San Diego Weekend Guide: April 28-30 – Flurry of Fests

Jeepers, but it’s going to be pretty this San Diego weekend. And oh, the number of outdoor activities happening just in time for it – whew!

The WOW Festival – the La Jolla Playhouse event formally known as Without Walls – continues with dozens of options, from theater and dance to music and puppetry. Local artists include performers from the San Diego Symphony, DISCO RIOT, the Diversionary Theatre, TuYo Theatre and the Blindspot Collective. Most shows are free and this year, the action shifts to the waterfront Rady Shell at Jacobs Park. WOW opens at 4 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

You honestly could make it a free arts weekend in downtown San Diego. Spend a few hours at WOW, then shift several blocks north to Little Italy for ArtWalk, where 250 artists offer up their best paintings, photos and other creations in booths along India Street. Musicians also will perform on four stages during the two-day event – it opens at 11 a.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday.

Need your mid-year fix of music on Adams Avenue? It’s time for Adams Avenue Unplugged, with live performances inside restaurants, bars and coffee houses along two miles of the main drag, from University Heights to Kensington. Headliner Dave Alvin’s show sold out, but never fear. There are more than 60 other shows to see. Start times stretch from noon to 9 p.m.

There’s SO much free community and cultural festival goodness this weekend too.

The Encinitas Spring Street Fair opens at 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday with food, arts and crafts vendors plus entertainment on four stages, children’s rides and a kid/dog-friendly beer garden. Head to South Coast Highway 101 in downtown.

The first Southern California Asian & Pacific Islander Festival opens at 10 a.m. Saturday at Oceanside Civic Center with more than 20 Asian and Pacific Islander cultures set to be represented. Performers will take to three stages for the free event, which includes a martial arts demonstration arena, Library Hub, storytelling and hands-on cultural activities.

Spring Valley Day 2023, in front of Bancroft Elementary School, includes a car show, arts and crafts fair, chalk mural, live entertainment and local vendors and kids’ zone. The event starts at 10 a.m. Saturday. There’s a free bike valet too.

Linda Vista hosts its Multi-Cultural Fair and Parade on Linda Vista Road between Comstock and Ulric Street, opening at 10 a.m. Saturday, with booths and music and dance on two stages. The parade, starting on Genesee Avenue leading to Comstock, begins at 11 a.m.