San Diego Weekend Guide: Jan. 12-15 – MLK Day Edition

Drops. Drummers. Dances. This (long) San Diego weekend, think Triple D, and we don’t mean in a Guy Fieri kinda way (though there is food involved).

La Jolla’s Georges at the Cove, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2024, this week introduced a new weekday Happy Hour that continues through Feb. 29. So open up your weekend from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Friday by enjoying half off all beers and all wines by the glass, as well as $10 Terrace Margaritas. Food specials include $5 parmesan herb fries, $6 chips and salsa, $10 Caesar salad, $12 shrimp and more.

Baseball is the main event at Petco Park, with a sideline in concerts and special events like the Links. Add the San Diego Rodeo to the list. It begins a three-day stint at 7:30 p.m. Friday with three-time World Champion Bareback Rider Tim O’Connell, as well as Rocker Steiner, Stetson Wright, Josh Frost, Zeke Thurston and Jackie Hobbs-Crawford. At stake? More than half a million dollars in prize money. Saturday is sold out, but tickets remain for Friday and Sunday, starting at $35 (as for the drop mentioned above – it’s a rodeo term. Look it up!).

Dip into culture at Balboa Park with theater and music:

• Discover fresh new stage talent at the Old Globe’s 11th annual Powers New Voices Festival. The free three-day event, with readings of 10 new American plays, opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday with “Celebrating Community Voices,” an evening of six 10-minute works by local playwrights. Complimentary tickets (which are limited) for the fest, at the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, can be obtained online or by calling the Old Globe.
• Drummers without Borders led by Felix Diaz and his sons Silvio and Abril seek to make an impact through collaboration. They perform at the Mingei International Museum at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Tickets start at $35.

Big Salsa Festival San Diego continues its four-day stay at the San Diego Marriott Mission Valley at 2 p.m. Friday. Try dance classes or watch performances, then enjoy live concerts with parties extending into the wee hours. Doors open at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday with night shows starting at 9:30 p.m. Full passes start at $250, while master classes start at $30 and night passes at $60.

Celebrate a national hero, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., at one of of two events Sunday and Monday. Also, the day set aside to mark his birth falls on his actual birthday this year:

• The 42nd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Parade at 10 a.m. Sunday on Harbor Drive will be lined with floats, high school bands, drill teams, colleges/universities, Greek organizations, churches and community organizations. The parade, running south on Harbor to Broadway, then Pacific Highway, is coordinated by the Zeta Sigma Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. and the San Diego Alpha Foundation. A festival follows at Ruocco Park.
• The WorldBeat Center hosts the 35th annual King Day Celebration starting at noon Monday with a range of speakers, entertainment and cultural segments, including a Native American blessing, African dancers, Pato Banton, Antoinette Rootsdawtah, Empress Akua and special guest artists Kool Boy Hoodbotic Puppets and Natty Prophets. There also will be a drive to collect food and hygiene items for Haitians in Tijuana. Pay-what-you-can for tickets online.