San Diego Weekend Guide: Sept. 13-15 – Friday the 13th Edition

You might be hiding under your covers are you read this, it being Friday the 13th and all. Boo! But this San Diego weekend doesn’t just begin with a date that leaves many folks with a shiver, it also essentially launches the spooky season – just seven weeks ’til Halloween, y’all.

But first comes Friday the 13th, when the Gaslamp Museum hosts a spooky evening by candlelight with fortune telling, practice on ghost hunting equipment and a photo booth.  Admission costs $59 ahead of time, but goes up at the door.

In addition, Legoland in Carlsbad and Sesame Place San Diego launch the friendliest of the seasonal Halloween haunts, Brick or Treat 2024 and the Count’s Halloween Spooktacular Saturday. Be warned: The really spooky ones are coming soon.

Note:  The Gaslamp isn’t just about the scaries. It’s about eats too and the 28th annual Taste of Gaslamp puts more than 20 downtown bars and restaurants firmly in the spotlight at 1 p.m. Saturday. Tickets start at $50.

The 24th annual San Diego LGBTQ Film Festival, perhaps in a nod to Friday the 13th, has more than a few horror pics this year. The fest continues at 1 p.m. Friday at the Museum of Photographic Arts with screenings of Witchy Ways and There’s a Zombie Outside and at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday with Sunflower, Demons at Dawn and All Shall Be Well. Individual screenings cost $15.

Find family-friendly fun in three communities this weekend:

• Clairemont Family Day begins with a very early pancake breakfast, at 7 a.m., followed by the fest at 9 a.m. Saturday with bands, magic shows, pony rides and a car show at South Clairemont Park and Recreation Center. AquaFest, by the city of San Diego, offers pool access, a foam party for little ones and the chance to meet firefighters and lifeguards.
• Grape Day Park hosts the Grape Day Festival at noon Saturday with “old-time” entertainment, including bluegrass and swing, artisan vendors, food, a Kid’s Fun Zone, historic displays, a petting zoo and local wines and beer.
• Hit the streets for the RB Alive! Street Fair in Rancho Bernardo with more than 300 booths, two stages, a kids zone and food festival. Stroll Bernardo Center Drive between Lomica Drive and Bernardo Plaza Court at noon Sunday.

Vanguard Culture presents ENVZN24 Urban Art Takeover at the Soap Factory at 2 p.m. Saturday. Artists from both sides of the border will transform the Commercial Street corridor in Logan Heights with everything from large-scale puppetry and a fashion show by Fashion Week San Diego to art installations with curated soundscapes and a mini film fest. Admission starts at $46 with discounts for the community, military and artists.

Make time to celebrate our neighbor to the south, in part for Mexican Independence Day on Monday, in Escondido, Oceanside and Chula Vista:

• Fiestas Patrias 2024, at noon Sunday at Grape Day Park, begins with a church mass, followed by a lineup that includes mariachis and ballet folklorico. There’s a beer and spirit garden and a kids’ zone with activities for all ages.
• Oceanside Noche Mexicana 2024 kicks off the city’s commemoration of Hispanic Heritage Month at Oceanside Civic Center Plaza. Starting at 1 p.m. Sunday, see performances by Ballet Folklorico Tapatio de Oceanside, Los Hijos de Beltrán, Mariachi Mi San Diego and more, and a re-enactment of the Grito de Dolores.
• The local Consulate General of Mexico hosts the official “El Grito” to celebrate Mexican independence at Memorial Park in Chula Vista with speakers, music and dancers, street vendors and a performance by Norteño singer Tapy Quintero. Head out at 4 p.m. Sunday.