With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, romantics of the hopeless, hopeful and cynical variety can all find ways to embrace love in San Diego. Fans of live music and fine art can check out the Songs for Lovers jazz concert or the Love, Always and Love Letters 3 exhibitions. Those looking for a date idea can dine on wine and chocolate at Hearts & Vines or share Champagne and bites forty stories up during Valentine’s at the Top. Plus, find romance while running via the Coronado Valentine’s Day 10K, 5K & 1 Mile Fun Run. Whatever you choose, there’s plenty to keep you busy in San Diego this weekend.
Food & Drink | Concerts & Festivals | Theater & Art Exhibits | More Fun Things to Do
Food & Drink Events in San Diego This Weekend
Hearts & Vines at J. Brix Wines
February 13 & 14
Emily Towe and Jody Brix Towe of J. Brix Wines will be joined by Christophe Rull Patisserie owners Christophe and Wilma Rull for a culinary pop-up at North City this Friday and Saturday from 4:30-8 p.m. During Hearts & Vines, guests will receive curated wine selections, paired with handcrafted chocolates made exclusively for the event. VIP tickets are $50 per person and come with three unique pairings and the chance to converse with the Towes and Rulls and learn about their processes; a $35 walk-in experience is also available.
250 North City Drive, San Marcos
Valentine’s at the Top at the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego
February 13-15
Looking for a lofty Valentine’s experience for you and your special someone? This Friday-Sunday from 3-5 p.m., couples can take a trip to the 40th floor of the Manchester Grand Hyatt for Valentine’s at the Top. Patrons will receive a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Champagne and have their choice of artisanal flatbread, calabrese sausage or vegetable, as well as two dessert options: a strawberry red velvet heart cake or two chocolate-dipped long-stem strawberries. Reservations are $125 per couple.
1 Market Place, Embarcadero
Daygo Eatz
February 15
Black San Diego’s free annual culinary festival, Daygo Eatz, returns for year two this Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. This all-ages event in Encanto highlights local Black-owned businesses and includes games, yoga, an art walk, face painting, live performances, community resources and food from over 40 vendors. The delectable spread will include barbecue, burgers, soul food, homemade desserts, sweet drinks and more. RSVP for this free event on Eventbrite.
6785 Imperial Avenue, Encanto
Concerts & Festivals in San Diego This Weekend
SD Lunar New Year Festival at Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park
February 13-15
Ahead of the Year of the Fire Horse’s arrival on Feb. 17, welcome in a new Lunar New Year across a free three-day festival, taking place Friday (5-10 p.m.), Saturday (11 a.m. to 10 p.m.) and Sunday (11 a.m. to 8 p.m.) at Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park. The 16th annual SD Lunar New Year Festival promises Southeast Asian culinary vendors, an expansive cultural village, children’s art murals and an array of traditional entertainment, including lion and dragon dancers. The festivities will also include contests for pho eating, dumpling wrapping and bubble milk tea drinking, as well as crafts, carnival games and complimentary red envelopes.
4455 Wightman Street, City Heights
Songs for Lovers at Jacobs Music Center
February 14
San Diego trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos and master alto saxophonist Charles McPherson will lead a jazz ensemble this Saturday (7:30 p.m.) during Songs for Lovers at Jacobs Music Center. Part of the Jazz @ The Jacobs series, this concert will feature romantic renditions of songs by a handful of legendary artists, including Chet Baker, Sarah Vaughan, Clifford Brown, Charlie Parker and Dinah Washington. There will also be a pre-show performance by Castellanos’ Young Lions Jazz Conservatory at 6:30 p.m. Tickets range from $42 to $96 for this performance.
1245 Seventh Avenue, Downtown
Jason Mraz Foundation presents DREAM at CCAE
February 14 & 15
Dare to dream this weekend alongside Jason Mraz and five local performing arts nonprofits at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. DREAM marks The Jason Mraz Foundation’s third annual community concert to promote inclusive arts education, with this year’s event spotlighting Art of Elan, Arms Wide Open, San Diego Young Artists Music Academy, Culture Shock San Diego and PASACAT Philippine Performing Arts Company. Joining Mraz and various youth performers will be MILCK, Raul Midon and Albert Posis. Tickets are $31 online and $26 at the CCAE box office, with performances Saturday (7 p.m.) and Sunday (3 p.m.).
340 North Escondido Boulevard, Escondido
Black Comix Day 2026 at Worldbeat Cultural Center
February 14 & 15
Dive into the world of comic books, animation and cinema via African-American innovators during Black Comix Day 2026. This Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at WorldBeat Cultural Center, enjoy family-friendly activities and peruse the works of several writers and artists. The weekend programming will also include the panel Empowered: What is Afrofuturism? on Saturday (1-2 p.m.), with perspectives from Tuskegee Heirs co-creator Greg Brunham, writer Chris Robinson, manga artist Attoinette Van Sluytman and Josef Woods, owner of The Comic Den. RSVP for the festival here.
2100 Park Boulevard, Balboa Park
Presidents Day Jazz Festival at Humphreys Backstage Live
February 15
Smooth jazz is much more than just Kenny G cassettes and commercials for easy listening collections on late-night TV. See for yourself Sunday evening (6-10 p.m.) during the annual Presidents Day Jazz Festival at Humphreys Backstage Live. Singer and sax player Darryl Walker will lead a lineup that also features vocalists Cedrice and Stellita, DJ John Phillips and the SD Jazz All-Star Band. Ticket options for this 21+ concert include standing room entry ($24) and reserved tables ($34).
2241 Shelter Island Drive, Point Loma
Theater & Art Exhibits in San Diego This Weekend
The Recipe at La Jolla Playhouse
February 10 – March 22
Before Mastering the Art of French Cooking and inviting millions of viewers into her kitchen, Julia Child was just an ordinary girl from Pasadena, CA. Based on Bob Spitz’s DEARIE: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child and featuring a script cooked up by Broadway playwright Claudia Shear, The Recipe invites La Jolla Playhouse audiences to see Child’s culinary transformation. Tickets start at $30, with limited seats still available for performances this Tuesday (7:30 p.m.), Wednesday (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday (8 p.m.); best ticket availability is from March 13-22 and additional tickets may be released closer to future performance dates.
2910 La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla
Mark Twain Tonight! at Balboa Theatre
February 12
For over 60 years, Hal Holbrook celebrated the ingenuity of Samuel Langhorne Clemens through his one-man show Mark Twain Tonight! Now, actor Richard Thomas has donned Twain’s white mustache, hairpiece and three-piece suit for a nationwide revival of the show, with a one-night-only performance this Thursday (7:30 p.m.) at Balboa Theatre. Mark Twain Tonight! covers a selection of the author’s most notable writings, inviting both literary novices and absolute Twainiacs to experience his pen in person. Tickets start at $61 for this performance.
868 Fourth Avenue, Gaslamp
The Barber of Seville at Civic Theatre
February 13-15
See a comedic love story play out on stage during the San Diego Opera’s production of The Barber of Seville. Composed by Gioachino Rossini in 1816, this story follows Figaro, the titular barber, and his attempts to set up Count Almaviva with the betrothed Rosina. The Barber of Seville will be sung in Italian, and feature English and Spanish translations, with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra performing the score – a tour de force that over the years has appeared in everything from Seinfeld (“The Barber”) to Looney Tunes (“Rabbit of Seville”). Tickets start at $47, with performances Friday (7:30 p.m.), Saturday (7:30 p.m.) and Sunday (2 p.m.).
1100 Third Avenue, Gaslamp
Love, Always at Sew Loka
February 14
This Saturday from noon to 8 p.m., Sew Loka will host a free pop-up to commemorate the shop’s 13th anniversary and Selena Idioma’s debut solo art show, Love, Always. Attendees can check out the paintings on display, create mini portraits and write letters through interactive art stations, and grab an exclusive cut & sew tote bag handcrafted by Sew Loka herself (Clauda Rodriguez-Biezunski) and featuring a design by Idioma (only 50 are available). The event will also include jams from Beazie Beats and drinks for sale from Eighteen Cities Coffee Roasters.
2113 Logan Avenue, Barrio Logan
Love Letters 3 at Distinction Gallery
February 14 – March 7
View love with an artistic vision through the Love Letters 3 exhibition, opening Saturday at Distinction Gallery. Pain, infatuation and bliss are just some of the emotions evoked by the works in the exhibition, crafted by members of the San Diego-based Divergence Art Collective. Though all of the artwork in Love Letters 3 is centered on a Valentine’s theme, it serves as proof of love’s uniquely vast definitions. This exhibition will have a free, all-ages opening reception this Saturday from 6-10 p.m. with live music and libations for purchase from LastSpot.
317 East Grand Avenue, Escondido
Graciela Iturbide: Photographs from Colecciones Fundación Mapfre at MOPA@SDMA
February 14 – June 7
View 150 images taken throughout Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide’s career during Photographs from Colecciones Fundación Mapfre, opening Saturday inside the Museum of Photographic Arts at San Diego Museum of Art. The collection on display, organized by Fundación Mapfre, includes stark, black-and-white photos taken in Iturbide’s homeland as well as snapshots from her globe-trotting adventures and forays into abstract imagery. Through her decades of experience, Iturbide has become one of Latin America’s preeminent photographers, lauded for her empathetic documentation of seldom portrayed peoples, customs and cultures.
1649 El Prado, Balboa Park
More Fun Things To Do in San Diego This Weekend
Cupid’s Skate Party at Gallagher Square
February 12-15
Glide through the inaugural Cupid’s Skate Party, taking over Gallagher Square for four days of romance on wheels this Thursday-Sunday. The experience will include photo ops, a live DJ, floral bouquet stations and a marketplace to shop chocolates, candles, jewelry and more. There will also be themed days, with Friday celebrating Galentine’s Night after-dark (8-10 p.m.) and Sunday being Family Day at the rink. Entry is $12 per person, with add-on options for a two-hour skating session with rentals included ($15) and a nightcap for two in the Diamond Room cocktail lounge ($35).
899 J Street, Downtown
Modernism Week 2026
February 12-22
Study the design heritage of Palm Springs as the city celebrates Modernism Week 2026, an exploration of architecture, cultural sites and midcentury art. The 11-day programming features hundreds of activities, such as home, neighborhood and bus tours, plus art shows, screenings and parties. Special events happening this week include the Modernist Motown opening night party Thursday night ($350), the Trini Lopez Museum cocktail party Friday afternoon ($75) and the world premiere of Jake Gorst’s documentary GOOGIE Saturday evening ($30-$125). The full activity schedule can be viewed online, with tickets ranging from free to $350.
Palm Springs
Secret Society of Adultologists: Love Bites at The Nat
February 13
This Friday (the 13th) at the San Diego Natural History Museum, the Secret Society of Adultologists are convening for Love Bites, a 21+ Valentine’s soiree. From 7-11 p.m., there will be cumbia tunes from La Diabla, tarot card readings, a scavenger hunt, caricature drawings and the chance to make Valentine’s and Galentine’s cards. Attendees can also learn about the intricacies of romance among wildlife and enjoy bites from Wolf in the Woods and The Craft Taco for purchase. Admission is $35 for museum members and $45 for the general public.
1788 El Prado, Balboa Park
PARTNER CONTENT
Coronado Valentine’s Day 10K, 5K & 1 Mile Fun Run
February 15
Do you love to run or run to love? Either way, the Coronado Valentine’s Day 10K, 5K & 1 Mile Fun Run on Sunday morning is an invitation to exercise with love in the air, whether you’re racing solo or beside your loved ones. Taking off from Tidelands Park, this event will feature match making, a free mass wedding vow renewal and a post-race party with live music, entertainment and food vendors. Registration is $66 for the 5K ($117 for couples), $98 for the 10K ($175 for couples) and $39 for the 1 Mile Fun Run; all participants will receive a long-sleeve T-shirt, a heart gem finisher’s medal and a relationship status bib.
2000 Mullinex Drive, Coronado
