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San Diego is welcoming the second month of the year with open arms and, as an added bonus, 50 percent off admission to more than 55 museums across the county. Dubbed the “Museum Month” of 2023, February calls for a visit to historic sites, aquariums, and libraries, including the museums at Balboa Park, the Comic-Con Museum, and the Institute of Contemporary Art.
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Mozart will live on forever—or at least for two more evenings this month—as Filipino-Finnish conductor Tarmo Peltokoski (who is only 22 years old) and violinist Jeff Thayer bring the late composer’s Strassburg concerto to life. Held at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido, the concert also features Jean Sibelius’s ode to Finland and Kaija Saariaho’s Ciel d’hiver.
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The 40th annual Chinese New Year Fair is hitting the streets of downtown at the Asian Thematic District, formerly known as the old Chinatown of San Diego, at the intersection of Third Avenue and J Street. To ring in the Lunar New Year, the free, two-day festival features a variety of food and commercial booths. Expect street performances and vendors selling pan-Asian food, art, and more.
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Broadway veteran and San Diego native Jeremy McQueen brings his Emmy Award–winning, New York City–based ballet collaborative The Black Iris Project to San Diego and The Balboa Theatre for the West Coast premiere of two original ballets: “WILD” and “A Mother’s Rite.” Audience members are encouraged to wear all-black attire in honor of Black lives and Black History Month.
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Performed in Italian (don’t worry, English text is displayed above the stage), “The Puccini Duo: Suor Angelica & Gianni Schicchi” brings two one-act operas to the San Diego Civic Theatre. The former tells a story of “tragedy, forgiveness and peace,” while the latter, an obscure satire, takes after a story included in Dante’s Inferno.
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At the La Jolla Playhouse, The Outsiders gets an adaptation from S.E. Hinton’s novel and Francis Ford Coppola’s film. Since the play will run through April 2, you’ll have plenty of time to watch this world premiere musical set in 1967 Tulsa, OK, following the “hardened hearts, aching souls and romantic dreams” of a band of greasers, including Ponyboy Curtis and Johnny Cade.
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In honor of Museum Month (which you already know about), take a peek at the Mingei International Museum’s art series on display titled, This is Our Story. Self-taught artists—from all over the U.S. with varying levels of training and education—turn to art for anything but academic purposes. Connect with someone else and try to decipher each artwork’s unique story together.
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With all of her elegance and glamour, Dita Von Teese, arguably the most successful burlesque performer since Gypsy Rose Lee, is bringing her Swarovski-crystal-covered corsets to The Magnolia in El Cajon during her 2023 tour, Glamonatrix.
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Inspired by the children’s series of the same name, Bluey’s Big Play is taking the stage at the Balboa Theatre. A “vibrant and educational production,” the performance will have you and yours sing along to new songs specially produced for the show. With vivid and playful puppetry, this outing makes the perfect first theater experience for the kiddos.
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Balboa Park’s Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) has something captivating on display: the Sony World Photography Awards. Going on its 15th year, the awards present four competitions, including professional, open, youth, and student. Showcasing images from across the globe through April, MOPA is the first venue in the country to exhibit these accolades. Go us.
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Newsflash: National Geographic is making time travel possible. Sort of. From now until the end of March, we’re going back in time 3,000 years at Beyond King Tut: The Immersive Experience at the Wyland Center at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. A cinematic feature, the exhibit takes us to Egypt to witness wonders like the Great Sphinx and pyramids of Giza without having to leave town. Bon voyage.
