La Jolla Calendar of Events - February to May

Through Sunday, February 21 - The 20th Annual San Diego Jewish Film Festival continues. See http://sdcjc.lfjcc.org/sdjff/2010/ for details.

February 23 – Wendy Craig-Purcell, author of Ask Yourself This, will speak and sign her new book at Warwick’s, 7812 Girard Avenue, at 7:30pm. http://www.warwicks.com/

February 15 to 28 - The La Jolla Art Association, 8100 Paseo del Ocaso (La Jolla Shores), Winter Invitational features artwork by prize-winning La Jolla artists (www.LaJollaArt.org).

Through the end of February - “Travels Through Europe” watercolors by Francoise Farron are on exhibit at the La Jolla Public Library, 7555 Draper Avenue.


February 21 to May 16 - The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) in La Jolla will feature a new exhibit, Pleasure Point: Celebrating 25 Years of Contemporary Collectors. Organized by the museum, the exhibit celebrates the achievements of two groups of passionate collectors who support the MCASD, the Contemporary Collectors and the International Collectors, by showcasing major highlights of the museum acquisitions they have made possible during the past 25 years. Among the many works on view will be Tony Oursler’s confrontational video installation, Don’t Look at Me (1994); Doris Salcedo’s untitled, concrete-impregnated armoire (1995); Cornelia Parker’s scintillating Rorschach (Accidental IV) (2006), constructed from 70 crushed, silver-plated objects; and one of the most ambitious works ever acquired by the Museum, Nancy Rubins’ exuberant site-specific installation Pleasure Point (2006). http://www.mcasd.org/

February 28 to March 28 - Discover the beauty and mystery of life along the La Jolla coast during tide pooling excursions with naturalists from Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. At this time of the year, lower tides reveal wider beaches and pools teeming with native marine life, such as hermit crabs, sea hares and sea anemones. Aquarium naturalists will guide participants through these fragile environments and identify inhabitants. The cost is $12, ages 2 and older. Directions to meeting place will be provided at time of RSVP. 858-534-7336 http://aquarium.ucsd.edu/

February 28, 2-4 p.m., False Point.
March 13, 1-3 p.m., Dike Rock.
March 28, 1:30-3:30 p.m., False Point


March 4 - During six presidential administrations, Nancy K. Clarke served as the White House Chief Floral Designer. In this role, she decorated for 31 holiday seasons and prepared arrangements for numerous state dinners. On Thursday, March 4 at 1:30pm, she will share her story and photos and give a floral demonstration at Sherwood Auditorium at the Museum of Contemporary Art, La Jolla. The program is sponsored by The Village Garden Club of La Jolla and will benefit their Schoolyard Gardening Project. Tickets for non-members are $65 and include a reception following the lecture and complimentary valet parking. The $250 per person tickets also include a cocktail party on March 3 at the spectacular Mt. Soledad home of club member Judy White and her husband Jack. (http://www.villagegardencluboflajolla/, 760-814-1430)


March 4 to March 14 - As part of its Page to Stage program, the La Jolla Playhouse will showcase the one-man show, John Leguizamo Diary of a Madman. Emmy Award-winner John Leguizamo gets up close and personal with vivid accounts of where he's been and the people who’ve shaped his life in the new, uncensored and uninhibited production. Currently Leguizamo delights younger fans as the voice of “Sid” in Ice Age 1, 2, and 3 in addition to appearances in several movies including The Happening, Righteous Kill and Love in the Time of Cholera. http://www.lajollaplayhouse.org/


Photo courtesy Scripps Oceanography.

Something fishy going on in La Jolla

If you're visiting La Jolla and notice groups of locals on the beach at night shining flashlights onto the surf, chances are good the grunion - tiny little fish - are going through their odd mating ritual. Nothing - well, almost nothing - intrigues San Diegans like a good grunion run.

On certain spring and summer nights following high tides, hundreds of the small, silvery fish ride waves onto shore for this remarkable dance. While on the beach, female grunion bury themselves in the sand to lay eggs, while males wrap themselves protectively around the females to fertilize their eggs. Both catch a wave to return to sea.

You can grab a flashlight (and jacket) and head to La Jolla Shores on your own or you can join the folks at Birch Aquarium (http://aquarium.ucsd.edu/) for a more educated approach to the spawning phenomena. Reservations must be made in advance by calling 858-534-7336. The program costs $12 per person.

Dates of the spring Birch Aquarium escorted runs are:

Friday, April 16, 9:30-11:30 p.m.
Friday, May 14, 9:30-11:30 p.m.
Friday, May 28, 9-11 p.m.
Saturday, May 29, 9:30-11:30 p.m.

If you want more info, "Grunion Groupies" meet Saturdays and Sundays, April 3-June 6 at 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps. Here, naturalists describe the tale of the elusive California grunion, including how these fish "run" up our local beaches and lay their eggs in the moist sand.

The Grunion Groupie lecture is included in the cost of admission to the Aquarium: $12 adult, $9 senior, $8.50 youth 3-17, and children under 2 free.

The California Department of Fish & Game also provides information on their website and posts the schedule for the "expected grunion runs" March - August 2010 http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/grunionschedule.asp

You really haven't seen La Jollans at their kookiest until you've been to a grunion run.

Watercolor courtesy of Grunion Greeter Don Longacre, www.grunion.org