San Diego Weekend Guide: May 21-23 – Outdoor Stages

 

Get a glimpse of a new San Diego venue via stream – the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, with a backdrop of the downtown waterfront. Photo by Chris Jennewein

Dance, dance, dance, dance. (Old-school trivia: This is from what song?)

Anyway, we digress. This San Diego weekend, enjoy two in-person dance performances – not disco though (trivia hint!) – a notable first, a film festival and one happy return.

That would be the New Children’s Museum, which re-opens at 9 a.m. Friday. The venue will open in phases, with three-hour morning and afternoon blocks Fridays Saturdays and Sundays. Look for a new “outdoor experience” at the museum park near Island Avenue too.

The GI Film Festival San Diego, with military-themed features and shorts, continues virtually through Sunday. Festival organizers lined up 38 films representing a variety of military experiences, from women and Blacks in the service to growth following post-traumatic stress to historical depictions of conflicts. Watch screenings live or on demand for $10 each or $40 for a five-show pass.

San Diego Dance Theater returns to in-person dance at the “Dance Is in the Air Festival” at the new outdoor stage at Arts District Liberty Station on the South Promenade. The theater presents “Other Times, Other Places,” at 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The festival continues through June with performances by festival partners Malashock Dance and the San Diego Ballet. Tickets cost $30.

Catch two live streams from the Belly Up in Solana Beach. At 7 p.m. Friday, slenderbodies take the stage for their “are we?” release. At 2 p.m. Sunday, the Romeros Quartet – Pepe, Celin, Celino and Lito – celebrate 60 years of their family’s classical and rock guitar legacy. Tickets for Friday cost $15, while the Romeros show, available on demand through May 30, costs $20.

See a stream Friday of the first San Diego Symphony concert to be recorded at the new Rady Shell at Jacobs Park. The program, “What’s That Sound?,” will be led by Music Director Rafael Payare on the Embarcadero. It includes composers Mozart and Wagner. Tickets for the 7 p.m. stream cost $25.

Mooch alert: Got friends going to Scoop San Diego, the drive-thru ice cream festival at Balboa Park on Saturday? Hitch a ride – they owe you, right? – because those tickets are gone.

Another last chance – “Einstein Comes Through” from North Coast Repertory Theatre in its final weekend. The play tells the story of Hank, not a calm fellow, who channels a few people, including one Albert Einstein. Catch the stream on Showtix4U through Sunday. Tickets, at $35-$54 per household, may be purchased online.

And for our final dance entry, City Ballet presents a free performance at 4 p.m. Sunday as part of the First Presbyterian Church Arts Series. Soloists from the ballet and the Westminster Choir will appear in the sanctuary of the church at 320 Date St.

We don’t forget trivia at Weekend Guide. Here’s your disco answer.