Looking for some new things to do this weekend. Here’s a roundup of arts and other events beginning today.
Fair food
The San Diego County Fair is a week into its 2026 run. Two of our U-T editors, Michael James Rocha and Jayne Yutig, made a visit last week to take part in the Fair-Tastic Food Competition, where judges and community members chose their favorite new foods at the fair this year.
Some of their favorite dishes? Pozole egg rolls, the “umami tsunami” seafood bowl (pictured above), the bacon pizza wand, lobster nachos and Chicken Charlie’s shawarma wrap. Hungry yet? Their review is linked below.
Meanwhile, the fair continues, running Wednesdays-Sundays, through June 5, at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.
READ MORE: We ate 18 foods at the fair. Here are our top 10 picks.
Dancers will perform with live music and a light installation at “Ritual: Solstice,” taking place on Saturday at Arts District Liberty Station. (City Lights)
Art/music/dance
An immersive multimedia event titled “Ritual: Solstice” will take place Saturday evening at Arts District Liberty Station.
Designed by the creator of City Lights at Quartyard, “Ritual: Solstice” is an art installations by Ten Six Pines, with live jazz from Riva & Friends, choreography and dance by Beth Guerrette and company and cocktails by Snake Oil Cocktail Co.
The art exhibit and cocktail reception event will feature dancers moving around the space and the audience, who will not be seated.
Doors open at 7:30 p.m. with the performance beginning at 8:30 p.m. at The Chapel, 2881 Roosevelt Road, Arts District Liberty Station, San Diego. Tickets are $35 in advance or $45 at door at eventbrite.com/e/ritualsolstice-tickets-1990114233244
An interactive exhibit at the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad. The museum will offer free admission on Father’s Day for international Make Music Day. (MOMM)
Music
If you don’t have plans yet for Father’s Day, consider a family visit to The Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad. On Sunday, it will host its annual Make Music Day event. Founded in France in 1982 as Fête de la Musique, it’s a celebration of music-making that will take place in more than 1,000 cities worldwide that day.
The event from 10 a.m. 5 p.m. Sunday will include free museum admission, continuously live music performances by local bands in the lobby, opportunities to explore and try out instruments in the museum, and an outdoor music jam (bring your own instrument for that one).
Admission is free, but reservations are requested at 760-304-5844. The museumis at 5790 Armada Drive, Carlsbad.
MORE IDEAS FOR FATHER’S DAY: 13 ways to celebrate dads at local restaurants on Father’s Day
San Diego playwright Herbert Siguenza will present a free playwrighting workshop in collaboratio with TuYo Theatre. (Palomar College)
Theater
San Diego’s TuYo Theatre is presenting a free playwriting workshop next week with San Diego-based playwright Herbert Siguenza.
The prolific playwright was a longtime member of the Chicano comedy-theater trio Culture Clash and he is a veteran actor at theaters throughout the state.
The three-day workshop is open to playwrights of all experience levels. Hours are 6 to 8 p.m. June 23 through 25 at Bayfront Charter High School, 830 Bay Blvd., Chula Vista. Pre-registration is required.
Movies
A scenes from Laurel and Hardy’s 1933 film “Sons of the Desert.”
Members of Saps at Sea, a local fan organization dedicated to celebrating and preserving the work of Golden-Era film stars Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, will host the Sons of the Desert 24th annual convention beginning this weekend in San Diego.
Taking place Sunday through next Thursday, the Sons of the Desert gathering will include screenings of Laurel and Hardy films, both silent and “talkies,” and presentations by Hollywood film historians. The convention will take place at the legacy Hotel & Spa in Mission Valley. For the full itinerary, visit facebook.com/sonsfestsandiego2026/.
READ MORE: Laurel and Hardy fans gather for films, fellowship
Museums
This morning, the San Diego History Center will open the exhibition “America at 250: San Diego 1776-2026.”
The ongoing exhibition at the Balboa Park museum celebrates the nation’s 250th anniversary from a local perspective, with more than 100 objects revealing the people, places and moments that shaped San Diego’s history from its beginnings as a Spanish settlement to its development as a frontier town to the vibrant metropolitan city it is today.
The exhibit was curated with the contribution of UCSD and SDSU history students who helped select many of the featured objects and helped craft the stories that visitors will encounter as they peruse the displays. Among the items are a historic Model T Ford, a stagecoach, rare architectural models, artwork, clothing, photographs and ephemera that bring local history to life. For more, visit sandiegohistory.org.
NASCAR weekend guide
In place of our usual list of weekend events, we’re switching things up today with a guide to all of the events happening around the NASCAR race on the North Island Naval Base on Coronado on Sunday. Even if you don’t have tickets to the race (base passes are sold out), there are lots of fun events for all ages. But plan your visit wisely. Significant traffic delays are expected due to backups on the Coronado Bridge.