S1: It's time for KPBS Midday Edition. On today's show , the arts and culture shaping San Diego. I'm Jade Hindman with conversations that keep you informed , inspired , and make you think. Hear from authors featured at the upcoming KPBS Book Festival , plus a new Without Walls experience at the La Jolla Playhouse. Then a preview of your weekend arts events. That's ahead on Midday Edition. For.
S2: For.
S1: The reading event of the summer is coming up. It is the KPBS Book Festival , which returns Saturday , August 22nd at the University of San Diego. We're revisiting conversations with authors who will be at the festival , like Kelly Mayhew and Jim Miller , their professors , labor activists and co-authors of Under the Perfect Sun the San Diego tourists never See. The first edition came out more than 20 years ago , revealing a side of San Diego history rooted in resistance. They have since updated the book with new interviews and new stories , reflecting the ways the city itself has changed. KPBS roundtable host Andrew Bracken spoke with Mayhew and Miller back in May. Here's that conversation.
S3: You dedicated Under the Perfect Sun to one of the original authors , Mike Davis , who passed away in 2022. Before we dive into the details of the book , I'm wondering if you can talk a little bit about his legacy and how you wanted to commemorate it with this edition. Jim , I'll start with you.
S4: Well , I think , you know , Mike is probably one of the most prominent , you know , left intellectual figures , not just left intellectual figures , but intellectual figures of our time , a great urbanist. You know , he's most well known for his , you know , seminal book on Los Angeles , City of Quartz. And it was an incredible honor for us to be able to do a similar kind of project on San Diego. You know , and I think that that by keeping the activist history of this place alive , you know , is perhaps the best way we could honor Mike Kelley.
S3: Kind of adding on to Jim said there. I mean , I think looking at Mike Davis's work , he also has kind of been somewhat prophetic. I think , you know , I think a lot of people brought up his book on , you know , The Ecology of Fear. You know , as these wildfires have been sweeping up in California. Tell us more about. Yeah , how you've been looking to commemorate him with this edition.
S5: Well , I think one of the most important things about Mike and something that we really got out of our our friendship , our relationship with him was , um , that his his searing honesty about how things actually are. Um , he he never , um , he never biased anything , actually. You know , people would get angry about that. And in fact , we were accused of being muckrakers when the book originally came out. The hardcover came out in 2003. Um , and that was in part because , uh , Mike always spoke truth to power. And so our friendship with him , our collaboration with him grew out of that fearlessness that actually all of us felt about living in this place where there's a certain kind of packaging that goes on to make it a tourist Mecca , and the actual lives of the people who , like we teach at City College , which is right downtown , are never represented in the ways that San Diego is kind of marketed across the country.
S3: So , you know , like we mentioned , the original version of Under the Perfect Sun came out over 20 years ago now. Jim , what was , you know , the narrative being told about San Diego back then?
S4: Well , I think back then and at present , San Diego has always been a city that's allergic to its own grit. Right. It's a place that's that's fallen in love with its own marketing. You know , a going back to the days of America's finest city where that was born out of San Diego , losing the Republican National Convention , something that most people don't , you know , remember , you know , all the way through the fact that this is a place that that relentlessly markets itself as a kind of sunny Paradise by the sea , where the place where happy happens , you know? And unlike places like Los Angeles or New York or Chicago , even that are comfortable with the , the noir side of , of the city in their history. You know , San Diego has always had a the impulse to kind of sweep that underneath the rug as much as possible. Yeah.
S3: Yeah. Kelly , I mean , talk more about that and why you both wanted to , you know , write this kind of book about San Diego's history.
S5: Well , um , you know , we both ended up living here , spending most of our lives here , our adult lives here. And the thing that has always struck me about the the kind of the kind of marketing I grew up , actually , both of us grew up in Los Angeles , and when I grew up , my orientation towards was towards Northern California , towards San Francisco. And even though my cousins and my aunt and uncle lived down here in San Diego. I always kind of shrugged it off like it was , um , Shamu. Um , and so when , you know , we both when we landed here , when I landed here and I met Jim , uh , what struck me about the city is how incredibly rich and diverse and interesting it is. And that and that that story was a story that was equally powerful to the stories , to our sister cities , to the north. And I am I'm not somebody who hates on LA. I love Los Angeles. San Diego is definitely a different flavor , but it has a lot of the same complexities. And of course , those complexities are often born out of poverty. They are born out of segregation. They are born out of racial discrimination. They're born out of all the issues facing the other cities. What fascinates me about this place are the choices that city leaders made historically to deliberately cut out industry stuff like that. Focus on the military , focus on tourism that has given San Diego its own , uh , I guess , um , way of being in California.
S3: Jim , you mentioned this grit that we I think , you know , we associate maybe more with other other cities. But , you know , as a labor historian , I don't know how would you encapsulate labor history here in San Diego? What makes it unique in our city?
S4: Well , I think , you know , probably the one early event in the history of the city , maybe one of the most important events in the history of the city is the San Diego free speech fight. And , you know , most people don't know that down near fifth and E downtown. You know , San Diego was home to the most brutal free speech fight in the United States. And this was during the kind of era of the first Red scare around 1912 , you know , when San Diego banned free speech down at the corner of fifth and his place called Heller's Corner. And , you know , this ordinance was set about to stop the IWW , the Industrial Workers of the world , from standing on soap boxes , which they used to organize. So , so in their minds , it really wasn't a free speech gesture that they were making. They were trying to say , hey , fellow workers and friends , come join the one big union. Why does Spreckels have everything and you've got nothing , right? But San Diego was so horrified by the specter of a radicalized , militant , multi-ethnic working class that the repression was profound. So , you know , briefly put , the Wobblies were first jailed. They resisted. Uh , you know , you know , peacefully resisted , you know , their imprisonment by , you know , singing until they drove the jailers nuts , you know , doing something called building the battleship , where they all joined arms and jumped up and down and created a racket , you know. And when they couldn't have their spirits crushed in jail , then they were victim to vigilantes , right? Where they were taken up north around mosquitoes , some of them beaten horribly , forced to run the gauntlet. There were people killed. And this was such a brutal kind of repression of this free speech fight that many people who weren't sympathetic with them joined in , like other AFL unionists who didn't like the IWW. People who believed in religious freedom and said , hey , if they can do this to these people , they can do it to anyone. And it really became a kind of national cause. You know , so so that's , I think , a kind of history that's really both horrible but inspiring , right. You know , and you think about this with what's going on today with , you know , at the national level , we have national security memorandums , which are characterizing whole swaths of speech as un-American. Right. You know , and opening up whole swaths of the population to be victims of repression , write , I think that a history like this , and in fact , the history of San Diego's free speech fight , are some of the first things in the archives of the national ACLU. Right. So. So this is something that's both a horrifying history. People were murdered. People were tortured , tarred and feathered during this , uh , you know , press freedom was intervened , was interfered with , you know , and shut down in some cases , you know , but it was also a history of historic and really heroic resistance to the attempt to squash free speech. And I think that the lesson that this holds not just for our city , but really for everybody , every American , is that our free speech rights and our public assembly rights are only as good as we make them at each moment in history.
S3: So , Kelly , I mean , one thing that surprised me about that is , you know , just that's that's a it's a long history. And I think a lot of times people saying , you know , in San Diego , we may not realize it is a fairly young city , again , comparing it to some of the other cities , you know , in New York City and stuff like that. But it does have a pretty rich history , as Jim just kind of alluded to , you know. Talk more about that and kind of how it's been changing in the ensuing years , even since when you published your first edition 20 years now? Yeah.
S5: Yeah. So , um , my part of , uh , of the book , of all the iterations of the book is to interview folks. So I , you know , I interviewed labor activists and political activists , social justice folks , um , environmentalists , people , um , living their regular lives. And then in the recent edition , we have some quotes and then a much larger , uh , section of interviews in a companion book we put out called Beyond the Theme Park , which is , um , the more complete interviews that we've , that we , um , our union funded to give away to folks so that we would have this kind of living history. So I've become an oral historian , and I think one of the things that really stands out to me when we're talking about history , and I was noting this the other day , is that we have now in San Diego , most of our a lot of our top , most powerful labor positions are held by women and largely women of color. So Lorena Gonzalez was the secretary treasurer of the San Diego Imperial Counties Labor Council. She's now the head of the California Labor Fund. Brigitte Browning is now president of the San Diego Imperial Counties Labor Council. Carol Kim is head of the the building trades. We have women leaders in crystal Irving is head of SEIU 221 super powerful union in the city. And there are are more. Um , and so the transformation of San Diego has come not only in terms of class and race , but also giving voice to those who have been voiceless in the past. Jim talks about the talked about the free speech fight. You know , you fast forward and and you you you look at again this kind of theme of of speaking truth to power and having a presence and being known and and being able to exert a certain amount of influence in the city in ways that were not possible in the past when it was such a Republican , ruled such a right wing city where the , the , the , the centers of power and economics were wrapped up in a , in a few entities and a few powerful people to be able to take that on over the last , especially 20 years , from the 2005 edition to the to now our our 2026 edition of Under the Perfect Sun. That has been a really remarkable transformation to. To chart in the book.
S3: Yeah , absolutely. Looking at San Diego 20 years from now , thinking of. Even like the mayor's races and everything. I mean , it's it's transformed quite a bit. You look at the city council and , you know , Democratic led obviously. So you know. Earlier , Kelly , you mentioned , you know , the initial response to the book. I think you used the term. You know , muckrakers. Um , you know , tell us more about that experience and what what the reaction was. At that time in in 2005.
S5: Um , so the Union Tribune at the time had the , the person who reviewed the book. Was a professor , actually at San Diego State. And she took great umbrage at the fact that we didn't. Write a hagiography of of San Diego that we wrote an overtly progressive book that focused on the voiceless in the city And took uh Mike section was uh is a history of of power and how power grew and and got entrenched. Um , so it wasn't fluffy , it wasn't booster history pretty much. That's all there was. And we were accused of , um , being not just muckrakers , but of really , um , kind of pooping on people's San Diego parties in a way. Um , and so , you know , what which what the , the reviewer said is she assailed us for seeing repression everywhere and predicting that the city's contradictions will soon burst its civic bubble while failing to represent the livable city , with all its faults that most San Diegans recognize. And , um , in my view , when we read that , I was thinking that it was that she was speaking from a really white and privileged perspective. Right. So maybe from your spot in La Jolla or wherever , you could talk about San Diego in that kind of picture postcard way. But where we were at with both the people we teach , the people we live around the the city that we inhabit. Um , it it it people were living vastly different lives than that whole kind of postcard image conveys. Yeah.
S3: Yeah. Jim , do you have any memories? Just hearing re hearing those words , what comes to mind? Yeah.
S4: Well , I think it was interesting , you know , to , to to see that , you know , and I think really it is this kind of discrepancy of two. San Diego's right. You know that for some folks , you know , this really is , you know , a kind of , you know , episode of , you know , I'll date myself , an episode of Baywatch. Right. You know , fun in the sun and frolicking and then , you know , going to watch the sunset and having a fine dinner. And for other folks , they're asking , you know , shouldn't one job be enough? Right. You know , the people who are the workers in , you know , the tourist plantation , you know , are struggling to pay their rent. You know , they can't even dream of owning a house. You know , they live in a San Diego that is not part of this tourist representation. You know , and and it's it's a struggle in a way that's really hard for folks in other parts of the same city to understand. You know , in some ways it you know , you could say that Shell Town and La Jolla might as well as be might as well be different planets. Yeah.
S3: Yeah. Yeah. Kelly , you know , one asked one question. You you asked everyone in this book is is San Diego better than it was 20 years ago? So I'm just wondering , you know , what what did you hear and what was your takeaway from what people had to say?
S5: Um , almost everyone said no , of of kind of qualified. Um , you know , it's it's not. And and some people said that it was , you know , when you compare it to what it could be and what it should be. Um , you think about the richness of being a border city of , of our immigrant folks who live here , um , how we could take care of people in our communities better. Um , housing was a big thing that kept coming up over and over and over again , something which is resonant with Jim and me. We don't. We've never owned a house. You know , it was basically put our kid through college or own a house , so that that also was something that , that that spoke to us. Um , the the costs of living here. Um , the , the , the transit systems that could serve us better. Uh , and and just the ways that , you know , you look at what's happening with the city budget right now , the kind of austerity budget and the cuts to social services. It's the people struggling the most who are going to pay the most and struggle even more. And so a lot of the a lot of my interview subjects really hit on that , that , um , you know , maybe in terms of identity , it's a bit easier. You know , we've had these huge immigrants rights marches. We've had a lot of progress made in the LGBTQIA+ communities in ways that hadn't happened in the past. Um , but when you look at things from an economic perspective , it's still ridiculously hard to live here. Jim.
S3: Jim. You know , kind of earlier you mentioned just the moment in time we're in here like you're dealing , you know , you're telling the story of San Diego's history. But we're in a very pertinent moment of history right now. How do you reflect on that with this new addition?
S4: Yeah , well , I think , you know , when we're thinking about that last question , is that , like in some senses there's been a huge amount of progress , right? You know , that we've got , as you mentioned , a Democrats rule , the city council , we have a Democratic mayor. And at the same time , you know , many of the same Democrats are like the dog that caught the car. They could have got here and said , well , now what do we do? And now we have , you know , you know , the same perpetual budget crisis. And a lot of that is through , I would say , a kind of failure of imagination , of trying to think of other ways of raising revenue rather than , you know , regressive taxes , for example. Right. You know , so I think that , you know , one of the things that local Democrats have gotten by and gotten elected by for , for many years by not being Carl DeMaio. Right. And now we're at an era where that's just not good enough. Right? And we need to think we need to challenge our political and social imaginations and think about how can we not just live in a city that's democratic , but live in a city that's more just and more humane and provides more opportunities for all San Diegans?
S1: That was Kelly Mayhew and Jim Miller , authors of the book Under the Perfect Sun , speaking with KPBS roundtable host Andrew Bracken. They'll both be at the KPBS Book Festival on Saturday , August 22nd at the University of San Diego. They'll also have a book talk tonight from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the San Diego History Center. If you want to learn more about the book festival , go to KPBS. Coming up next , Beth Accomando gives us a preview of a new show at the La Jolla Playhouse. KPBS Midday Edition is back after the break. Welcome back to KPBS midday Edition , I'm Jade Hindman. La Jolla Playhouse delivers a without walls or wow experience through the award winning show with quite the funny name. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! That's seven ha's , if you're counting. It's created and performed by artist Julia Moseley. And each night she turns the stage into a playground of audience participation , where no two shows are the same. It's an approach that KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando calls part clown , part social experiment , and 100% original. She spoke with Moseley about the origins of the show.
S6: Julia , I just got a chance to see your play , and I have a confession to make. I went in only knowing it was described as part clown and that was part of the Wow festival. So I went in thinking it was going to be manic and crazy , and I had to kind of reset. To find that you had this really beautiful show that was so empathetic. So talk a little bit about like , where did you conceive of the idea for this , and how did you decide that this was the kind of show you wanted to make?
S7: Because I was doing so many comedy clubs , and I was hoping to make a show that can play theaters , and I started developing it in basements in like very late at night. I took it to Edinburgh , it was midnight , and then we extended the run. It was like 1:30 a.m. , very raucous kind of energy , and that's where I developed it. But then I my hope was that one day I can play a theatre , and now it's very special being at La Jolla Playhouse and having done theaters in the US with it , but I , I just knew I wanted to bring clown into like a theater space. But also , there was the simple idea that I had to say the word problem to the audience , and then I thought it might just be a five minute bit , but then the audience were like suddenly sharing things or saying something strange that became funny. Or so then it ended up being extending , like my director , who I worked with , Kim Noble , who's brilliant , he was like , you don't need anything else. Like , this is a , you know , there's a law here that we can play with , and then we just built it with the audiences. So in a way , the audiences wrote it together with me like it was a lot of just doing a lot of work in progress shows. And so in a way , still now we find new things , having done it like hundreds of times.
S6: And it's very interactive with the audience , as you mentioned. But what was kind of the driving theme or the driving kind of like idea that you wanted to fuel this show with?
S7: I really love , like having a dream of making the audience cry. That was always something I'm interested in , and I guess people find it strange when I even use the word clown , but I guess that's my training. But it's I'm interested , I guess , in this comic and the tragic together and the crossovers and I when I would go and see shows where there's a lot of laughter , sometimes I like would wish for a moment of silence. And I guess I wanted to like have that possible where we can kind of breathe and like think and then something might happen again , I guess I was hoping there will be a feeling of connection and that people will come away feeling more alive and present to the moment , and kind of hoping that they would be able to talk to each other and make friends. And I guess that's something I my favorite part of going to the theater is actually the bit before the play starts , and then the bit after when it's over , and then people go home like very ecstatic. So I was like hoping to bring that suspense of like , it's about to start this tension that I really love. It feels very exciting. It's like Christmas is coming. And then and then after this celebration , I think I wanted both the tension and the celebration to be in the show.
S6: And you have this very kind of soothing , calming voice that like , I'd love you to be my therapist , but talk about engaging the audience because it was really interesting how open and how willing people were to share things. And did you find that difficult , or were people just kind of really that willing to open up?
S7: As I mentioned when I said problem , I didn't have much expectation and I was quite shocked at how people open up. And I guess the more I do it , the more I learn about it. And I guess what I've noticed is like when someone opens up , then often other people do , and then some shows I've had where it's more like funny and no one really shares something personal. And it's also fun , but it's different. But I noticed if there's one person who opens up it often like opens something , and then in some shows if I open up more , then they also open up. So it's I guess it's a thing where we begin to feel comfortable with each other and safe. And it happens gradually. Yeah , it's really beautiful. It feels like you can really have a moment with a stranger. That's quite. And then I remember people like , who have shared , like , more deeper things with me. Like I often remember them , like I'll see them like someone came here who came in New York to the show and , uh , yeah , it was really special to see him because I remember him from the show. And of course , I forget a lot of people , but with the ones that share a lot , you kind of feel like you get to know them. And I'm like , sometimes I feel like in a way get to know them. Like in that moment , more than I might even know a friend who I might not have this connection where they're like , yeah , it's really special to be also like performing it and , um , having these moments happen.
S6: And what it really seems to do also is , as each person shares , it's almost like you're building this community.
S7: It does feel like that. And I also love it because just being far away from home , I'm often like , God , where am I? Why am I in the middle of like just on the other side of the world from like my whole family , my friends and then in the theater? This moment of community is like , oh yeah , like I feel I feel at home here , like with these strangers. It's really special feeling. Yeah , there's definitely a feeling of community and people wanting to , like , help each other and be there for each other that the show kind of inspires on a good night. Yeah , it's really nice to be a part of that.
S6: I want to ask you about the title , and I'm going to see if I can get the right number. It's ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Wow.
S8: Wow. You're amazing.
S7: No one ever gets it right.
S9: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
S6: So what made you decide to title it that and why? Seven ha's and not eight or not six?
S7: You know , like , I just wrote it down one day and I was like , it looks nice. I think I had this feeling where I was. It was before I went to Edinburgh. It was a bit like , whatever , let me just make something that no one's gonna care , like it's just for me. And then it's like , really? Yeah. It seemed to connect with people and I was like , wow. The thing that I thought , like , was just a very throwaway like , this is fun. Funny to call it that. Like , I didn't really think about it much , but I just liked how it looked visually and I thought it was silly. And then the blurb in the beginning was like , ha ha ha.
S10: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
S7: And that was just it. And there was no explanation. But now the theatres are like , Sorry. We need a bit more information for our subscribers. Like. No , this is the marketing.
S9: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
S6: And have you had any really interesting or deep revelations from people that surprised you?
S7: I have them a lot , like , yeah , a lot of beautiful revelations and strange crossovers and like the one that happened here recently just really moved me. Like someone came the other night and he was like , I saw you in New York. And then he was like , um , my problem was that I didn't know if I should move to California or not. And like , that was the moment that I decided to move to California. And apparently he was like. And you whispered in my ear like , see you in California. And now we saw each other because he came back , and now we're gonna hang out. And then he's really cool as well. And that was really beautiful. And he was like , I'm really happy here. Like , oh , that's awesome. To be part of that decision in some way is really cool. It's just like a fun story to tell my friends. Yeah. And things like that happen often. Like someone in D.C. , like , uh , one of my favorites was there was a person who said they don't know how to propose to their partner , and it turned out that their partner was in the show. So he kind of spent figuring out how to propose. And then the partner was like in tears. And they kind of used this like Platform to propose to him. People were like , oh my God , this is so cool. Like when real things like that happened , that doesn't happen every night. But like when it does , it's very special. And here I think we had a couple that said they they haven't told anyone in their lives that they love each other. And it was very beautiful. Everyone in the audience , like stood up and started clapping for them because they kind of affirmed their love for each other. And most of the times , like , I don't have to do much when the room is kind of once we're like all on the same page , it thinks magical things often can happen. And that was really , really beautiful. And then they kissed and they end and it was like , oh yeah , like , that's the point. I like that's for those moments when it happens , it's like I hold those moments very close to my heart for sure. And I'm like , very grateful to. Yeah. To just like be in the room where this can happen. It's very cool. And just like seeing people be really kind , it's very like affirming because obviously in the world now you're like , everything is bad , just like everything around us is bad. So it's like , yeah , when something nice happens , it's it's very hopeful for sure.
S6: And you said you had done this at Edinburgh Fringe. What is fringe like for an artist in terms of what does it offer you? Does it inspire some creativity or is the freedom something that you find encouraging? And then Wow is another place that is also very not bound by a lot of rules.
S7: Yeah , it's so cool. I mean , it's wonderful that anyone can go and put on a show and it's huge and , you'll see lots of , like , terrible things , and then you'll see something great that you've never seen before. But then the terrible things are also amazing because you're like in Scotland , and it's maybe in a bar and there's one person in the audience and it's you. And then there's this like person with a dream performing for you , and you're like , this is awkward. But it's also like , really special. Yeah. It's it's. And then I kind of grew up doing it like , you know , I did it for a few years and I had a lot of fun. And I found , I thought I wanted to do like , classical theater and , and somehow I started doing comedy and then , uh , people liked it , so it was like , very. Yeah , it felt really good every year to , like , work on something and bring it. But then Edinburgh got like tricky when you put this pressure on yourself , like , I think there's this whole thing about and now it's my debut hour , this is my debut solo show and I think that's when it gets like. Not as nice as , like , this free creative. Because my first solo show. Was like a debut hour. And I loved doing it so much and I had so much fun. But there was so much like this , like , oh , like kind of talk of industry and all that , and it's like killed a bit the joy of it for me. So then with this show , it was like a decision of actually , I won't care about any of that. I'll just do it because I like the art. And I think that really freed me. And I did that in Edinburgh and got to like , yeah , do it in their free venue , which is also very special because also like the difficult thing is like it is for everyone , but it's so expensive to stay there now. But it is wonderful as well in so many ways. Yeah.
S6: And have you noticed a difference between the kind of audience interaction you got in Edinburgh versus what you're getting here? Yeah.
S8: Yeah.
S7: Actually , I was telling my producer the other day that here in La Jolla Playhouse , like the energy is a bit similar to Edinburgh , which is interesting. I didn't expect that , like , people laugh a lot , which is beautiful , like the Pasadena Playhouse in LA was a bit more like they're used to seeing plays , but I guess here they are coming to the festival without walls so they know what they're in for. But they didn't Playhouse , they were seeing a play , so it's like , oh , they're like , it takes them a while to understand , oh my God , this is like not what I'm expecting at all. But then it was also very beautiful and , you know , but it was like I think Edinburgh I guess is just very wild and anything can happen , like anything can happen and it's okay. And no one. There are no rules in a way. Like now with the theatres , there's rules we have to like get the permit and make sure this is right. But there no one really is like , it's kind of you can kind of get away with a lot. And that anarchy of it I really love , and I think it's the spirit of the show still is like the anarchy of , of this late night kind of people close together , bunched up in a room together. I hope the feeling of it is still there , even in an air conditioned theater.
S1: That was artist and performer Julia mosley speaking with KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando. Her show? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Has five more performances tonight through Sunday at La Jolla Playhouse Forum Theatre. Still to come. A preview of all your weekend arts events. KPBS Midday Edition is back after the break. Welcome back. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. For our weekend arts preview , it's your last chance to see a monumental art exhibit. There's also brand new indie music and a festival of cat videos. Joining me with all the details is KPBS arts reporter and host of the finest podcast , Julia Dixon Evans. Julia , welcome.
S8: Hey , Jade. Thanks for having me.
S1: Glad to have you here. So let's start with those cat videos. Why don't we?
S8: I mean , why watch cat videos at home by yourself on your little phone when you can watch them in community on the big screen? This is an annual touring festival of just cat videos , but it's like curated. It's the best , the cutest , the funniest of submissions from cat owners , but also like special animation shorts and cat related music videos or music videos with cats in them. I don't know , it could be both. Interesting.
S1: Interesting.
S8: And it's a 70 minute screening block. It's a digital gym , an independent cinema downtown Friday through August 13th and this weekend show showtimes are 7:00 Friday night , 5:00 Saturday and noon on Sunday. And even though this is a national tour in every city , they fundraise for a local cat related nonprofit. So here 10% of the ticket sales will support Los Gatos de Barrio Logan. This is like a grassroots organization. They they feed they TNR which means trap , neuter , vaccinate and return and they even rehome it just otherwise take care of the neighborhood cats in Barrio Logan.
S1: That's very nice. I will say , when it comes to those cat videos , Toni Baker has the best voiceovers , you'll find them on Instagram. The paps are hilarious and if you know you know , just check it out. All right. In Escondido , the second annual Chicano Park or Chicano Block Party rather takes place this weekend , and there's lots of art to check out with these festivities. What can you tell us?
S8: Yeah , this is at the California Center for the Arts , Escondido. There's going to be lowriders , live music , art demonstrations , a printmaking , and an art fair. So if you want to build your own art collection , you can pick up work by local indie artists as well as zines and books. And there's also going to be a live mural painting by artist Jose Hugo Sanchez. He has an exhibit on view in the museum right now. It's all inspired by Mesoamerican traditions and the visual languages. And he'll be there creating a new mural for the space , like in the moment while you're there. And this is a free event , and the museum is also free when you're there for the festival , so that's great. And while you're there , you should also check out another exhibit. It's closing next weekend. It's called Field Notes on Memory. It's a culminating exhibit for three of the artists in residence at CCA and Pharcyde. Bars , bars , Madigan , Tony and Bingham , and Helena Westra. And I particularly love one of the sculptures there by Westra. It's inspired by an Okinawan folktale about a grieving guardian beast whose endless tears make a little pool , the permanent pool in Into the Earth. So the event , the Chicano Block Party is from 11 to 5 on Saturday at Center for the Arts Escondido.
S1: All right , something you don't want to miss there. One more quick note about visual art giants art from the Dean collection of Swiss Beats and Alicia Keys closes this weekend. How can we check it out one more time?
S8: Yeah , this is at Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla , and they're going to have like a closing party on Friday , which is ticketed. But what I want to tell you about is the Sunday free admission day. It's also there play day like family friendly activities throughout the day. The museum is free to everyone from 11 to 5 on Sunday , and the family stuff's condensed in the middle of the day from 11 to 2. It starts off with a kid friendly art tour of the exhibit that's at 11. There'll be music , play times , a storytime at 1230 , and then at two. Soul Sunday takes off. Um , takes over with like , a live band. And Giants is just really worth seeing. Like , this is really the giants of the art world. There's 130 works by dozens of artists from the black diaspora. This is all collected by Swiss Beats and Alicia Keys. Over the years , artists like Gordon Parks , Amy Cheryl and Kehinde Wiley , and also like artists that we otherwise would not have heard of. It's just so if you haven't seen it or if you want to spend more time with it. Sunday is not only the absolute last day , but it's free.
S1: All right , well , it really is a good exhibit there. So let's move on to a little music. What's going on with classical music this weekend?
S8: Yeah , I mean , there's a lot of music this weekend and this month , and that's partly thanks to Summerfest from the La Jolla music society. Um , it's their chamber music festival , and this is their 40th anniversary this year. They're also doing open rehearsals throughout the month so you can get a chance to , like , eavesdrop on the creative process a little bit. I love that sort of thing. But also these are like world class musicians. So , you know , it's also going to be an excellent performance even in the rehearsal and the open. Rehearsals are free , but you do have to RSVP. And one happening this weekend is 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon for Vaughan Williams Piano Quintet in C minor , which is just like such a lovely and mournful piece , and it was considered lost to history and recently rediscovered. And it's part of a full concert that's ticketed. That's Saturday night. It's all rediscovered pieces. That show is called Lost and Found. Wow.
S1: Wow. It really is a beautiful piece of music there. And you have a local artist on your radar who's performing Sunday at Soda Bar. Tell us about this one. Yeah.
S8: Yeah. So I've been following Alley Raul for a few years now. I first heard about her when she entered the NPR Tiny Desk Contest a couple years back , and she's been working on a new album. It's called Where It All Goes. It's due in October , and she just put out a few singles from the album. They're great. I'm so used to like her pared down solo performances , so it's really nice to hear her with this full band. This is the single we're here now called Little Beam Of course. And Allie Rall is performing with a couple touring acts. Greg Mendez from Philadelphia and Maria Bisi , who is from Oakland and Raoul is opening. So the show starts at seven at Soda Bar in City Heights. And be sure to get there on time.
S1: All right. You can find details on these and more arts events on our website , KPBS. I've been speaking with KPBS arts reporter and host of the finest podcast , Julia Dixon Evans. Julia.
S8: Thank you. Thank you. Jade.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
