San Diego Weekend Guide: Sept. 27-29 – Sky High

Whether by land, or far up above, this San Diego weekend tap into some of the region’s best, with the debut of a revamped downtown venue and an Oktoberfest preview too.

Reminder: You have three more days to tap into San Diego Restaurant Week deals, which start at $20. And though the event concludes, technically, on Sunday – open secret – some eateries will extend offers beyond the official final day. So be on the lookout …

Look to the skies for a signature San Diego show. The three-day Miramar Air Show begins at 8 a.m. Friday with demonstrations and performers, including the Marine Corps’ F-35B, the Red Bull Air Force, MV-22, a P-51D heritage flight, the Navy Blue Angels and much more at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Try the Innovation and Tech Expo too. Entry is free, but for seating, tickets start at $20.

The Mission Bayfest begins at 4 p.m. Friday at Mariners Point Park on Mission Bay for three days of the best in reggae. Friday’s top performers include Stick Figure and Tribal Seeds; on Saturday, look for Iration, Pepper, Rome & Duddy and Iam Tongi and Sunday, Cypress Hill and Wiz Khalifa lead the slate. Tickets start at $60 for single-day admission and $185 for the whole fest.

The San Diego Dance Theater makes transit a little brighter Saturday and Sunday at the 26th annual Trolley Dances. This year’s edition features performances by 50 dancers at various trolley stops along the Green Line, beginning at Old Town and heading to the Gaslamp Quarter, Convention Center and Seaport Village. Tickets cost $40 for the shows, with staggered times from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The free La Jolla Art and Wine Festival begins a two-day stint along Girard Avenue at 10 a.m. Saturday. Try local craft beer and libations in the wine and beer garden while listening to live music. Also explore food vendors, the Geppetto’s Toys family art center, pet adoptions and a silent auction. In addition, the featured artist this year is Roy Kerckhoffs, among 170 with works being exhibited at the fest.

Simone Biles brought her tour to Oceanside last week and more Olympians drop in at Viejas Arena for AVP League volleyball. U.S. Olympians Chase Budinger, Miles Evans, Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes and 2021 Olympic Gold Medalists Alix Klineman and April Ross are among those competing at the new beach volleyball concept, with sand trucked in to the arena. Matches begin at 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. General admission is $32.

To mark the opening of the Jacobs Music Center, at 6 p.m. Saturday, the San Diego Symphony, with conductor Rafael Payare, performs with multiple guests. Only balcony tickets, at $89, remain, but at 11 a.m. Sunday, the symphony hosts the free “Day of Music” to celebrate the milestone. See more than a dozen performers at the open house for the center, at 1245 Seventh Ave., among them the 1st Marine Division Band, Voices of Our City Choir and Orquesta de Baja California. Register for tickets to the Sunday event online.

Let the Oktoberfest goodness begin! Get ahead of the crowd as the Chamber of Commerce and Visit Encinitas host the free Encinitas Oktoberfest and Artisan Faire with Bavarian music, dance troupes, and 130 exhibitors, with art, food and beer, at 11 a.m. Sunday. A parade is set for noon. Head to Mountain Vista Drive off El Camino Real between Wandering Road and Rambling Road.

Try the neighborhood’s best at the inaugural Taste of College Area, near San Diego State University, with more than 25 local businesses participating along El Cajon Boulevard. Tickets cost $40 online or $45 on-site. Start hitting the restaurants at 11 a.m. Sunday.