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Arts & Culture

San Diego weekend arts events: Mambo, cabaret and sign painting

Chamber ensemble Roomful of Teeth is shown in an undated photo.
Anja Schutz
/
ArtPower
Chamber ensemble Roomful of Teeth is shown in an undated photo.

Top picks | Live music picks | More art and culture weekend events

Top picks

Roomful of Teeth

Music, Chamber, Choral | Grammy-winning experimental chamber ensemble Roomful of Teeth will perform with ArtPower at UC San Diego this weekend. The group takes the idea of a cappella music to extremes, with inventive harmonies and rhythms, brilliant compositions and mesmerizing performances — all done with just vocals.

Details: 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 13. Conrad Prebys Concert Hall, 9500 Gilman Drive, UC San Diego. $40-$65 (free for UCSD students).

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Barrio Art Crawl: Koy Sun, Philip Brun Del Re, Artisan Market and more

Visual art | Saturday is the monthly Barrio Art Crawl, where galleries, shops, restaurants and the sidewalks come alive with art and culture. Highlights this weekend include the spooky season installment of the Logan Ave. Artisan Market, which runs from noon to 6 p.m. near the VFW. Then, at Bread & Salt in Logan Heights, check out a risograph print pop-up from artist Philip Brun Del Re and new work in the Quint ONE space by Lisa Sigal. Still on view are Hugo Crosthwaite in the main gallery; "What's Your Type" at Athenaeum Art Center; and INSITE LAB at Best Practice.

Also, don't miss open studios with Bread & Salt's current Impact Artist in Residence, sign painter Koy Sun. Sun, whose video about his painted vintage suitcase application to the residency went viral, wraps up his residency at the end of this month.

Sign painter and video creator Koy Sun is shown in his artist-in-residence studio at Bread & Salt on Oct. 4, 2024.
Sign painter and video creator Koy Sun is shown in his artist-in-residence studio at Bread & Salt on Oct. 4, 2024.

Sun's craftsmanship and creativity are incredible, and his videos are engrossing and wholesomely authentic. For him, sign painting is both a service and a creative outlet.

"Sign painting as a trade was actually one of the first reasons that I got so interested in it, (because) I liked how it used to be kind of a normal job … As a trade it wasn't that different from a plumber or a mechanic or something like that … And what I love about sign painting is the mix of trade in how I can functionally help people while still being artsy and doing design and having fun and being silly," Sun said. Stay tuned for my feature, where I’ll share more from my interview with Sun.

Details: Saturday, Oct. 12. Barrio Art Crawl is noon to 8 p.m. at 2100 Logan Ave.; Bread & Salt's event is 5 to 8 p.m. at 1955 Julian Ave., Barrio Logan/Logan Heights. Free.

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A San Diego Ballet dancer is shown in an undated photo.
Canela Photography
A San Diego Ballet dancer is shown in an undated photo.

'Firebird and Mambomania'

Dance, Ballet | San Diego Ballet presents artistic director Javier Velasco's folklore-, funk- and hip-hop-inspired ballet, "Firebird," along with another company favorite, "Mambomania," which spotlights the Latin jazz music of Pérez Prado — known, of course, for his mambos. This promises to be a lively and engaging performance.

Details: 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, and 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12. Joan B. Kroc Theatre, 6611 University Ave., Rolando. $15-$65.

'Och & Oy! A Considered Cabaret'

Music, Theater, Storytelling | You may recognize Ari Shapiro's voice as host of NPR's All Things Considered. But did you know he shares stories with the world in many other (more artsy) ways? He’s the author of the memoir "The Best Strangers in the World: Stories From a Life Spent Listening"; he hosted the latest season of reality TV show "The Mole"; and in his free time, he sings in the band Pink Martini and performs a cabaret-style show with actor Alan Cumming. It's called "Och & Oy! A Considered Cabaret." They're coming to San Diego to perform at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay on Saturday. I spoke to Shapiro this week, and in addition to telling me he drops an "F-bomb" in the show, he said that both his life as a journalist and his life on stage are about connection and storytelling.

"At the end of the day, both of them are about trying to create a connection with people who are listening. Radio is a very intimate medium where it's just kind of you in your car or your kitchen or wherever you happen to be, being spoken to by one person who is on the radio — while live performance with a band is a collective experience," Shapiro said. "But ultimately they're both about making connection, and maybe seeing the world a little bit differently."

Check out my full interview with Shapiro here:

Details: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12. Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, Shelter Island. $81+.

The cover for "One Week in January" (left) is shown next to author and artist Carson Ellis (right).
Chronicle Books / Autumn de Wilde
The cover for "One Week in January" (left) is shown next to author and artist Carson Ellis (right).

Carson Ellis

Books, Visual art | Artist Carson Ellis is the illustrator of many books including "The Wildwood Chronicles" (one of my favorite young reader chapter books!) and "The Mysterious Benedict Society." She's also well-known as the album cover artist for indie band The Decemberists, fronted by her husband Colin Meloy. Ellis recently published a new book, "One Week in January: New Paintings for an Old Diary," which is a collection of paintings that illustrate a set of journal entries she rediscovered from January 2001, right after she moved to Portland and before she got together with her then-friend Meloy. She'll discuss the project at The Book Catapult with author Maile Meloy.

Details: 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11. The Book Catapult, 3010-B Juniper St., South Park. Free.

Carolee Carmello and Jim Hogan are shown in an undated production photo for the national tour of "Kimberly Akimbo."
Joan Marcus
/
Broadway San Diego
Carolee Carmello and Jim Hogan are shown in an undated production photo for the national tour of "Kimberly Akimbo."

'Kimberly Akimbo'

Theater, Music | "Kimberly Akimbo" is a 2021 musical, based on a stage play written about 20 years earlier, about a teenager with a health condition that causes rapid aging. It won five Tony Awards in 2022, and the cast recording was nominated for a Grammy the same year. The Broadway touring production is in town through Sunday.

Details: On stage through Oct. 13. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., downtown. $45+.

'Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street'

Theater | This spooky Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler musical won eight Tony Awards when it opened on Broadway in 1979. Based on a character from Victorian "penny dreadful" serials, the musical follows a deadly barber, with the London townsfolk serving as a Greek chorus. Coronado Playhouse's production is directed by Leah Osterman.

Details: On stage Oct. 11 through Nov. 3. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday. Coronado Playhouse, 1835 Strand Way, Coronado. $24-$27.

Cog•nate Collective: 'How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?'

Visual art | Local, cross-border arts collaborative Cog•nate Collective will open a new exhibit at The Front Arte & Cultura, featuring works made alongside the communities of Tijuana and San Ysidro. The exhibit includes sound art, sculptures, performance and video. Cog•nate Collective received the 2022 San Diego Art Prize.

Details: Opens with a reception from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12. On view through Jan. 17, 2025. The Front, 147 W. San Ysidro Blvd., San Ysidro. Free.

More weekend arts and culture events

Event Date Time Location
Caltrans Reconnecting Communities I-805 Freeway Ramp Closure Event This event is in the past. 43rd St. on and off-ramps at Interstate 805
The Romantic Lyricism of Schoenberg and Brahms This event is in the past. Jacobs Music Center
5th Annual Hafez Day in San Diego This event is in the past. San Diego Central Public Library
The Ann Murray Day Celebration in City of San Diego - Gospel Extravaganza This event is in the past. North Park Apostolic Church
Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration This event is in the past. Oak Park Library