Category: Special Event

So Say We All VAMP Storytelling Showcase: The Unexpected Ally

Join ArtPower at UC San Diego and So Say We All for UC San Diego’s inaugural VAMP Storytelling Showcase, “The Unexpected Ally.” Revel in true tales about receiving salvation from surprising sources, being gobsmacked by enemies becoming heroes, discovering redemption in the darkest crevices, and however else our brave storytellers interpret the theme. All stories are 100% true and boldly told, so come discover some unexpected allies in your own community as they bare their soul for your titillation.

Black Belt Eagle Scout

Conversation between UC San Diego Prof. Julie Burelle (Performance Studies/Theater & Dance) and Katherine Paul of Black Belt Eagle Scout, followed by a solo-performance.

“If you can imagine all of the best things that the Pacific Northwest has brought us—Mount Eerie, Grunge, Sleater-Kinney, The Girls Rock Camp, and lush mountain ranges—reimagined and told through the perspective of an Indigenous Swinomish/Iñupiaq woman; if you can imagine the magic that would bring to your life then you can imagine Black Belt Eagle Scout.”—She Shreds Magazine

This land runs through Katherine Paul’s blood. And it called to her. In dreams she saw the river, her ancestors, and her home.When the land calls, you listen. And KP found herself far from her ancestral lands during a time of collective trauma, when the world was wounded and in need of healing. In 2020 she made the journey from Portland back to the Skagit River, back to the cedar trees that stand tall and shrouded in fog, back to the tide flats and the mountains, back to Swinomish.

It is a powerful thing to return to our ancestral lands and often times the journey is not easy. Like the salmon through the currents, like the tide as it crawls to shore this is a story of return. It is the call and response. It is the outstretched arms of the people who came before, welcoming her home.The Land, The Water, The Sky is a celebration of lineage and strength. Even in its deepest moments of loneliness and grief, of frustration over a world wrought with colonial violence and pain, the songs remind us that if we slow down, if we listen to the waves and the wind through the trees, we will remember to breathe.

There is a throughline of story in every song, a remembrance of knowledge and teachings, a gratitude of wisdom passed down and carried. There is a reimagining of Sedna who was offered to the sea, and a beautiful rumination on sacrifice and humanity, and what it means to hold the stories that work to teach us something.

Chord progressions born out of moments of sadness and solitude transform into the islands that sit blue along the horizon. The Salish Sea curves along her homelands, and when the singer is close to this water she is reminded of her grandmother, how she looked out at these same islands, and she’s held by spirit and memory.

The Land, The Water, The Sky rises and falls, in darkness and in light, but even in its most melancholy moments it is never despairing. That is the beauty of returning home. When you stand on ancestral lands it is impossible to be alone. You feel the arms and hands that hold you up, unwilling to let you fall into sorrow or abandonment. In her songs Katherine Paul has channeled that feeling of being held. In every note she has written a love letter to indigenous strength and healing.

There is a joy present here, a fierce blissfulness that comes with walking the trails along the river, feeling the sand and the stones beneath her feet. It is the pride and the certainty that comes with knowing her ancestors walked along the same land, dipped their hands into the water, and ran their fingertips along the same bark of cedar trees.

This is a story of hope, as it details the joy of returning. Katherine Paul’s journey home wasn’tmade alone, and the songs are crowded with loved ones and relatives, like a really good party. And as the songs walk us through the land it is important we hover over the images and the beauty, the moments that mark this album as site specific. The power of this land is woven throughout, telling the story of narrow waterways, brushstrokes, salmon stinta, and above all healing. Let it take you. Move through the story and see the land through her eyes, because it is a gift, awelcomedsʔabadəb.

**The word “gift” in Lushootseed, the language of the Coast Salish people“

Jump N Funk

Jump N Funk is an immersive multimedia experience honoring the sonic legacy of Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer and activist, Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti. This celebration captures the essence of Fela’s groundbreaking fusion of traditional Nigerian rhythms and American Funk, a sound that continues to resonate globally across generations.

Since 2001, international DJ, producer, and scholar Rich Medina has served as the main conduit for connecting this rich Pan-African sound to dance floors worldwide. His passion and expertise have kept Fela’s legacy alive, bringing the Afrobeat movement into new cultural spaces.

This San Diego debut is presented in partnership with Professor King Britt through his Blacktronika course at UC San Diego, which honors the contributions of innovators of color in electronic and dance music. This collaboration creates a powerful bridge between history, education, and dance floor energy, celebrating Fela’s enduring influence on global music culture.

DJ
Rich Medina
King Britt

Visuals by
Visualeyz

Middle Aged Dad Jam Band

Ken Marino and David Wain met at NYU in 1988 where they co-founded the legendary sketch comedy group THE STATE. They stayed friends and collaborators over the years, working together on movies like Role Models, Wet Hot American Summer, and Wanderlust and TV shows like Children’s Hospital, Medical Police, and of course The State. Ken also has acted in literally every television series, and currently stars on The Other Two (HBO) and Party Down (Starz).

They are ALSO middle-aged dads and wannabe rockstars. So recently they got together with a group of other old friends (some dads, some not; some middle aged, some not) and started jamming, playing a diverse songbook of classic rock, pop, Motown, alt, New Orleans, favorites from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. When clips of these jam sessions went viral on social media, it led to some sold-out live shows in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

World Design Capital Convocation Ceremony

You’re Invited to the WDC 2024 Convocation Ceremony and Closing Celebration!

As we approach the conclusion of this year’s San Diego Tijuana World Design Capital 2024 designation, we want you to join us at the WDC 2024 Closing Ceremony. At this ceremony, we will celebrate the incredible efforts of our community, organizations, and the numerous individuals who have contributed to this historic moment in our region.

This is not just an event; it’s a celebration of community, creativity, and collaboration. Join us as we conclude San Diego Tijuana’s designation as World Design Capital 2024 and officially hand over to Frankfurt RheinMain as the next World Design Capital in 2026.

Here’s what you can look forward to:

Special performance by Nortec Collective
Video highlights showcasing the incredible moments from WDC 2024
Great eats from local food trucks
A live performance by the SDTJ Youth Symphony
Fun activities for all ages and much more!
This event is FREE and open to everyone! Bring your friends and family to celebrate our talented and creative transborder community. Let’s make this a day to remember.

For more information about WDC 2024, click here.

The Second City 65th Anniversary Show

The Second City is celebrating 65 years of legendary laughs! Showcasing some of our audience’s favorite songs, sketches, and characters written on our stages by some of our illustrious alumni, including Catherine O’Hara, Tina Fey, Keegan-Michael Key, Amber Ruffin, Stephen Colbert, Tim Meadows, Bill Murray, Tim Robinson, Joan Rivers, Eugene Levy, Adam McKay and so many more… With material handpicked from our iconic comedy archive and brought to life by our all-star ensemble, see for yourself why The Second City continues to be the world’s most influential name in comedy for sixty-five years and counting.

Cast: Rich Alfonso, Kennedy Baldwin, Karl Bradley, Anna Bortnick, Claire Favret, Ross Taylor

 

THE JUMP UP!

Sandbox Percussion, Steven Schick, and local community percussionists

Presented as part of La Jolla Playhouse’s WOW Festival and in partnership with UC San Diego Professor Steven Schick and Red Fish Blue Fish, Sandbox Percussion will perform the West Coast premiere of Douglas J. Cuomo’s THE JUMP UP!, a site-specific piece directed by Mark DeChiazza, shaped to accommodate the specific topography and features of its location. 

THE JUMP UP! is a celebration of the joy of communal music making, composed by Douglas J. Cuomo (Doubt, Arjuna’s Dilemma) for Sandbox Percussion and volunteer percussionists from the local community. This free outdoor performance will have the musicians roaming through the Epstein Family Amphitheater, with the audience encouraged to freely move about the players, each listener navigating their own interaction with the music.

Says Cuomo, “Making music together, and particularly drumming, creates such deep and powerful connections for everyone involved. The whole point of this piece is to have as many people as possible experience that connection, by bringing together Sandbox, the volunteer players, and the audience, so that some joyful magic can happen.”

If you are 12 years or older and have some percussion experience, you are invited to join the ensemble. More information can be found HERE. 

About the artists:

Described as “exhilarating” by the New York Times, the GRAMMY-nominated ensemble Sandbox Percussion champions living composers through its unwavering dedication to contemporary chamber music. Composer Douglas J. Cuomo has composed for the concert, operatic and theatrical stage, a well as for television and film, including the themes for Sex and The City (HBO); NOW with Bill Moyers and Wide Angle (PBS); music for Homicide: Life On The Street (NBC).

Confirmed Community Musicians from:

red fish blue fish
One fish two fish
San Diego Youth Symphony 

Sign up to join the ensemble

See full WOW Festival Schedule

 

Celebrate the Arts 2024

Free UC San Diego student-only event as part of UC San Diego Welcome Week

Stop by the Epstein Family Amphitheater to learn all about arts on campus. Talk to representatives from campus arts departments, academic departments, and student organizations and learn how you can be involved in the arts at UC San Diego.

Participating organizations include: Campus Performances and Events Office (ArtPower, Campus Events, Epstein Family Amphitheater, The Loft), Stuart Collection, Department of Music, Theatre & Dance Department, Visual Arts Department, University Centers, La Jolla Playhouse, La Jolla Symphony and Chorus, Mandeville Art Collective, Institute of Arts and Humanities, Muir Musical, Triton A Cappella Community, and more!

Hokus Pokus Live!

Starring Ginger Minj from RuPaul’s Drag Race and Hocus Pocus 2

Hokus Pokus Live! is a 90 minute parody of the classic 90’s movie written and directed by RuPaul’s Drag Race and Hocus Pocus 2 star, Ginger Minj! The year is 2024 and after coming back from the dead…again, The Sanderson Sisters are trying to figure out how to stay alive and younger in this new millennium. Join Ginger Minj, Gidget Galore and Aria Hard for this madcap musical mis-adventure!

A production of Fruit Wine Productions.