr.-May.

Humming along for more than 30 years, the Adams Avenue Roots Festival (619/282-7329. www.gothere.com/adamsave) is a free weekend festival of vintage blues, folk, jazz, country, cowboy, and international music on six outdoor stages.

The Del Mar National Horse Show (858/792-4288. www.sdfair.com) at the Del Mar Fairgrounds showcases national and international championship riders and horses in western week, dressage week, and hunter-jumper week competitions.

May

Julian Wildflower Show (760/765-1857. www.julianca.com) is an annual display of wildflowers gathered within a 15-mi radius of the mountain town, and usually includes desert blooms.

Old Town Fiesta Cinco de Mayo (619/296-3236. www.oldtownguide.com), at Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, commemorates Mexico's defeat of Napoleon's cavalry during the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Besides a historic reenactment, there's plenty of food and music and dance events celebrating Latino culture.

Summer

June

A Taste of the Gaslamp (619/233-5227. www.gaslamp.org) is a weekend of gastronomy; pick up your ticket and a map of participating restaurants and go from door to door sampling the house specialties of the Gaslamp Quarter's best chefs.

The Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival (951/676-6713. www.tvbwf.com), a weekend event at the Lake Skinner Recreation Area in Riverside County, is a chance to taste the area's wines, ride a hot-air balloon over the vineyards in the morning, and watch an evening balloon glow.

June-July

San Diego County Fair (858/793-5555. www.sdfair.com) is a classic county fair at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, with live entertainment, flower and garden shows, a carnival, livestock shows, and Fourth of July fireworks.

June-Aug.

TGIF Jazz-in-the-Parks (760/434-2904) series features free live performances at various parks in the Carlsbad area; call for a schedule.

During the Summer Organ Festival (619/702-8138. www.sosorgan.com), enjoy free Monday-evening concerts under the stars at Balboa Park's Spreckels Organ Pavilion, in addition to the free year-round Sunday afternoon concerts.

June-Sept.

The Nighttime Zoo (619/234-3153. www.sandiegozoo.org) at the San Diego Zoo and the Park at Dark (760/796-5621. www.wildanimalpark.com) at the San Diego Wild Animal Park are wild ways to spend the evening, with extended evening hours and additional entertainment through the beginning of September.

The Globe's Summer Shakespeare Festival (619/234-5623. www.theoldglobe.org), at the outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre in Balboa Park, features works of Shakespeare in repertory with other classic and contemporary plays.

July

Patriots observe the July 4th Coronado Independence Day (619/437-8788) with a 15-km run, a 5-km run/walk, a parade, U.S. Navy air-sea demonstrations, and fireworks over Glorietta Bay.

The annual lesbian and gay Pride Parade, Rally, and Festival (619/297-7683. www.sdpride.org) is a weekend of entertainment in Hillcrest and Balboa Park.

U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition (619/424-6663) at Imperial Beach Pier brings together sand sculptors of all ages for one of the largest castle-building events in the United States.

July-Sept.

The San Diego Symphony Summer Pops (619/235-0804. www.sandiegosymphony.com) series, with occasional fireworks, swings Friday and Saturday nights at Embarcadero Marina Park South.

Aug.

The La Jolla SummerFest (858/459-3728. www.lajollamusicsociety.org) chamber music festival includes concerts, lectures, master classes, and open rehearsals, mainly in La Jolla but also in downtown San Diego.

Street Scene (619/236-1212. www.street-scene.com), a weekend urban music festival with food, rollicks with 100 bands from around the world performing on various stages outside Qualcomm Stadium.

Fall

Sept.

The free annual Adams Avenue Street Fair (619/282-7329. www.gothere.com/adamsave) attracts 50,000 jazz, blues, and rock fans to the Normal Heights neighborhood for concerts on five stages, food, games, and a carnival. The largest event of its type in Southern California, it's popular with families.

The Cabrillo Festival (619/557-5450. www.nps.gov/cabr) at Cabrillo National Monument in Point Loma commemorates Juan Rodríquez Cabrillo's exploration of the West Coast with a week's worth of activities.

Oct.

Oktoberfest in La Mesa (619/440-6161. www.eastcountychamber.org) is a traditional celebration featuring German sausages, Bavarian brass oompah bands, dancing, and arts and crafts.

Nov.

Holiday of Lights (858/793-5555. www.sdfair.com), from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day, showcases more than 350 animated and lighted holiday displays in a drive-through setting at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

El Cajon's Mother Goose Parade (619/444-8712. www.mothergooseparade.com) is a two-hour nationally televised spectacular with 200 floats, bands, horses, and clowns. It takes place the Sunday before Thanksgiving.