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San Diego Event Calendar

March 2010

San Diego Science Festival — 20 - 27 Mar 2010 (annual) San Diego Don't forget your lab coat and goggles for San Diego Science Festival, an eight-day event held in various venues across the Californian city. Hands-on activities, demonstrations, experiments, contests and performances make up the innovative event.

San Diego Science Festival, California. Courtesy of San Diego Science Festival

SeaWorld — Daily SeaWorld A gigantic adventure marine park, SeaWorld San Diego provides fantastic family entertainment. It offers sea lion and killer whale shows, close-ups with dolphins, penguins and sharks, screamingly good rides and water coasters.

High-flying dolphins and pilot whales entertain and amaze in SeaWorld San Diego's Dolphin Discovery show. © 2009 by Sea World Inc

USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum — Daily USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum The San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum is onboard the USS Midway, the longest-serving aircraft carrier in US Navy history. A self-guided audio tour takes visitors through over 60 exhibits and 25 restored aircraft, with access areas including the flight deck.

The mighty USS Midway steams on. Courtesy of USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum

San Diego Zoo — Daily San Diego Zoo Located in beautiful Balboa Park, 100-acre San Diego Zoo was founded in 1916 with an original collection of 50 animals. Now it cares for over 4000 animals from 800 different species - making it one of the finest zoos in the world.

Giant Panda at San Diego Zoo. Courtesy of San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau/San Diego Zoo

Balboa Park — Daily Balboa Park The world-famous Balboa Park is home to 15 museums, arts and international culture associations, and the popular San Diego Zoo. This makes it one of the nation's largest cultural and entertainment complexes, visited by over 12 million people each year.

Balboa Park at Twilight and the California Tower of the Museum of Man, San Diego. Photo by Joanne DiBona, courtesy of Balboa Park

Mission San Diego de Alcala — Daily Mission San Diego de Alcala The Mission San Diego de Alcala was founded in 1769 and was the first church in California. The present building was completed in 1813. Originally the Mission and the Spanish fort were located on the hill above Old Town San Diego.

Mission San Diego de Alcala. Courtesy of San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau

Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego — Daily; not Wed Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego San Diego's Museum of Contemporary Art is a leading institution housing over 3000 works created after 1950. The permanent collection is particularly strong in Minimalism and Pop Art, conceptual art, installations, Latin American art and works from California and Tijuana region.

Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, La Jolla. Courtesy of San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau/A. Scoggins

Hotel del Coronado — Daily Hotel del Coronado With a spectacular beachfront location on Coronado Island in San Diego, the Hotel del Coronado is one of America's most beautiful beach resorts. The hotel was built in 1888 and offers visitors modern luxury in an enchanting Victorian atmosphere. Facilties include eight restaurants and a state-of-the-art spa. There are seasonal activity programmes for children and teenagers.

A view of the Hotel del Coronado

Ocean Beach Kite Festival — 6 Mar 2010 (annual)

Ocean Beach Recreation Center

The Ocean Beach Recreation Center in San Diego hosts an annual Kite Festival. A great family outing, the festival includes a kite making, decorating and flying contest, as well as a craft fair, food stalls, live entertainment and a parade.

San Diego Latino Film Festival — 11 - 21 Mar 2010 (annual)

UltraStar Cinemas Mission Valley

The annual San Diego Latino Film Festival is held at the UltraStar Cinemas Mission Valley. It showcases a range of national and international features, shorts and documentaries exploring the full Latino experience.

Naturalist-Guided Whale Watching — 24 Dec 2009 - 4 Apr 2010 (annual)

Birch Aquarium

Join a Scripps naturalist on San Diego Harbour for this whale watching expedition. Run by the Birch Aquarium, the expedition follows the majestic gray whale. Book early to be sure of a place on the boat.

Museum of Photographic Arts — Daily; not Mon

Museum of Photographic Arts

San Diego's Museum of Photographic Arts was founded in 1983 and is housed in the Casa De Balboa building in the renowned Balboa Park. It utilises both its permanent collection and temporary exhibitions to conserve and explore the versatility of the medium.

Nancy Rubins: Pleasure Point — Daily; not Wed

Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

On permanent display at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Pleasure Point is an accumulation of rowboats, canoes, jet skis and surfboards suspended above the west side of the museum's La Jolla facility, created by Los-Angeles based sculptor Nancy Rubins.

The Artful Soul — Daily; not Sun

The Artful Soul

Funky Artful Soul in La Jolla, San Diego, has a wide selection of distinctive jewellery, handbags, pottery and other gifts by some of the hottest up-and-coming designers. They feature many one-of-a-kind pieces, and at very reasonable prices.

The Wine Bank — Daily

The Wine Bank

Looking for that limited release cabernet sauvignon or hopelessly rare cognac? You might find it at the Wine Bank, in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter. There's a huge range of wines, liqueurs and spirits, and the basement vaults host tasting events.

Muttropolis — Daily

Muttropolis

Okay, so your dog's going out and she hasn't got a thing to wear... Muttropolis is La Jolla's headquarters for doggie fashion, kitty collars, toys and more. They even host doggie "socials" where your pet can mingle with other canines.

Nunu's — Daily

Nunu's

Nunu's in Hillcrest isn't your average dive bar. The tasty cocktails are made with care, and the crowd's lively and diverse (and less numerous on weeknights), as is the music on the jukebox. Get there early to snag a red vinyl booth.

The Field — Daily

The Field

The Field is as authentic an Irish pub gets outside of Ireland: shipped piece by piece from the old country to San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter. Visit for live music, shepherds pie, an honest pint of Guinness and Irish whiskey. There are live performances most Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Thin — Thu, Fri, and Sat only

Thin

San Diego venue Thin describes itself as a "hyper-contemporary environment engineered for drinks," and once inside you'll know what they mean. Trippy lighting, colourful, sculptural walls and tables, and DJ-driven music set the tone for the 'environment'. As for the drinks, they're architectural, iridescent, and very likely new to you. The crowd is hip, chic, and quite possibly engineered for cool.