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Get ready for the most festive weekend of the season at the Makers Arcade Holiday Fair, happening Saturday, December 12 (10 a.m.–5 p.m.) and Sunday, December 13, 2025, (10 a.m.–5 p.m.) at the scenic Broadway Pier in Downtown San Diego! This beloved holiday event will feature over 140 curated local makers, handmade artisans, vintage vendors, and emerging small brands, live music, festive cocktails, gourmet food trucks, free photo booths, a kids’ play area, and more. Don’t miss our FREE Holiday Wreath Make + Take section, where guests can handcraft their own festive fresh wreaths — it’s the perfect way to add a personal touch to your holiday season. As an added benefit, guests can catch the Parade of Lights right from the venue after the event on Sunday from 5 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. for a magical waterfront view of the boats as they shine across the bay while sipping hot cocoa. Admission is $5 presale/$6 at the door, and kids under 10 are free! Guests can also purchase a tote bag with their admission ticket, $10 presale/$12 at the door. Come support local businesses, sip delicious hot cocoa, and enjoy a weekend of creativity and festivities. Makers Arcade on Facebook / Instagram

Free concert series at Clairemont Square. Every Friday from Oct. 2- Nov. 6 from 6-9 p.m. Bring chairs and enjoy food and drinks for purchase at food court. Special Halloween Spooktacular and Clairemont birthday Oct. 16 from 4-6 p.m., followed by Love is a Rose, a Linda Ronstadt and Tom Petty cover band. Oct. 16 family activities include free pumpkin decorating, trick or treating in the mall, costume exchange, strolling magician, and food for sale. Thriller flash mob performance and adult costume contest!

The city is reopening bathrooms in Mission Bay that had been closed due to budget cuts. Plus, some former Major League Baseball players are crying foul over retirement benefits. And, how one local writer is bringing Indigenous horror to the forefront.

First, local Colombians are stepping up to provide aid after a devastating earthquake ravaged their home country. Then, we’ll tell you why Hillel of San Diego is creating a new fund for its students. Next, applications are still being accepted for the county’s rental subsidy program aimed at seniors. Also, we speak with a local tarot card reader. And, Pod Behind the Package returns with an interview featuring our new reporter.

Friday, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, 2 p.m. Rafael Payare, conductor Tasha Hokuao Koontz, soprano Nikola Printz, mezzo-soprano Viktor Antipenko, tenor Hansung Yoo, baritone JIMMY LÓPEZ: Symphony No. 6, "Monarch" BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, “Choral” Two symphonies – one newly written, one timeless – come together in a celebration of nature, humanity, and hope. Peruvian born composer and San Diego Symphony Composer in Residence Jimmy López draws inspiration from the natural world that unites the Americas along the Pacific coast. In his Symphony No. 6, he turns to one of nature’s most wondrous phenomena: the migration of monarch butterflies. López transforms their journey into sound—a vivid meditation on transformation, endurance, and the fragile harmony between life and environment. The program culminates with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, a work that forever changed the symphonic form with its visionary finale setting of Friedrich Schiller’s "Ode to Joy." Written in defiance of personal struggle, the work transcends boundaries of time and culture, uniting orchestra, chorus, and audience in a single voice of exaltation. Its words and music – celebrating joy, brotherhood, and freedom – remain an anthem of shared humanity. Together, these two symphonies embody an unbroken continuum: López’s reflection on nature’s resilience and Beethoven’s immortal affirmation of the human spirit. In both, we are reminded of music’s power to lift us beyond division and reconnect us to wonder. San Diego Symphony on Facebook / Instagram

Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, 2 p.m. Joshua Weilerstein, conductor Jeff Thayer, violin KLEIN: Partita for Strings BARTÓK: Violin Concerto No. 1 DVORÁK: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, “From the New World” Joshua Weilerstein leads an East European journey of remembrance and rediscovery. The program opens with Gideon Klein’s Partita for strings, adapted from the young Czech Jewish composer’s 1944 "String Trio," written in the Theresienstadt concentration camp shortly before his death at age 25. Its Moravian folk song variations – tender, haunting, and defiant – are both a farewell and an elegy of hope. Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 1, never heard in his lifetime, was written in 1907 as a love offering to violinist Stefi Geyer. Its two movements chart the arc of passion – from glowing lyricism to dazzling virtuosity – with music that reveals the composer’s heart at its most vulnerable. San Diego Symphony concertmaster Jeff Thayer performs as soloist. The concert closes with Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”, one of the world’s most beloved symphonies. Written during the composer’s American sojourn, it fuses Czech lyricism with the rhythms and spiritual depth of Black American music shared with him by composer Harry T. Burleigh. For some, it embodies the American experience; for others, it expresses the longing of exile. Whatever one’s perspective, its timeless melodies remind us that great music speaks across cultures – connecting memory, identity, and the universal human spirit. San Diego Symphony on Facebook / Instagram

Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, 2 p.m. Osmo Vänskä, conductor Alessio Bax, piano SIBELIUS: "Pojhola’s Daughter" GRIEG: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 NIELSEN: Symphony No. 5, Op. 50 Finnish maestro Osmo Vänskä returns to San Diego with a thrilling Nordic program featuring music by Sibelius, Grieg, and Nielsen – three towering voices of the North. Sibelius’s tone poem "Pohjola’s Daughter," inspired by the Finnish epic Kalevala, tells of a white bearded hero who glimpses the radiant daughter of the God of the North weaving gold on a rainbow. When she sets him impossible tasks, she vanishes into the sky, leaving him to journey alone through the frozen landscape. Sibelius translates this myth and the glow of the Northern Lights into orchestral poetry. Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor remains one of the most beloved Romantic concertos – lyrical, exuberant, and steeped in Norwegian folk-dance rhythms. Its soaring melodies and dazzling piano writing have captivated audiences for over a century. The program concludes with Nielsen’s Symphony No. 5, a gripping, two movement masterpiece written in the aftermath of World War I. Defiant and visionary, it contrasts serene lyricism with eruptive power, culminating in a blazing resolution in E flat Major. Its notorious snare drum battle still electrifies audiences, as chaos ultimately yields to radiant order – a breathtaking testament to human resilience and renewal. San Diego Symphony on Facebook / Instagram

Grammy Award-winning Mariachi Los Camperos brings their energy to Jacobs Music Center, joined by the dazzling Ballet Folclórico Chiquina Palafox in a joyful celebration of Mexican traditions. Please Note: The San Diego Symphony Orchestra does not appear on this Jacobs Music Center Special Presentation. Mariachi Los Camperos on Facebook / Instagram

Charlie Parker’s bebop legacy remains ignited as jazz titan Charles McPherson leads a powerhouse ensemble. Together they will unleash high-flying lines, propulsive swing, and the fiery spirit of Bird in a one-night celebration of virtuosity, innovation and pure musical heat. Please note: The San Diego Symphony Orchestra does not appear on this Jazz @ The Jacobs concert. Charles McPherson on Facebook / Instagram

Last seen with La Jolla Music Society in 2021, the GRAMMY® Award-winning pianist Yuja Wang makes her highly anticipated return to San Diego in recital. Yuja Wang, one of today’s leading pianists, is celebrated for her charismatic artistry and electrifying spontaneity. She is an Artistic Partner of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, premiering major collaborations and touring globally. Please note: This is a rental event of the Jacobs Music Center, presented by La Jolla Music Society. The San Diego Symphony Orchestra does not appear on this event. Yuja Wang on Instagram