June 20 marks the start of summer, and that means the return of a lot of events, along with the usual summer staples of going to the beach, barbecuing and engaging with the great outdoors. Below you'll find some of the major events taking place in our area this summer.
TGIF Jazz in the Parks
One of Carlsbad's most beloved summer traditions, one that dates to 1986, is the TGIF Jazz in the Parks, a concert series organized by the city's Cultural Arts Office and draws hundreds of people to several Carlsbad parks to dance, listen to music and enjoy a picnic under the stars, all free of charge.
The series goes from June 29 through Aug. 24, with concerts from 6-8 p.m. There are nine concerts total, hosted at Stagecoach Park (3420 Camino de los Coches), Poinsettia Park (6600 Hidden Valley Road) and Calavera Hills Park (2997 Glasgow Drive).
The city offers free shuttle service for the shows at Poinsettia Park and Calavera Hills. The schedule of bands features three longtime audience favorites, return engagements by three of 2011's hottest bands and three all-new bands.
The lineup is:
Stagecoach Park
Mofo Party Band (June 29), Big Time Operator (July 6) and Caf? R&B (July 13)
Poinsettia Park
Steve Lucky & The Rhumba Bums (July 20), B-Side Players (July 27) and Madame Le Roux & Krewe plus Euphoria Brass Band (Aug. 3).
Calavera Hills Park
Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars (Aug. 10), Ruby & The Red Hots (Aug. 17) and Johnny Polanco Orchestra (Aug. 24).
For more information about the TGIF Jazz in the Parks series, visit the City of Carlsbad's website (www.carlsbadca.gov) and look for the TGIF Jazz in the Parks link under the Cultural Arts listings.
San Diego County Fair
The 2012 edition of the San Diego County Fair, which has "Out of This World," a celebration of the wonder of the universe as its theme, will be at the Del Mar Fairgrounds from Friday, June 8 to Wednesday, July 4 (though it will close on Mondays except for July 2). One-day adult admission to the fair is $13, though a pass that offers admission to all 24 days is $24. You can expect all of the fair favorites, including a smorgasbord of food options, carnival rides and games, vendor booths and nightly entertainment.
New foods this year include both healthier food choices (Antipasto in a bread bowl and Hawaiian-inspired dishes) to the indulgent, headline-grabbing oddities (including the "Caveman Turkey Club," a pound of bacon wrapped around a turkey leg, deep-fried cereal and cookie dough on stick) that the fair is known for.
The fair will also offer its roster of concerts (most free with admission, though others require a separate ticket) with performers including Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Demi Lovato, Kenny Loggins, Train and "Weird Al" Yankovic.
For more information, visit the fair's website at www.sdfair.com.
Jazz at the Park
The Park Hyatt Aviara Resort's popular "Jazz at the Park" summer concert series is returning, but this year the concerts will be moving to Saturday evenings from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. from July 7 to July 28. The featured smooth jazz artists that will be performing this year are Mindi Abair (July 7), Rick Braun (July 14), Euge Groove (July 21) and Peter White (July 28).
The concerts are held at the resort's outdoor events center, which features theater-style seats as well as open seating around cocktail tables, both offering beautiful sunset views of Aviara's rolling hills.
While the concert is complimentary for guests staying at the resort, a limited numbers of tickets are available to the public. The cost is $65 at the door or $220 for the series
For more information on "Jazz at the Park" at Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, visit www.jazzatthepark.com.
Project Walk hosts Move with Music
On Monday, June 18, Project Walk will hold "Move with Music," a fund-raising concert featuring performances by popular San Diego nostalgia band The Mar Dels, Stone Senses, a Carlsbad band that blends reggae, rock and soul, and Kadey Garnet, a songwriter from the east coast of Australia whose songs mix soul, R&B and folk.
The concert will take place from 6-9:30 p.m. at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, 143 S. Cedros Ave.
The focus of the concert is to raise funds for Project Walk to purchase the Ekso, a bionic exoskeleton that helps people with spinal cord injuries to stand and walk. Project Walk (www.projectwalk.org), is set to be one of the first 15 facilities in the United States, and the only one in San Diego, that will get this device. Project Walk’s goal is to raise $250,000 for the machine.
Tickets to the Move with Music concert are $15 presale and $25 at the door. To purchase tickets, go to www.bellyup.com. This event is for those who are 21 and older.
Mercury Insurance Open returns
The Mercury Insurance Open presented by Tri-City Medical Center returns to the La Costa Resort and Spa from July 14-22 (earlier than last year because of the Olympics) bringing the best women's tennis players in the world to our backyard to compete in a tournament that features a 28-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw, vying with a combined purse of $740,000.
Tracing its history to 1984 (with a hiatus in 2008) past champions include Steffi Graff, Martina Hingis, Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova and 2011 winner Agnieska Radwanska, currently ranked No. 5 in the world.
The Mercury Insurance Open, a Premier WTA event, is part of the summer's Emirates Airline US Open Series tournaments which lead up to the US Open held in September. The players compete for both WTA career-making ranking points and bonus points from the Emirates Airline US Open Series.
Tickets are now available online. For more information, visit ww.mercuryinsuranceopen.com.
Moonlight Amphitheatre kicks off season
The Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista opens its 2012 Summer Season, its 32nd season, with a production of "Legally Blonde: The Musical," a 2007 Tony-nominated play based on the popular movie.
It runs June 27 through July 14, with shows on Wednesday through Sundays on the first two weeks of performance and Thursday through Saturday on the third week. There will be no show on July 4, though there will be a special performance on July 3.
Tickets are now on sale and range from $15 to $50.
The Moonlight Amphitheatre is located inside Brengle Terrace Park, 1200 Vale Terrace Drive and features theater-style seats and a lawn area. Performances start at 8 p.m. and gates open at 6:30 p.m. for picnicking and dining (non-alcoholic drinks and food are permitted into the amphitheater).
The season will also include "Fiddler on the Roof" (from July 25 through Aug. 11); "Anything Goes," from Aug. 22 to Sept. 8, and "Sweeney Todd," from Sept. 19 to Oct. 6.
For more information, go to www.moonlightstage.com
TGIF Jazz in the Parks
One of Carlsbad's most beloved summer traditions, one that dates to 1986, is the TGIF Jazz in the Parks, a concert series organized by the city's Cultural Arts Office and draws hundreds of people to several Carlsbad parks to dance, listen to music and enjoy a picnic under the stars, all free of charge.
The series goes from June 29 through Aug. 24, with concerts from 6-8 p.m. There are nine concerts total, hosted at Stagecoach Park (3420 Camino de los Coches), Poinsettia Park (6600 Hidden Valley Road) and Calavera Hills Park (2997 Glasgow Drive).
The city offers free shuttle service for the shows at Poinsettia Park and Calavera Hills. The schedule of bands features three longtime audience favorites, return engagements by three of 2011's hottest bands and three all-new bands.
The lineup is:
Stagecoach Park
Mofo Party Band (June 29), Big Time Operator (July 6) and Caf? R&B (July 13)
Poinsettia Park
Steve Lucky & The Rhumba Bums (July 20), B-Side Players (July 27) and Madame Le Roux & Krewe plus Euphoria Brass Band (Aug. 3).
Calavera Hills Park
Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars (Aug. 10), Ruby & The Red Hots (Aug. 17) and Johnny Polanco Orchestra (Aug. 24).
For more information about the TGIF Jazz in the Parks series, visit the City of Carlsbad's website (www.carlsbadca.gov) and look for the TGIF Jazz in the Parks link under the Cultural Arts listings.
San Diego County Fair
The 2012 edition of the San Diego County Fair, which has "Out of This World," a celebration of the wonder of the universe as its theme, will be at the Del Mar Fairgrounds from Friday, June 8 to Wednesday, July 4 (though it will close on Mondays except for July 2). One-day adult admission to the fair is $13, though a pass that offers admission to all 24 days is $24. You can expect all of the fair favorites, including a smorgasbord of food options, carnival rides and games, vendor booths and nightly entertainment.
New foods this year include both healthier food choices (Antipasto in a bread bowl and Hawaiian-inspired dishes) to the indulgent, headline-grabbing oddities (including the "Caveman Turkey Club," a pound of bacon wrapped around a turkey leg, deep-fried cereal and cookie dough on stick) that the fair is known for.
The fair will also offer its roster of concerts (most free with admission, though others require a separate ticket) with performers including Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Demi Lovato, Kenny Loggins, Train and "Weird Al" Yankovic.
For more information, visit the fair's website at www.sdfair.com.
Jazz at the Park
The Park Hyatt Aviara Resort's popular "Jazz at the Park" summer concert series is returning, but this year the concerts will be moving to Saturday evenings from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. from July 7 to July 28. The featured smooth jazz artists that will be performing this year are Mindi Abair (July 7), Rick Braun (July 14), Euge Groove (July 21) and Peter White (July 28).
The concerts are held at the resort's outdoor events center, which features theater-style seats as well as open seating around cocktail tables, both offering beautiful sunset views of Aviara's rolling hills.
While the concert is complimentary for guests staying at the resort, a limited numbers of tickets are available to the public. The cost is $65 at the door or $220 for the series
For more information on "Jazz at the Park" at Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, visit www.jazzatthepark.com.
Project Walk hosts Move with Music
On Monday, June 18, Project Walk will hold "Move with Music," a fund-raising concert featuring performances by popular San Diego nostalgia band The Mar Dels, Stone Senses, a Carlsbad band that blends reggae, rock and soul, and Kadey Garnet, a songwriter from the east coast of Australia whose songs mix soul, R&B and folk.
The concert will take place from 6-9:30 p.m. at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, 143 S. Cedros Ave.
The focus of the concert is to raise funds for Project Walk to purchase the Ekso, a bionic exoskeleton that helps people with spinal cord injuries to stand and walk. Project Walk (www.projectwalk.org), is set to be one of the first 15 facilities in the United States, and the only one in San Diego, that will get this device. Project Walk’s goal is to raise $250,000 for the machine.
Tickets to the Move with Music concert are $15 presale and $25 at the door. To purchase tickets, go to www.bellyup.com. This event is for those who are 21 and older.
Mercury Insurance Open returns
The Mercury Insurance Open presented by Tri-City Medical Center returns to the La Costa Resort and Spa from July 14-22 (earlier than last year because of the Olympics) bringing the best women's tennis players in the world to our backyard to compete in a tournament that features a 28-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw, vying with a combined purse of $740,000.
Tracing its history to 1984 (with a hiatus in 2008) past champions include Steffi Graff, Martina Hingis, Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova and 2011 winner Agnieska Radwanska, currently ranked No. 5 in the world.
The Mercury Insurance Open, a Premier WTA event, is part of the summer's Emirates Airline US Open Series tournaments which lead up to the US Open held in September. The players compete for both WTA career-making ranking points and bonus points from the Emirates Airline US Open Series.
Tickets are now available online. For more information, visit ww.mercuryinsuranceopen.com.
Moonlight Amphitheatre kicks off season
The Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista opens its 2012 Summer Season, its 32nd season, with a production of "Legally Blonde: The Musical," a 2007 Tony-nominated play based on the popular movie.
It runs June 27 through July 14, with shows on Wednesday through Sundays on the first two weeks of performance and Thursday through Saturday on the third week. There will be no show on July 4, though there will be a special performance on July 3.
Tickets are now on sale and range from $15 to $50.
The Moonlight Amphitheatre is located inside Brengle Terrace Park, 1200 Vale Terrace Drive and features theater-style seats and a lawn area. Performances start at 8 p.m. and gates open at 6:30 p.m. for picnicking and dining (non-alcoholic drinks and food are permitted into the amphitheater).
The season will also include "Fiddler on the Roof" (from July 25 through Aug. 11); "Anything Goes," from Aug. 22 to Sept. 8, and "Sweeney Todd," from Sept. 19 to Oct. 6.
For more information, go to www.moonlightstage.com