You come home from your first day of school and your parents ask, “Did you make any new friends?” Maybe trading Lunchables or sharing a pack of Oreos helped you break out of your shell to strike up a conversation. Maybe you saw your classmate wearing a Padres hat and asked if his favorite player was

Imagine being the song continuously getting skipped on the playlist. Not because no one wants to hear you, but because you never quite fit the moment. For years, San Diego has been that song on the touring circuit. Artists who have outgrown intimate clubs but aren’t yet filling  arenas and stadiums

SDMA’s 100th Anniversary On February 28, 1926, the Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego (now called the San Diego Museum of Art) opened its Plateresque doors to 3,000 guests for opening day. Over the next century, the museum changed with the times—even once functioning as a naval hospital after Pearl Harb

The 1950s were heady times in Berkeley. World War II was over, building materials were no longer rationed, and new enthusiasm for Modernist architecture was taking hold. Seven decades later, the East Bay hills remain a trove of dwellings influenced by this period of European modernism. One of the mo

There’s a good chance you’ve spotted Allison Hunsley’s sizable murals and other artwork around town, perhaps at One of Us Bar or Brickhouse Apartments in North Park, Slowly Restaurant & Bar in Pacific Beach, or Mary’s Salads in Ocean Beach. Or maybe you’ve seen her live painting at an event like las

September is San Diego’s unofficial second summer—the crowds thin, the weather stays warm, and the city’s calendar somehow gets even busier. This month brings stadium-sized rock shows, Broadway’s buzziest comedy, a new anime convention, world-premiere theater, gallery openings, food festivals, and t

Ramona Rodeo Meet some rodeo queens (or be crowned as one yourself) in R-Town’s annual celebration of the Wild West. Three days of mutton bustin’, tie-down roping, and barrel racing are all doing the community some good: Proceeds from the event funnel into local organizations like Ramona Town Hall a

What the hell just happened? That was the question on loop in my head as I sat, nearly catatonic, watching my chickens scratch and crap, from a chair on my patio. It was the first Monday after dropping my one and only at college on the other side of the country. I was tired to the bone and in shock.

Set on an exquisitely landscaped 2.7-acre lot in Santa Barbara’s legendary Hope Ranch neighborhood, this 2023 dwelling by DesignARC is a contemporary essay in the lessons learned from International Style architect Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe. With a restricted palette of travertine, steel and glass and

“Come test something.” Those are quite possibly my three favorite words in the English language—all due respect to “I love you” or the highly underrated “you were right.” I’ve been a PGA Golf Professional since 1994, and yes, full bias disclosure, a Callaway Golf Ambassador for 18 years. One of the

“Come test something.” Those are quite possibly my three favorite words in the English language—all due respect to “I love you” or the highly underrated “you were right.” I’ve been a PGA Golf Professional since 1994, and yes, full bias disclosure, a Callaway Golf Ambassador for 18 years. One of the

It was the summer of 1999. MTV, The Matrix, and first-generation PlayStation glowed on tube TV sets all over America. What a time to be alive. Smartphones weren’t yet stealing people from the moment. Cultural was a shared reality. During the last few minutes of the monoculture, Tony Hawk executed th

Big feelings hit us all. Younger populations—or those who haven’t yet developed their own language of expression—outsource angst through external means. That’s where homemade haircuts, studded belts, and musicians like The Cure, Elliott Smith, or Phoebe Bridgers come around. In San Diego, though, th

If magazines are like the adultier eldest daughters who know exactly how much anarchy they can get away with, zines are the far less predictable younger siblings going on whim and instinct. Those who draw on the walls around the house, DIY their own piercings, and experiment with different emo/strai

Beauty + Cosmetic Brow Studio Elicia Marie Beauty Hair Removal Business (Non-Laser) Brazilia Skin Care Laser Hair Removal San Diego Aesthetics and Med Spa Lash + Brow Technician Elicia Soltesz, Elicia Marie Beauty Lash Studio Cupid Complexion Makeup Artist Ashley Fierro, Ashley Fierro Makeup Microbl

Play is underrated. Somewhere along the way, someone decided it was something we should outgrow. That you A good song comes on, and they dance. A game appears, and they’re in. Someone hands them a melting ice cream cone, and somehow it’s the best part of the day. Adults tend to need a reason. Or may

Best Place to Buy Original Art Without Needing a Tiny Paddle Goblin Shark Emporium Almost everything in this Oceanside shop is made by local artists and independent weirdos, and almost none of it requires a gallerist’s budget. Goblin Shark Emporium rotates a new featured artist every month between t

Best We Named It What for Why Oh Dear Cush-pii For thousands of years, the Kumeyaay who lived in this area called a mountain south of Julian Cush-pii, meaning “sharp peak.” Then, after the Civil War, Confederate sympathizers saw that same mountain and decided to rename it Stonewall Peak—after Genera

Best Trunk Show San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s Elephant Valley If you can’t quite swing the cost of a trip to the African outback, the Safari Park’s new Elephant Valley is a pretty convincing Plan B. The 13-acre immersive habitat—the largest project in the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s 109-year his

Best Statewide Arts Flex Arts District Liberty Station Arts District Liberty Station officially became one of the state’s designated cultural districts, joining a list reserved for places with thriving creative communities. Considering the campus is home to more than 100 galleries, artist studios, m