San Diego Weekend Guide: Jan. 24-26 – Dance & Dine

Give a nod to the past and the future this San Diego weekend. On the one hand, honor a war hero from the past and celebrate one of the nation’s foremost dance talents. On the other, shift from the Year of the Dragon to (drum roll) …

The Year of the Snake! The San Diego Lunar New Year Festival opens Friday at Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park in City Heights with folk and traditional performances, lion dances, cherry blossoms, eating and cooking contests, firecrackers and more family fun. The free event begins at 5 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The Disney on Ice: Magic in the Stars continues at 7 p.m. Friday with five more shows, including matinees, through Sunday at Pechanga Arena. The tour features favorites from Aladdin, Encanto, Frozen and the Princess and the Frog. Tickets start at $26.

Like to catch up with local talent?

• Lou Lou’s Jungle Room at the Lafayette Hotel in North Park hosts San Diego Music Award winner Gilbert Castellanos & the New Latin Jazz Sextet at 9 p.m. Friday.
• “We Love San Diego” at WNDR Museum celebrates WNDR’s two years in San Diego. Some of the city’s best DJs, artists and vendors join in at 6 p.m. Saturday.

The community pool is re-opening at Border View Family YMCA in Otay Mesa West so why not throw a pool party? There will be music, food, giveaways and a chance to register for swim lessons from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday.

There’s another chance to honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, this time in Encanto at 9 a.m. Saturday. That’s when a parade starts along Skyline Drive between Valencia Parkway and 65th Street leading to the recreation center that bears the late civil rights leader’s name. With the end of the parade, the free MLK Community Celebration and Sportsfest begins at 11 a.m. with live music and entertainment, kids zone, health and wellness pavilion, food and a youth basketball showcase.

The Martha Graham Dance Company brings Graham100, the company’s 100th anniversary tour, to the San Diego Civic Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. They will perform three works, including the much-heralded Graham’s own “Appalachian Spring.” Tickets start at $44.

There will be a plaque dedication at Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial at 1 p.m. Sunday for the late Medal of Honor recipient, Navy Cmdr. Clyde E. Lassen. It includes a helicopter flyover for Lassen, who received the honor due to his heroics as a chopper pilot on a search-and-rescue mission in Vietnam in 1968.

San Diego Restaurant Week, starting Sunday, is for foodies and bargain hunters alike. It works like this – eateries throughout the region offer special prix fixe menus at a variety of price points for lunch and dinner, sure, but in some cases for brunch and cocktails too. Multi-course menus start at $30 and range to above $70. Search your options by restaurant, location, cuisine and more.