There’s long anniversaries and short ones this San Diego weekend. Any excuse to celebrate, right? Meanwhile, if you’re an art fan, whew, do we have a collection for you – and it’s making its West Coast debut.
Those blessed with green thumbs may head to Mission Valley’s Scottish Rite Events Center for the San Diego County Orchid Society‘s international show beginning at 3 p.m. Friday. Collectors and vendors will offer large-scale displays featuring top specimens, local hybrids and rare species. Growers also will present hundreds of plants for judging and offer advice for those who want to start. Admission for the three-day affair is $10 for one day or $12 for the weekend.
San Diego Dance Theater has decades of history behind it, and “Belonging: A Place for Everyone,” pays tribute to those years with three shows beginning Friday. The works, by four choreographers, including two premieres, take place at the Light Box Theater at Liberty Station. The Friday and Saturday shows start at 7:30 p.m., while Sunday’s begins at 2:30 p.m. General admission costs $30.
The San Diego Storytellers Festival, at the Coronado Library, features naturally, storytelling and workshops on how best to make it happen, whether for yourself or your loved ones. The free fest, in honor of World Storytelling Day, opens at 10 a.m. It includes three sessions tailored specially for kids, and two others giving voice to veterans and those who wish to promote Chinese culture.
Speaking of Liberty Station, six years ago, Liberty Public Market found itself on the leading edge of the open-market trend. The popular foodie destination celebrates its sixth anniversary starting at 11 a.m. Saturday. There’s “Bottlecraft Bingo” by one of the market’s top vendors, a raffle and live music from noon to 3 p.m. Admission is free.
Rising prices may be seriously cutting into your travel ambitions, so take a mini-European tour via Balboa Park. The San Diego Museum of Art opens Monet to Matisse: Impressionist Masterpieces from the Bemberg Foundation at noon Saturday, with over 75 artworks by masters including Cezanne, Matisse, Monet and Picasso. The exhibit touches on many movements, from Impressionism to Fauvism. Better yet? The collection, from France, seldom tours. The show, on the West Coast for the first time, continues through Aug. 7.
Rock for a cause at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park Saturday. Musicians will gather at 5:30 p.m. for the free “Music Tribute to Peace, Dignity and Democracy.” The concert, with covers of artists from the Beatles to AC/DC, aims to raise funds for relief in Ukraine.
The (mostly) free Rolando Street Fair returns at 10 a.m. Sunday. The fest features more than 100 vendors, live music – including Whitney Shay, a former “Artist of the Year at the San Diego Music Awards – community performances and a $5 kids’ zone with a climbing wall, games and bouncy houses. Fan out from Rolando Boulevard at El Cajon Boulevard.