Visual art
'Print as Protest: Graphics, Resistance and DIY Political Power'
Organized and curated by Por La Mano Press, this exhibition celebrates the use of printmaking in the art of protest, featuring artists using design as a form of resistance. Artists include individuals and collectives from near and far across generations, exploring regional and contemporary practices, as well as print's larger context in protest history.
Reception: 4-8 p.m. Saturday, April 11| Chicano Park Museum & Cultural Center, 1960 National Ave., Barrio Logan | Free | MORE INFO
'Viva la Raza'
A series of linked exhibitions fills a multiroom showcase at Woo Studios, exploring the history and significance of the Chicano/a/x movement. Featured projects include Aztlan Libre; Tommie Camarillo; Lambda Archives and more.
Reception: 2-7 p.m. Saturday, April 11 | Woo Studios, 2212 Main St., Barrio Logan | Free | MORE INFO
'Gossip'
Painter Scarlett Baily curated this powerful and surprising group exhibition, featuring seven local artists working in a variety of mediums. Pieces include paintings, photography, installation art, ceramics and poetry — with religion-informed chair sculptures, a series of "rage doodles," intimate and atmospheric photography and more. The works are raw and vulnerable, an homage to the intimacy and shared revelations of gossip.
A pay-what-you-can poetry workshop led by participating artist Iyari Arteaga will be held from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, April 12.
Noon to 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday; through April 26 | Union Hall Gallery, 2323 Broadway #201, Golden Hill | Free | MORE INFO
Books and poetry
Henry Herz: 'I Am Light'
Author Henry Herz and illustrator Mercè López bring light to life in this new picture book. It's a curious and lyrical exploration of the importance, science and beauty of light — from light's first-person point of view. Herz will discuss and sign copies of the book at a free event at Camino Books.
4 p.m. Sunday April 12 | Camino Books, 1555 Camino Del Mar, Suite 114, Del Mar | Free | MORE INFO
'After Hours: An Evening of Poetry'
Take a bite out of the Sunday scaries with some poetry. Downtown's newest indie bookstore, Hey Books, will host a reading featuring poets Jimmy Vega, Isabel Yi Jimenez, Ana Carrete and Adam Stutz.
6 p.m. Sunday, April 12 | Hey Books, 921 E St., downtown | Free | MORE INFO
Music
Voices of Our City's Yacht Soul Sing-Along 2026
Warm up those voices and dust off those boat shoes! This concert celebrates the party-fave genres of soul and yacht rock in singalong style. Voices of Our City Choir, a nonprofit choral ensemble for people impacted by homelessness, will lead the performance, with San Diego Padres and Gulls organist Bobby Cressey accompanying. If you want to brush up before the show, the group announced it will be singing “Wanna Dance with Somebody,” “That’s What Friends Are For,” “Let’s Groove Tonight” and more.
7 p.m. Thursday, April 9 | St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, 2728 Sixth Ave., Bankers Hill | $30 | MORE INFO
Hidden City Sounds – San Diego Music Awards Nominee Showcase
This month's California Center for the Arts, Escondido's free concert series, Hidden City Sounds, features a showcase of San Diego Music Awards nominees. Americana and R&B singers Jesse Ray Smith, Kimmi Bitter and Rebecca Jade perform. The outdoor courtyard performance is free for general admission, but reserved seating is available for $20.
7 p.m. Friday, April 10 | CCAE, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido | Free-$20 | MORE INFO
Play-and-Sing-a-Thon
The La Jolla Symphony and Chorus will spend all of Sunday afternoon performing music — and it’s free for audience members to attend. The concert begins at noon, and you can arrive anytime, drop in to listen to a few pieces or stay the entire time! The evening culminates with an audience singalong from the Great American Songbook and a champagne toast.
Noon to 7 p.m. Sunday, April 12 | Conrad Prebys Music Center Room 127, UC San Diego | Free | MORE INFO
San Diego Music Awards Matinee: The Farmers, Go Scarlett, The Reckless and Tamar Berk
If staying up late for a show at the Casbah is a tough sell for your beauty sleep, you're in luck. A matinee showcase introduces you to four local rock and pop acts nominated for the May 6 awards — and gets you home in time for dinner. Longtime rockers The Farmers will perform along with Go Scarlett, The Reckless and Tamar Berk.
4 p.m. (doors: 3 p.m.) Sunday, April 12 | Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., Little Italy | $15.46 | MORE INFO
Art of Elan at ICA North
Chamber music ensemble Art of Elan performs a showcase inspired by nature and the great outdoors, and the art-studded sculpture trail on the Institute of Contemporary Art San Diego's North campus. A new addition, Pedro Reyes' "Hannah Arendt," is now on view. Get there at 5:15 p.m. for a chance to explore the trail before the concert. The concert features harp, percussion and trombone.
6 p.m. Sunday, April 12 | ICA North, 1578 S El Camino Real, Encinitas | $12.51-$33.85 | MORE INFO
Theater
'August Wilson’s Fences'
Legendary American playwright August Wilson won both a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for his 1985 play, "Fences," about a Black baseball player and sanitation worker in Pittsburgh in 1957. Directed by Delicia Turner Sonnenberg, the production stars Dorian Missick as Troy Maxson amid a strong supporting cast.
Through May 3 | The Old Globe, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park | $48+ | MORE INFO
'Matt & Ben'
Mindy Kaling and Brenda Withers' 2004 play "Matt & Ben" explores the early friendship of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as they began working on "Good Will Hunting" — before the fame, high-profile girlfriends and wives. When Kaling and Withers first produced the play, they wrote the parts for themselves to perform. Directed by Maria Patrice Amon, the play stars Maya Sofia Enciso as Matt Damon and Alejandra Villanueva as Ben Affleck, with Amy Pfleeger as the swing.
Through April 26 | New Village Arts, 2787 State St., Carlsbad | $30-$60 | MORE INFO
Dance
Mounarath Powell Dance: 'Voice'
La Mesa-based dance company Mounarath Powell Dance presents a performance of a series of works specifically designed to honor the creative influence of the dancer as well as the choreographer. "From the Heart," "Afromations," and Spencer Powell's "Oil!" — based on Upton Sinclair's 1927 novel of the same name — are among the pieces.
7 p.m. Friday, April 10 | MP Dance Performance Space, 8674 La Mesa Blvd., La Mesa | $21.50 | MORE INFO
Festivals
Oddities Flea Market
Taxidermy, art, jewelry, obscure natural history specimens and lots more can be found at the Oddities Flea Market, where vintage store treasure hunting meets the strange, sublime and absurd. A full bar, plenty of food and dozens of vendors, artists and creatives will be on hand for a day of whimsy, horror and shopping. You can even pick up a flash tattoo on the spot from Old Rose Tattoo (18+ only). VIP admission grants you a two-hour head start beginning at 11 a.m.
1-6 p.m. Saturday, April 12 | JULEP Venue, 1735 Hancock St., midtown | $28.52+ | MORE INFO
