San Diego Weekend Guide: March 14-16 – Blarney & Blossoms

Cherry blossoms or four-leaf clovers? Don’t choose this San Diego weekend – indulge in both!

Other people’s rain pain is (maybe?) San Diego’s gain. The Kneeboard Surfing USA Titles and Kneeboard Festival opens at 7 a.m. Friday at Oceanside Harbor’s South Jetty. The event, originally set for Feb. 14 in Huntington Beach, had to be rescheduled due to stormy weather, but, whoops, now rain is in our Friday forecast. Fingers crossed for the fest, because in addition to crowning a U.S. champion, it’s a qualifier for an event in Brazil in 2026.

San Diego’s Cherry Blossom Festival continues Friday as the event celebrates its 20th anniversary. Take in the flowering trees – officials say 40% of them are covered in blooms – and the dancing, taiko drumming, wall of lanterns, workshops and beer and sake garden too. The fest opens at 11 a.m. each day through Sunday at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park. Admission costs $20.

San Diego’s 43rd annual St. Patrick’s Day festivities begin near Balboa Park Saturday. The Irish Festival opens at 9 a.m. with live entertainment throughout the day, but the crowd will surge at 10:30 a.m. when the parade starts on Fifth Avenue and Laurel Street. The fest has an expanded kids area this year, with the entire venue open to all ages. Festival tickets cost $10.

Other ways to go green this weekend? Try three free fests:

• Del Mar Plaza – “St. Paddy’s by the Sea,” at 1 p.m. Saturday, includes performances by Keefer & Rob and the Chauncey Gardners, along with music, games and ocean views too.
• Seaport Village – “Leprechauns and Live Music,” at noon Sunday, features eats and Irish tunes in the west courtyard and shamrock light tunnels for selfies at the pond.
• Witch Creek Wine + Coffee – Enjoy a day of music at the Carlsbad winery headlined by the LeperKhanz, commemorating the 20th anniversary of their album Tiocfaidh  Ár Lá. Performances start at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

SeaWorld San Diego opens “Jewels of the Sea: The Jellyfish Experience” at 10 a.m. Saturday. New exhibits include the “Realm of Jellies,” a play with water and light to display the intricacies of jellyfish, the “Jelly Passage,” a 10-foot living archway of moon jellies, and the “Medusa Gallery,” a digital adventure, exploring the ocean through the eyes of a jellyfish.” The Seven Seas Food Festival continues as well. Single-day park admission this weekend starts at $80, but it drops to $60 for some mid-week days.

The San Diego History Center hosts the free Women’s History Fair at 10 a.m. Saturday. Take a tour, at 10 a.m. or 2 p.m., as guides shine a light on the contributions of women to Balboa Park history. Tours meet at the Bea Evenson Fountain.

Beach House in Mission Beach will host the HAGS Festival – for the uninitiated that’s “Have a Great Spring” – with performances by Emmit Fenn, Sistek, Kimonos, No Suits and Justjoe. The fest opens at 2 p.m. Saturday and general admission is $69. Doors open at 2 p.m. for a 21-and-up crowd.