Best Bets for Events in San Diego region: Nov. 14-20 include senior dance, chocolate seminar, panda talk, escape room for teens
Best Bets for Events in San Diego region: Nov. 14-20, 2019
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‘Turkey Trot’ Senior Dance
• The “Turkey Trot” Senior Dance begins at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, 2019, a week before Thanksgiving, at La Jolla Recreation Center, 615 Prospect St., La Jolla. Dinner, beverages and coffee will be served, with the Breez’n Band providing the boogie tunes. Tickets: $15 at the door or online (there’s a $2 transaction fee and 3 percent service charge on credit card purchases). Visit sdrecconnect.com and search activity code 64923. (858) 552-1658. bit.ly/ljreccenter
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Mystery Fun for Teens
• La Jolla Library presents an Escape Room for teens with riddles and puzzles to solve. Come on your own or in a small group and test your wits. Can you solve the clues before time is up? (Don’t worry, parents, it’s safe!) For ages 13-18, 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, 2019 at 7555 Draper Ave., La Jolla. Free. (858) 552-1657. lajollalibrary.org
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All About Orchids
• La Jolla Garden Club presents Chuck McClung, a local botanist with a passion for orchids who wrote the book “How Orchids Rebloom,” 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019 at La Jolla Woman’s Club, 7791 Draper Ave., La Jolla. Bring your problem orchid for a consultation after the meeting. Guests are welcome. lajollagardenclub.org
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Visiting Mongolia through Photos
• A nation bordered by China and Russia, Mongolia is known for its rugged and nomadic culture. In July 2018, world traveler Gloria McCoy visited this expansive country during the three-day Nadam Festival. Hear her report at the next La Jolla Photo Travelers Club meeting, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019 at Wesley Palms, 2404 Loring St., Pacific Beach. Free. For information, e-mail christam10@icloud.com
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Sweet Choco Mania!
• Chocolate expert Nina Gilbert (who is also Congregational Church of La Jolla’s music director) will unwrap the magic of chocolate through an exploration of its connections to art, history, science, politics, economics, and even military science at noon, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2019 in the church’s Fellowship Hall, 1216 Cave St., La Jolla. Gilbert will take guests on a tasting odyssey, showcasing single-origin chocolates from Venezuela, Hawaii, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and the Congo, plus two flavorful blended chocolates. Free and open to all. Freewill offering.
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Why Pandas?
• Dr. E. Elena Songster will discuss “Giant Pandas, a Chinese Cultural Icon and Conservation Catalyst,” 11 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019 at San Diego Chinese Historical Museum’s Chuang Archive & Learning Center, 541 Second Ave., Suite B, downtown San Diego. In her book, “Panda Nation,” Songster chronciles how the giant panda interweaves the struggles of local ethnic minorities, national economic growth and foreign diplomacy, as it punctuates the centrality of the natural environment in China’s effort to forge its own national identity. Free. (619) 388-9888. sdchm.org
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Two Concerts to Catch
• The Penderecki Piano Trio was created by three acclaimed Polish musicians: Konrad Skolarski, Jarosław Nadrzycki and Karol Marianowski. Each has a history of performances all over Asia, Europe, North America and South America. 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, 2019 at Conrad Prebys Concert Hall on the UC San Diego campus, 9500 Gilman Drive (at Russell Lane and Rupertus Lane) in La Jolla. Tickets from $45 available by calling (858) 534-8497; in person at the UCSD Box Office, located on the plaza level of the Price Center West; or visit artpower.ucsd.edu
• The Steel House Trio — Edward Simon, Scott Colley and Brian Blade, each credited as a world-class jazz player with his own robust composing, recording and performing career — take the stage 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17, 2019 at The Auditorium at The Scripps Research Institute, 10620 John Jay Hopkins Drive, La Jolla. Tickets: $35-$40. (858) 454-5872. ljathenaeum.org
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Art Exhibits Open at MCASD
• Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) will present two exhibitions that highlight work from the Museum’s vast, permanent collection. “México Quiero Conocerte: Photographs by Graciela Iturbide and Manuel Álvarez Bravo” and “Bound to the Earth: Art, Materiality and the Natural World,” both open 5-8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019 and will remain on view through March 15, 2020 at MCASD, 1100 & 1001 Kettner Blvd., downtown San Diego. Admission: $10. The MCASD location in La Jolla remains closed while its $95 million expansion and refurbishment project continues, with completion expected in 2021. (858) 454-3541. mcasd.org
