Best Bets: A quick guide to online entertainment and virtual experiences
Here are some “Best Bets” for online activities to undertake on your smart phone, computer or tablet during your stay-at-home, quarantine quandary.
Memorial Day virtual event
• The Mount Soledad National Veterans Memorial will stream its annual Memorial Day event at 9 a.m. Monday, May 25, free and in conjunction with the USS Midway Museum, Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery and Miramar National Cemetery. sandiegomemorialdaylive.com
School online event
Pacific Ridge Senior Arts Spotlight Night
Pacific Ridge School will pay tribute to its talented graduating visual and performing artists during its annual Senior Arts Spotlight Night on Wednesday, May 27 at 6 p.m. To view the event, go to www.youtube.com/channel/UC2SXUYo8NbV25zIteFDnNEQ/live
Lectures & learning
• UCSD-TV presents the Helen Edison Lecture Series, a wide variety of free lectures on issues that advance humanitarian purposes and objectives. Check out “Contemporary Art and Performance in Public Spaces,” in which three curators discuss their visions to boost audience engagement and arts production in public spaces, at bit.ly/edisonartslecture. Visit more lectures at ucsd.tv/helen-edison.
• View past lectures from the San Diego Museum of Art, such as January’s “Artists in Love” and “Magritte and Surrealist Works in the Permanent Collection.” They’re free via the museum’s YouTube channel, bit.ly/sdmalectures.
Cooking & creating
• The La Jolla Community Center offers Beginning Acrylic Painting online with Nicole Caulfield from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 27. Students can paint at their own pace and discuss their work with Caulfield and others, as well as receive instructions on brushes, painting and color wheel use. Email deborah@ljcommunitycenter.org for information.
• Friday teenage art classes have resumed online via La Jolla’s Athenaeum Music & Arts Library. The next classes are from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. May 22. Email lrossner@ljathenaeum.org for information.
Family & children
• Spotify is slowly releasing the first Harry Potter book chapter by chapter, read aloud by various celebrities. Daniel Radcliffe, who portrays the title character in the Harry Potter film series, reads Chapter 1. Listen at bit.ly/spotifypotter.
• Girl Squad Fitness offers virtual classes for girls in grades three to five from 2 to 2:40 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Donation-based activities focus on self-confidence, self-acceptance and positive peer interactions. Sign up at GirlSquadFitness.com.
• The San Diego Zoo kicked off a 16-week “Kids Corner” series. Hosted by Dr. Zoolittle, the free series of online workshops aimed at children ages 7-11 includes trivia, crafts and virtual visits with animals. New installments are released weekly. zoo.sandiegozoo.org/kids-corner
• You can join the San Diego Public Library’s Stay-in Storytime Club to gain access to a variety of free daily and weekly programs, such as Lunch Bunch story time at noon weekdays, Simple Science at 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Art of Cartooning at noon Saturdays. facebook.com/groups/SDPLstorytime
Travel & outdoors
• If you’re looking for inspiration to exercise while staying close to home, “A Mile an Hour” is a documentary in which Beau Miles ran around his block every hour to complete a marathon in a day. bit.ly/mileanhourmarathon
Health & fitness
• A free discussion about meditation called “Meditation: Why Isn’t Everyone Doing It?” and guided meditation by Erhard Vogel will be offered on Zoom from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. Thursday, May 28. Register at (858) 395-4033 or pamreed7965@gmail.com and a Zoom invite will be sent to you in advance. yogameditationnataraja.com
• Trilogy Sanctuary livestreams yoga and meditation classes online for donations or class passes, with some presented free. Classes are available in a variety of yoga types, such as Hatha, Power Vinyasa and Slow Flow. trilogysanctuary.com/yoga-schedule
Art & culture
• The Old Globe Theatre‘s artistic director, Barry Edelstein returns at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 26, for “Thinking Shakespeare Live,” an online event that introduces the sonnets and delves into one, exploring its language and how it relates to Shakespeare’s work for the stage via The Old Globe Theatre’s Facebook page, facebook.com/theoldglobe.
Virtual galas & events
• Susan G. Komen San Diego‘s annual More Than Pink dinner goes virtual this year at 7 p.m. Friday, May 29. Featuring entertainment, an auction, giveaways and more, the event raises funding for local breast health services and global research. Register at komensandiego.org/dinner.
What have you found for entertainment from a (social) distance? Email your leads to efrausto@lajollalight.com.
