Visual art
'Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea'
The San Diego Natural History Museum brings a traveling exhibit of sculptures made entirely from beach trash. The Oregon-based Washed Ashore Project uses art to call attention to the millions of tons of plastic waste in the world's oceans. At The Nat, 25 immersive marine-creature sculptures include a whale's rib cage, suspended jellyfish and more. The exhibit opens in conjunction with the launch of Nat at Night on May 22, with half-price admission after 5 p.m. and free parking after 6 p.m.
May 22, 2026 - Feb. 28, 2027 | The Nat | $14-$24 | MORE INFO
Mission Trails Regional Park 2026 Photo Contest Exhibition
The public photo contest exhibition at Mission Trails Visitor Center is one of my favorite annual art shows in town. Full disclosure: Once again, I served as a judge helping score the top prizes, and so many of this year’s submissions are excellent. From amateurs to professionals, the photos portray our local urban wilderness gem at its best — from sweeping landscapes to close-up shots of tiny creatures. Check out the exhibit, vote for your favorites in the People's Choice Award, then admire the views from the back deck or hit the trails around the Visitor Center. For an easy trek, the Oak Grove Loop trail is a mostly flat, 1-mile round trip just steps from the gallery. Or try the Visitor Center Loop, a 1.5-mile hike with a bit more climbing that passes near the Grinding Rocks.
Reception: 6-8 p.m. Thursday, May 21. On view: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily | Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center, 1 Junipero Serra Trail, San Carlos | Free | MORE INFO
Music
'Also Sprach Zarathustra' & 'Bluebeard's Castle'
Rafael Payare conducts the San Diego Symphony Orchestra with mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill and baritone Mark Stone in Richard Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra," a tone poem — a single-movement composition intended to portray a scene or tell a story. In this case, it reflects on Friedrich Nietzsche's writings about the Iranian prophet Zoroaster. The orchestra will also perform Béla Bartók’s fairy tale-inspired "Bluebeard's Castle."
7:30 p.m. Friday, May 22, and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 24 | Jacobs Music Center, 1245 Seventh Ave., downtown | $42-$125 | MORE INFO
Future Is Color: Jazz Night and Listening Session x MCASD Free Third Thursday
In conjunction with "Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys" and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego's Free Third Thursday event, Future Is Color will host a Studio Sessions jazz performance and listening session. At 3 p.m. in the Axline Court gallery, the listening session will spotlight the work of Umm Kulthum and Fela Kuti, hosted by Aladrian Goods and DAUCHE.
At 5:30 p.m., performances will take over Axline Court and the outdoor Art Park. Live jazz acts include Riva and We Are Here Now. Galleries open at 11 a.m. and will be free to the public all day. Advance RSVPs for Studio Sessions are sold out, but attendees can line up for day-of admission.
3-9 p.m. Thursday, May 21 | MCASD, 700 Prospect St., La Jolla | FREE | MORE INFO
Kevin Morby and Liam Kazar
I'll never forget when the music critic for San Diego CityBeat referred to one of my then-new discoveries, Kevin Morby, as "dad rock." Well, dad rock-lovers unite: Kevin Morby is coming to town on the heels of his new album, "Little Wide Open," released this week. And according to a recent Pitchfork profile, he's also about to become a first-time dad himself.
9 p.m. Sunday, May 24 | Music Box, 1337 India St., Little Italy | $38 | MORE INFO
Dance
San Diego Ballet: 'Impressionism: I Love Paris'
San Diego Ballet will perform artistic director Javier Velasco's "I Love Paris" in the San Diego Museum of Art's Copley Auditorium, honoring the Parisian nightlife art of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, whose work is currently featured in a special exhibition at the museum. Velasco choreographed the piece as an imagined stroll through Parisian neighborhoods, capturing the vibrancy, flavor and sounds of the city. The company will also present "Debussy Dances," set to a medley of Debussy compositions, and Jean Isaacs’ "Water Lillies," both inspired by Impressionist art. Sunday's matinee is sold out.
7 p.m. Friday and 8 p.m. Saturday, May 22-23 | San Diego Museum of Art, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park | $45-$55 | MORE INFO
Theater
'A Walk with Yáamay'
Part performance, part storytelling and part nature walk, "A Walk with Yáamay" is an Indigenous art and nature project from New Village Arts funded by Parks California's Arts in California Parks program. Curated by jovanny perez, Camaray Davalos and Juan A. Reynoso in collaboration with the Queer Sol Collective, the project has travelled across North County in recent months. Sunday's event, set among the marshlands and intertidal mudflats of Agua Hedionda Lagoon, includes reflection, live poetry, music and visual art. Participants will receive a journal to capture inspiration in the moment and take home a copy of "Yáamay: An Anthology of Feminine Perspectives Across Indigenous California.” Reservations are required.
10 a.m. to noon, Sunday, May 24 | Agua Hedionda Lagoon, 1580 Cannon Road, Carlsbad | Free | MORE INFO
San Diego Fringe Festival
One weekend remains in this year's festival of experimental, boundary-pushing and uncensored theater. Check out KPBS arts reporter and Fringe aficionado Beth Accomando's preview here. Some quick picks on my radar (thanks to Beth) include Friday's performance of "Just to Be Close to You," "Alisha's Light — Forever 57" on Friday and Sunday, and "The Fairy Tale Monologues" on Friday and Saturday.
Through May 24 | Multiple locations | $20 | MORE INFO
Books
'Under the Perfect Sun'
Authors Kelly Mayhew and Jim Miller will celebrate and discuss the long-awaited reissue and update of "Under the Perfect Sun: The San Diego Tourists Never See," the book they wrote with the late Mike Davis two decades ago. The collection of essays, histories and muckraking journalism examines the region’s political underbelly, militarization and systemic injustices. Fun fact: The new edition's cover features one of local artist Perry Vasquez's distinctive flaming palm tree paintings.
7 p.m. Thursday, May 21 | The Book Catapult | Free | MORE INFO
Film
'Stolen Kingdom'
A new documentary takes us to the literal underbelly of Walt Disney World and the theme park devotees who risk everything to explore abandoned rides and attractions — including the mystery surrounding Buzzy, an animatronic character stolen from a closed Epcot ride. The film delves deep into the parks’ underground subculture and crimes connected to it. This line from a Paste Magazine review sums it up pretty well: "Frankly, it’s impressive just how much law-breaking the filmmakers of 'Stolen Kingdom' manage to get these various figures to confess on camera in the course of its tidy runtime."
May 22-28. Filmmaker Q&As: 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday, May 24 | Digital Gym Cinema, 1100 Market St., downtown | $9-$13 | MORE INFO
