San Diego Weekend Guide: April 26-28 – Cocktails & Crowns

This San Diego weekend, there’s art, music and street fairs, a party for a king (really!) and cocktails and cheese. What more could you want?

First up, two art extravaganzas, in Balboa Park and Little Italy:

• Art Alive, an event in which flowers are used to represent great works of art, continues at the San Diego Museum of Art Saturday and Sunday. See installations, live performances and more with the focus on the art of India. Tickets cost $40.
• ArtWalk, celebrating its 40th anniversary, makes its Little Italy stop Saturday and Sunday with dozens of artists selling their wares from booths on the street and interactive projects for art fans to join in too. Stroll the fair for free.

The free Linda Vista Multi-Cultural Fair and Parade features music from Divina, SM Familia and Kekoa, cultural exhibits and performances and a beer garden. Head to Linda Vista Road between Comstock and Ulric streets at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Adams Avenue Unplugged includes more than 60 free performances inside restaurants, bars and coffee houses along a two-mile stretch of Adams from University Heights to Kensington. Beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday, the day includes the headliners, the California Guitar Trio, who will be at Normal Heights United Church at 7 p.m. Saturday. That event requires tickets, at $25 each. The church also hosts the Main Stage and a Community Beer Garden.

Say cheese! Brick at Liberty Station hosts the Liquid City Cheese Expo with breweries, coffee roasters, distillers and kombucha and cider makers offering one-off collaborations and demonstrations with heralded cheesemakers from across the country. General admission costs $95, with two sessions to choose from, at 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday.

We don’t have kings in these parts (fought a little war to avoid that), but we’ve always found royalty a little curious here stateside. Practice a little diplomacy at San Diego King’s Day at 1 p.m. Sunday as the Dutch Business Community of San Diego celebrates the birthday of Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands. There will be music and food at San Dieguito County Park, 1628 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, for the occasion. Wear your orange best!

A group of 21 restaurants and bars take part in the inaugural San Diego Cocktail Championship at 2 p.m. Sunday as part of a Gaslamp Quarter block party, with guests sampling and voting for their favorites. Entrants include Monarch Ocean Pub in Del Mar, the Whiskey House in downtown, Ponce’s in Kensington, Cococabana in Oceanside, Fernside in South Park and more from across the county. General admission to the 5th Avenue party is $49. All voters are automatically registered to win $2,100 worth of gift cards.