S1: It's time for Midday Edition on KPBS for today's arts and culture show. We're talking about New Year's resolutions , particularly ways to better connect with nature. I'm Andrew Bracken in for Jade Heinemann here with conversations that keep you informed , inspired and make you think. I. Haven't settled on any resolutions yet. That's okay. We have some ideas on how to incorporate a sense of adventure into your 2025.
S2: I think adventure is anything that gets you a little bit outside your comfort zone , that pushes you and challenges you , but it's in nature , and I think there's a million ways you can try it.
S1: Then we'll hear about a new film from local high school students that took them to a remote Alaskan village. All that , plus an arts preview for the month of January. That's ahead on midday edition. And. So the promise of a new year is here , and with it come New Year's resolutions , if you choose to partake. For many , those involve maybe exercising regularly and really focusing on improving our physical health. That often tops the priority list of resolutions. One great way to do that is by getting out into the great outdoors and taking advantage of what's in our backyard here in San Diego. Today I'm joined by two experts in that field. They're here with advice on how you can get a jump start on your more outdoorsy resolutions , and maybe most importantly , how to just keep them going through the year. Shelby Stanger is an adventure journalist and host of Raise Wild Ideas Worth Living podcast. She also wrote the book Will to Wild Adventures Great and Small to Change Your Life. Shelby. Welcome.
S2: Thanks for having me. Excited to be back here.
S1: Great to have you here. Also with us is Sydney Williams. She's the author of the book Hiking Your Feelings and co-founder of the nonprofit Hiking My feelings. Sydney , welcome back to Midday Edition.
S3: Thanks for having me and great to be here.
S1: So we're here talking about New Year's resolutions , and it's something I quite honestly struggle with , whether to even do them or how seriously to take them. I mean , Sydney , what elements are important to you when thinking about kind of making a resolution or making , you know , trying to start a new habit for , say , you know.
S3: When I'm thinking about a new resolution or if I'm like embarking on a new adventure , whether that's a career path or a hobby or an actual adventure , a trip that I'm booking , um , my my core foundation of how I make decisions these days is like , how do I want to feel ? So my version of a resolution and I do this every day. This is not a New Year's resolution. This is a practice. And I say I'm do this every day. Let me be perfectly clear. I have struggled with this also , Andrew , for my entire life. And within the last like seven days , the decision that I've arrived at and the practice that I've been practicing is waking up and being like , what am I doing today ? What do I want to do today ? And of course , some days we have plans , some days we don't. But ultimately , every single day is an opportunity to start fresh. Like the the resolutions I set in January this year , I am under no obligation to hold on to those the second that those don't serve me , the second that they don't make sense , they're gone because we as humans are constantly changing and we are always free to change our minds. And we are under no obligation to be the same person that we were five minutes ago. So in the context of resolutions , I'm all about it. But I'm also like real quick to drop them if they're not working out for me.
S1: A lot of common sense there , Shelby.
S2: I do like to try to give away a lot of things at the end of the year old gear that I'm not using. Gear that I just haven't been has been given to me that I'm not using. But I also really like to book one trip for the year at least , so I have something to look forward to on my calendar. And I just found an old picture of myself. I was 16 years old and I went to Costa Rica for the very first time. I did a service project and I saw a picture of my sleeping arrangement , and I slept on this like very thin blow up mattress on a floor surrounded by a bunch of teens for an entire month. And I was stoked. And what I realized is that adventure is really good at building courage. Connecting to nature is really good for healing. Doing it with other people and building community is a total game changer. And also trying to incorporate service just makes you feel good. So my goal this year is to book an adventure somewhere that gets me a little out of my comfort zone. It might be ice climbing , it might be somewhere in Alaska. I've done a lot of adventures , so I would start small if this isn't you , and also to do more acts of service , because I think there's a lot of people who are cold , plunging and doing saunas and fasting and doing all these weird diets , and that's great. But I guarantee you there are only amazing side effects if you do something for someone else , an active service , and also if you get outside.
S1: So , Shelby , you've mentioned adventure there , and I know that's kind of a really important piece of your work. And it's something that can mean a lot of different things to different people. How do you define adventure and what's a small act of adventure someone might want to try ? You know , as this year kicks off.
S2: I think adventure is anything that gets you a little bit outside your comfort zone that pushes you and challenges you. But it's in nature , and I think there's a million ways you can try it. You could start small with gardening. You could dip your toes into the Pacific Ocean. You could swim at La Jolla Cove , you could book a surf lesson somewhere like Surf Diva , you could go to go on a hike , you could go to a national park. I mean , adventure is what you make of it , and it has to be a little wild and it is wild if it's wild to you. So it's personal.
S1: I think so , Sydney. I mean , you heard there. She'll be kind of talking about this importance of starting small. The last time we spoke , you were talking about finding wellness through hiking and , you know , just kind of connecting with nature as being a part of that.
S3: Um , so for anybody listening that's managing a chronic illness , uh , hiking is a great way to get outside , and it's a great way to manage your health. Um , from a curiosity perspective , I find that when we go into a New Year's resolution or some kind of beginning of the year , specifically because we're talking about fitness and talking about getting outside when we go into that and it's like this self punishing thing. It never goes well. Those are the ones that go away in February , if we're even lucky to make it to February. The goals that stick and the the benefits that keep you going for me and hiking is that when I'm planning for a big adventure , I know that if I'm going out for a massive hike the next day or a small hike and also hiking is what you make it , hiking is just walking for one. Um , so when I go out the next day , I know if I have an adventure planned , I'm not going to eat like a 12 year old boy and eat an entire pizza to myself , right ? Like I'm not going to stay up late. I don't drink anymore. So that's like being hungover is not a problem. But when I centered my life around hiking , um , every choice was informed by that activity. So all of my choices naturally became more aligned to health and wellness because I was looking to have the most beneficial experience outdoors , but also so I could enjoy it. Um , when I first started , my body was very different than it is today , and as much as my body has changed my love for the outdoors has not. And I've gone back and forth throughout the years as far as how I feel in my body and how I feel outside. And really those those benefits of getting out there and the bipedal movement similar to paddling when you're surfing or similar to when you're walking. It really brings a lot of regulation to our nervous system.
S1: And I want to kind of go back to that. You mentioned , you know , type two diabetes and overcoming that. Tell us about the first hike.
S3: And at the time when we were living in South Park , there was a hill road. We I called it the Hill of Death. Looking back , it's not that difficult at all. But once that became too easy to do , then I started hiking local trails , and my first hike out here in San Diego was actually at , uh , Kushi Pi , which is now known as Stonewall Peak and Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. And that is where the idea for hiking my feelings came to me. But also it was the first trail that I did where I was like really immersed in the experience of hiking in nature and not hiking in an urban environment. So for me to get started and for anybody listening that wants to get started , it really is as simple as starting to walk around your neighborhood. But once you get to the point where neighborhood walks are no longer challenging , there are so many great trails in and around San Diego. Mission Trails Regional Park is loaded with incredible routes. Kumiko Rancho State Park is closed. Anza-Borrego if you want to go for a little desert adventure. Um , Torrey Pines and the Torrey Pines Conservancy. Like , there's so many great places that you can hike around San Diego.
S1: And Shelby , you know , talking about hiking and connecting with some of these spots in San Diego. Another you know , just crucial part of our region is the ocean. And I know you have a real passion for surfing. I think , you know , one of the tricky things about surfing for some folks , maybe just I don't know if you have advice for people , but it can be intimidating to start out or to even think about going out and think about catching a wave.
S2: I would say book a lesson learned from someone who's an expert. I'm partial to Surf Diva. The owner is my best friend. I taught there since it was started in 1996. But if you show up at first of all , if you pay for a lesson , you're going to show up. It's like paying for a personal trainer. You're going to go to the gym , but they'll keep you safe and they'll ensure that you have a good time. They'll get you equipment so that you can test it out. You don't have to buy it , and they kind of do everything for you. So all you have to do is show up and ride waves , and there's no better feeling than riding a wave to shore.
S1: It seems like , you know , both of you kind of have this similar approach where it's about we're not talking about exercise here , right ? You know , I mean , that's the point.
S2: That's like the fun part about adventure. Is it like tricks you into exercising and surfing is such a hard workout , but the whole time you're like laughing with friends , you're riding waves. It doesn't feel like a workout at all. You will not catch me in a gym , ever. And I'm pretty fit. But all I do is I surf , I run , I do yoga , but I don't call it any of those things. I call it going and meeting a friend.
S1: Shelby , from all the people you've spoken to about their adventures , I mean , what's a simple way people can bring a little more , I don't know , wildness into their own everyday lives.
S2: I honestly think just connecting with nature more. I mean , I just read a study today that said that staring at the ocean for two minutes slows your heart rate down. Like not staring at grass , not staring at the wall , not looking at your screen that obviously like speed your heart rate up , but get outside and stare at the ocean in San Diego. There's so many opportunities to do that. And I would say if you do want to set like a little goal for next year , try to catch a certain amount of sunsets or sunrises. And I think one of the best parts about doing that is so much of our life is predictable. But in nature , especially when like looking at nature , there's so many ways to experience or so I just encourage you to go out and if you want to start small , just find ways to look at nature.
S1: So , you know , wrapping up here , we've talked about resolutions , maybe the , you know , whether they're arbitrary or not , but how to kind of , you know , at least think about the new year in a healthy way. I'm just curious what you want to leave people with before we go , any reflections as we venture into the New year ? Shelby , I'll start with you.
S2: I think if I can leave people with one thing , it's go out and do something outside in nature. And I wrote down a lot of fun things that I like to do. Like San Diego is the best place to pursue adventure. It's one of the only places where you can surf and snowboard in the same day. You can go in the morning at Swami's end up at Snow Summit , come back still catch the sunset , and even go to the skate park in Encinitas instead of a pub crawl. I really am a fan of these things that I started doing called Beach Crawls , where you start in Imperial Beach or Point Loma and head north and you just go to all the beaches and you experience them. Because I haven't been to every single beach in San Diego. It's fun to explore them. I'm also a fan of like , urban hikes and urban runs where you run to different. How many awesome coffee shops are there in San Diego ? Like a million. So you can just run to a bunch of cool coffee shops. I think if people are scared of doing this , one way to get out there and get going with adventure is to volunteer. And there's so many ways to volunteer with adventure organizations. I work with Outdoor Outreach. There's an organization called Unmarred Colors and Encinitas. There's the Changing Tides Foundation , the Challenged Athletes Foundation , the Hundred Wave Challenge. If you volunteer with them , they'll help you also get outside if you don't know how , and maybe you have something you can offer them. There's also so many awesome run clubs in San Diego that have popped up in the last year. And man , if you're single dude , go to one of these clubs because there are some seriously good looking people out here that are like minded and fit. And if other people are running , especially if they're good looking and I want to date them , I'm going to run faster too. So that's a good way to trick yourself into getting fit and outside this year , in the same way that there's run clubs , there's a lot of open ocean swim clubs that I've just seen pop up in San Diego. You can go to La Jolla Cove any day at 9 a.m. , and there's going to be someone who wants to swim with you. But you can also go to Swami's and a bunch of beaches in Encinitas , where people are also doing open ocean swimming. And it feels like an adventure going in the open ocean and swimming with just goggles and fins on in San Diego every time.
S1: Sydney , what about you ? I mean , you're more focused on hikes or just walking , you know ? Any suggestions for folks that may not be ready for wakeboarding or something. You know what I mean ? Just like other options you can suggest.
S3: I think if anybody is curious about getting outside and they've been listening and they're like , oh my God , I would love to go look at people at the glider port , or how do I sign up for a surf program ? This is so wild. I think the first thing is like to ask yourself , what is your goal ? Not even not even like before you book things like get really clear on what you're trying to accomplish and what how you want to feel while you're doing it. Because if you know , like this is something that I do , we do this in our programs and this is something that I do for myself each year is I pick like three feelings that I want to feel in pursuit of my goals. So if I want to feel grounded , if I want to feel resourceful , if I want to feel generous with my time and talent , then as opportunities present themselves , new adventures , new clubs to join new activities , if those things could conceivably contribute to the feelings that I'm pursuing and that I'm looking for , then I can use how I want to feel as the guide like Guiding Light North Star for how I make choices in the year ahead. And I found that that's a really great way to give yourself an opportunity to come back and check in with yourself , because a lot of folks and I'm saying this from personal experience , and I know that I'm not the only person that's listening that's done this. But like we come out of the gate hot , we're like Jan one , Jan two , Jan three , Jan four. I'm going to the gym every day. I'm never stopping , never stopping , never stopping. And then you're like , it's been ten days and I'm exhausted. And you know what ? I haven't seen those immediate overnight results for whatever my goals are , I'm done. I don't want us to do that anymore. Like , I think if we're clear on what we want , why we want it , and how we want to feel as we're pursuing those things , no matter how long they take , then we're set up for success.
S1: Well , this has been a great conversation. We've covered , you know , so much , and like you said , there's so many options for us to capture , just like every day adventure , whatever form that takes for us here , being in the San Diego Region. I want to thank you both for being here. I've been speaking with Shelby Stanger. She's an adventure journalist and host of Raise Wild Ideas Worth Living podcast , as well as the author of the book Will to wild. Shelby , thanks.
S2: Thank you so much for having me.
S1: I've also been joined by Sydney Williams. She's the author of the book Hiking Your Feelings and co-founder of the non-profit Hiking My Feelings. Sydney. Thank you.
S3: Thank you for having me.
S1: Coming up , we hear about the new film from local high school students that took them to a remote village along the Yukon River. That's ahead on Midday Edition. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Andrew Bracken in for Jade Hindman. Carlsbad High School has an ambitious journalism program that includes a daily school broadcast. Students also have had the opportunity to travel. Last September , four students went to a remote village in rural Alaska. KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando spoke with recently retired Carlsbad High broadcast journalism teacher Doug Green , along with students Maddie Mulligan and Tava Valenti. Here's that conversation.
S4: To begin with. Doug , I wanted to talk to you about the program at Carlsbad High School. You are recently retired from there , but explain what kind of a broadcast program they have there for the students.
S5: It's it's really unique. It's a live daily broadcast. So it's very much a real world program that airs every morning to about 3000 students live on the campus live on YouTube. For the last 18 years , it's been the number one rated daily high school broadcast in the country. It's an interesting real world experience. Kids come in in the morning and we kind of put the show together in a real time. That airs about an hour and a half later to a very large audience.
S4: And we have two students who are currently involved in this program. So before we talk about the trip , you've had talk a little bit , Maddy , about what you actually do in the broadcast program.
S6: Yeah , I have been in this broadcasting program for a very long time. It starts in middle school , and it's kind of like a career pathway you can take all throughout high school. So I dabbled a little bit in broadcasting in my fifth grade year , but that was just an after school program. But the program really starts in seventh grade , and that's where I began. So this is my sixth year. I'm a senior , and as you get to the high school level , it's pretty standard. And everyday you kind of do the same rundown but with different variations. We do a lot of stuff like Magic Windows , and we have live reporters in the studio , and it's just such a great experience every day.
S4:
S7: I joined when I was in eighth grade. I didn't have any prior experience , so first coming in it was hard for me to get up. But eventually , yeah , like everything , you just work at it and it's grown into a beautiful thing as it is today.
S4:
S5: I personally had an interest in doing live broadcasting , and that's something that when we started 20 years ago , it wasn't happening on a regular basis at the high school level. We were one of the first to broadcast live on the internet. It's the sort of class where when you imagine that they're learning how to make brutal , unforgiving deadlines , they're developing self-confidence. They're learning how to work with partners to collaborate. So many of the students , they begin in middle school really not sure what they got themselves into. And then they can stand up. And by their senior year , they are , you know , interviewing people in a live environment. So they've developed these tremendous communication skills. So , you know , we talk a lot about these soft skills. I think a program like broadcasting where they're having to do it all , it's just really invaluable.
S4: And Doug , back in 2009 , you decided to take your students outside of the studio and actually brought them overseas. Explain kind of what prompted you to do that and what that experience was like.
S5: Prior to teaching broadcasting , I was an eighth grade language arts teacher for ten years , and one of the books that we read is Diary of Anne Frank. And I remember back in the 90s thinking , you know , I wish there was some way to introduce students to the Holocaust. And then I had the opportunity in 2009 to take 16 students volunteered. We flew to Munich , and we began producing what we thought was going to be a very short film that we were filming during spring break on the Holocaust , came back , produced a very short trailer and it quickly. This is early days of YouTube , but it quickly gained some steam on YouTube. We were funded by the Leach Tag Family Foundation in Carlsbad to go back and actually make a film , and why the film is still doing so well today as a story of 16 kind of regular high school students making a movie about something they did not understand themselves. So you sort of see this , this , you know , evolution of understanding as we went on and produce this film for trips to Europe , filming and multiple concentration camps , interviewing survivors here in San Diego. Definitely life changing for those 16 students.
S4: And Carlsbad High is continuing to take students or allow students this opportunity to go outside the classroom. And both of you , along with two other students , had an opportunity to go to Alaska. So tava explain what this was about.
S7: Yeah , I was really surprised that this was even an option because I've never heard of any school doing this before sending kids to this rural town in Alaska. I like to take every opportunity that I can to go out and travel and see the world. When I first went to Alaska , or before I was thinking that it was going to , um , expand my understanding on like , Alaska and just like the terrain and the wild. But really what it did was it expanded my understanding on the people and how genuine people are out there. And that's something that I really appreciate from the trip.
S4:
S6: It is this rural town with no roads in or out. You have access to it by boat or by plane. And the point of our trip was to go teach this , these students in a broadcasting class in the at Catholic um , their school there. We are going to teach them how to use cameras and how to produce stories and help them enhance their broadcasting class. And so they could have like a day to day show or get to that point at least. And so we went there to help them with that. And along the two weeks , we taught students how not only how to use cameras , but how to have an on camera presence and show them that even as nerve wracking as it is , it becomes a lot of fun. And if you stick with it , they would have a very strong program so that they could eventually , which they will in a few months , come to STN , which is student television network. It's a convention that we attend every year , and they are going to come and they are going to compete in some of the contests and really just hone in on their skills.
S4: And I understand that you actually got to go out on a boat looking for seals. Yes.
S7: Yes. Yeah. When I first heard about the Alaska trip , one of the main things that I was really excited about is just the nature aspect of it , just the hunting and the rural , um , side of it. And so I made it a point where I really wanted to go , go on this boat , because in Court Lake , it's , uh , they do they do all their hunting from boats , most of their hunting. I saw these families that were really concentrated and really focused because they had to hunt something that day. They had to catch something because that's how they provide for their families.
S4: And Doug , you are retired , but you ended up chaperoning this group.
S5: You know , we do this in Wales and Alaska and just sort of spread. They have a tremendous joy and appreciation for storytelling. And we have seen in Wales and now in Alaska that that is contagious. When you bring students in like this who are so passionate , 15 , 16 , 17 year olds about about journalism , and then in this case , to show the , the Yup'ik kids that there are stories that be told in this community , that they don't think there are stories they've grown up. That's a small community. And to to watch that from the outside. And that was my job was to document it , but not to get in their way. It was really something to see.
S4: And there's actually a film about this whole adventure they had.
S5: I stayed out of their way and let them do their thing. But in the process , to keep busy , I produced with the students of Film Call what I know now that I didn't know then. Very cool experience.
S4: And Doug , you mentioned that there have also been trips to Wales. And Maddie , you have been involved in that.
S6: They both kind of went hand in hand. So when we went to um , Cardiff , Wales , it was also a two week long trip. It was me along with seven other students at that time , and we taught a camp there because it was during the summer , so the students were not in school. So it was a voluntary camp for students to come to where we taught them how to use cameras , and most of them didn't have a background in broadcast journalism , so they had no idea what they were getting themselves into. And they learned how to become more outgoing and speak in front of a camera , as well as use the cameras to produce stories around Wales and make movie trailers. We did quite a few of those and then towards the end of the camp we got to have a we got it all together and we had like a showing of everything that we had made , and it just turned out to be a really awesome experience where we got to teach a bunch of the students and some of the youth groups there have their own broadcast journalism groups called the Bhutan Buzz , so they keep that together and they're working hard on their shows and all of that for the students to be involved in. And even some of those students are going to be attending STN with us this year as well.
S4: And what do you think it is about having students or young people teaching young people ? It's more of a peer kind of situation.
S6: Even though I have years of experience in my background , like just showing them that if I can do it , they are more than capable to do it themselves. And it's not weird , it's not unnormal , it's very common , and they just need to get out of their comfort zone and to have someone who they can see almost as a friend , be there and be supportive of them , is really what gets them to want to be involved and to work on their skills.
S7: When it's a young person teaching another young person , you can really connect with them on a different level because , say , when you're being taught by someone who's older than you , you think of them in a different way. It's more of a respect thing. And when you're with kids , they really let their guard down and you can really connect with them at a friend level and then also be teaching them at the same time. So I think that really helps them learn and learn in a genuine way.
S4: And do either of you have a takeaway from this trip to Alaska.
S6: I was more scared to go on this trip than I was to go out of the country to the UK. But leaving this trip was probably one of the most impactful things that I've done , because when I went on this trip , I learned so much about their culture , more than any textbook could have taught me , like just experiencing it for two weeks and seeing how these kids are more than welcoming. They're so loving , and they are just so proud of where they come from. It's really empowering. And to see their respect for their elders , just every aspect of their day to day life may just seem like some something boring to one person , but to them it is just like so much more than that. And like , they really are grateful for the life that they have. And it just made me so much more grateful for what I have and like , showed me that this is really what I want to do with my life.
S7: Yeah , this trip is definitely taught me a lot of gratitude because when you go out there and you see these kids , they don't have as much as as kids in around here would have. So they over their life , they learn a lot about appreciating for what they have , everything that they have , they work for. So I think that being out there and living with them for a little bit and just talking to them , and over those two weeks , we really connected a lot. We were with them almost the entire day , every single day out of those two weeks. So we made a lot of connections. And I still talk to those kids. We we still connect with them over online and social media because they have access to social media. So yeah , it's a it was a new I made a lot more friendships. And it just taught me a lot about , um , just the genuineness of people , especially from other cultures , because those kids , they just get taught a lot about just appreciating what you have and working for what you have.
S4:
S6: I'm so passionate about it. And not only have I learned so much over the past six years in VMs , TV and TV , but these two trips that I've taken alone have taught me a tremendous amount about my ability and my skills , and what I can bring to the table and teach these students. And it is just really , really helped me.
S7: I'm still looking at all of my options currently , but definitely broadcasting is very high up there in terms of my future , because broadcasting has just given me so many things over these past years , and it's even allowed me to go all the way to Alaska. And I'm still 16 years old , and it's it's even given me that just at a high school level.
S4: All right. Well , I want to thank you all very much for coming in and speaking with me. And , uh , the two additional students who aren't here. I don't know if you want to mention who they are.
S5: We have Jade and Cora in the control room.
S4: All right , well , thank you all. Thank you , thank you , thank you very much.
S6: Thank you.
S1: That was Beth Accomando , speaking with retired Carlsbad High School teacher Doug Green , along with students Maddie Mulligan and Tava a volunteer. You can find a video about their trip to Alaska on Beth's Cinema Junkie blog at KPBS. Org slash Cinema Junkie. Next up our arts preview for the month of January. Stay tuned. Mid-Day returns after the break. Welcome back to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Andrew Bracken in for Jade Hyneman. As we kick off a new year and a new month , we're taking a look at some of the art and culture happenings in the region throughout January. And joining me with the details is KPBS arts reporter Julia Dickson Evans. Hey , Julia , happy new year.
S8: Hey , Andrew. Happy New Year to you.
S1: Okay , so first up is a free theater festival. Tell us about the old Globe's Powers New Voices Festival. Right.
S8: Right. So these are staged , rehearsed and directed readings. They're not in costume. The actors don't necessarily have the script memorized yet , but these are great. They're also free. Um , and it's a good chance to see new works of theater. I've seen some really incredible plays at this festival over the years. Some of them were being shared with the public for the first time. Reservations for the general public open up at noon on January 3rd. So tomorrow. And they sell out fast. So get on that and there's there'll be a collection of short plays on the first night. And this is from their Community Voices program. It spotlights new local playwrights. So that's January 10th and then the 11th through 12th. They'll have four full length new plays from playwrights around the country. And one of my radar is The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. This is by Marco Antonio Rodriguez. Adapted from Junot Diaz novel of the same name that won the Pulitzer. That runs on January 11th. That should be really great. They also have plays by Amy Berryman , Tony and Vanessa's , which is a globe commission called Love Income and then a play by Julia Doolittle.
S1: So that's cool because it's not , you know , they're staged , like you said , but they still might have their scripts and they're still kind of. It's kind of probably a window into the artistic process , too , because they're still kind of working on it.
S8: Right ? Right. You get the sense that you're watching it still kind of be developed a little bit and , and you're part of it.
S1: That's really cool. So we also have the San Diego premiere of a play about Marie Curie. Right.
S8: Right. This is at New Village Arts in Carlsbad. And the place called The Half Life of Marie Curie is by Lauren Gunderson , who's one of the most prolific and most produced living American playwrights right now. And the play has just two characters , so Marie and then Hertha Ayrton. Just a few years after Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry , she got kind of caught up in rumours and gossip and scandals , and it all kind of detracted from her accomplishments. So she escaped from the public eye and went to the British seaside with Hertha. And the play follows. It starts there and follows their friendship. It's directed by Kim Papa and it will open in low cost previews at New Village Arts on January 24th.
S1: And then on the visual arts side , there's a new art space opening this month in North Park.
S8: It's a project from writer , artists and curator Bilal Mohammed. And the space is on 30th Street , right next to Von's , I think , in the old Auntie Helens thrift store space. Um , and yeah , their first exhibition opens this Saturday , January 4th. They have a reception from 6 to 10 , and then it'll be up through the end of the month. And the exhibit's called Everything Unorthodox , and it has worked by a couple of my favorite artists Aviva Rose Ram , Philip Brindle , Ray and a bunch more.
S1: And at the Japanese Friendship Garden , there's a new exhibit of oil pastels that just opened. Tell us about. That.
S8: That. Yeah , just opened on New Year's Eve , and it's a show of works by one artist , Yamazaki Yoshida. And he is this Japanese artist who works only in oil pastels on wooden panels. And it's a pretty distinctive aesthetic , kind of imperfect. And he said that he developed this practice while he was struggling with health conditions and kind of unable to get out there and socialize. So he calls his art his way of connecting with the outside world. And the exhibit is called Saturn or Connection. And then on each panel is some text or kanji on on the images too. And the way that Yoshida talks about their writing is that it adds meaning rather than challenges the image , like in the famous this is not a pipe artwork. So an example. He has like a drawing of a rotary phone and the text is kind of scrawled and it just says Old black Phone. And yeah , it's at the Japanese Friendship Garden , which is open every day from 10 to 5.
S1: Okay , so now moving over to the music side , let's do a quick round of classical and experimental music.
S8: They're having a show to kick off the new year. It's this Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. at the La Jolla Women's Club , and these are intimate performances. They have a small ensemble this time it's a small string ensemble with piano , and they always have a high tea buffet and a champagne toast. And like a lecture before the show. And to kick off the new Year , they're performing works by Mendelssohn and also Polish composer Philip Shankar , who was born in 1847. And it happens to be the first time this piece will be performed in the United States. So we're listening to the Nocturne from four concert.
S1: That's pretty interesting. Someone died over 100 years ago , and now they're getting their debut , right. We also have another premiere from a celebrating living composer coming up with the San Diego Symphony. What do you know about that concert ? Yeah.
S8: So the symphony is playing work by Billy Childs. He's a Grammy winning jazz and classical composer , and this is actually a San Diego Symphony commission. So we're getting the world premiere. And the symphony is also going to perform Beethoven's Eroica. This is the second movement. This is such a lovely.
UU: Piece of music.
S8: And these concerts are January 31st and February 1st at Jacobs Music Center. It's conducted by Raphael Perry.
S1: So for something a little more outside the box in classical music , what do you recommend ? Okay.
S8: Two things. One is Project Blank's Duolingo performance. This is a duo between composer musician Natalia and Marlena Gomez and trumpet player David Aguilar. So this is experimental. They have looped layers and harmonies and a little bit of improvisation. They're also going to perform music by other composers like Han Sang and Akari Kimura. This is at Bread and Salt on January 17th , and their tickets are sold with a sliding scale pricing , so it could be anywhere from five bucks to $50. And we also have composer Terence Blanchard's Fire Shut Up in My Bones opera suite in concert. So not as like a theatrical opera , but as a concert performance. And it's going to be paired with projections by visual artists Andrew F.
UU: Scott Chang the next. Day.
S9: Day. The thing was.
S8: This is at the La Jolla music Society on Sunday , January 19th , and it'll be performed by Justin Austin and Adrienne Rich and Chamber Ensemble.
S1: So in dance , the legendary Martha Graham Dance Company is coming to San Diego.
S8: It's her adaptation of Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring. And she did this in 1944. And this is such a beloved piece of American music. And they're also performing newer works , including a 2024 piece by Jamar Roberts called We the People and 2022 cave. And that's January 25th at the San Diego Civic Theatre and is hosted by the La Jolla music society. And if you're looking for a free Lunar New Year festival with some traditional lion dancing , Little Saigon , San Diego's Lunar New Year Festival is in City Heights January 24th through 26th. It's at the Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park on Whiteman , and they have three days of food , folk performances , exhibitions and a bunch of family friendly activities. But the anchor of the festival is always the lion dancing. They're going to have specific scheduled performances , but also throughout the day you can find like stumble upon lion dances and dragon dances. Um , for for all three days. Great.
S1: Great. So now , from lion dancing to books for book lovers , there's a group reading series in South Park that you recommend. Tell us about that.
S8: Yeah , it's called Small Press Night , and they're going to have their eighth installment at the book Catapult in South Park. And Portland writer Kevin Maloney. He's coming back to the book catapult with a new book called Horse Squirrel Fever. Love that title. And he's also the author of The Redheaded Pilgrim , which was one of the funniest and also kind of sweet works of autofiction that I've ever read. So I'm really looking forward to this book from him. And also reading at small press night is short story writer Anna Van Jones , Cora Lee and poet Adam Deutsch. And this is Saturday , January 11th. And it's free.
S1: So before we go , let's take a quick look at some live music shows coming to local venues. Right.
S8: Right. So soul and R&B acts , leaf fields and monophonic. So are playing at the Observatory in North Park on January 17th. And Lee fields has been putting out music since the late 1960s. He's worked with legendary acts like B.B. King and Kool in the gang , and this is his track forever.
UU: You forever , I'm Gonna Love You.
S8: Another show I'm looking forward to is Haley Hendrix and the westerlies at the Belly Up. That's on January 28th , and this is seed of a seed from her latest album of the same name.
UU: If we don't know better , where did my parents It's no better.
S8: Anna Soda Bar as Fontaine continues their residency. And Lady Lamb is coming to Lulu's on January 19th , and she's celebrating the 10th anniversary of her album Ripley Pine. And this is that album's opening track called hair to the Ferris Wheel.
UU: These are apples and oranges.
S8: And she's gonna perform with Kima Cunningham at Lulu's at the Lafayette. And then one more local band , Blaire Gunn. They're also going to have a residency at the Casbah. They'll play a bunch of shows throughout , um , January and February , and they're starting that off January 29th , playing with more locals , corduroy and Virginia Crime. And this is the from Blair Gunn's 2024 album called There are no rival clones here.
UU: Are you in the stands ? Tell them I don't believe in , like , the real McCoy. If you miss the point I'm making here with the man. Another great tender offer here.
S1: Well , Julia , I'll hit you with one last question before I let you go. We were talking about this earlier. What's your favorite music venue in San Diego ? Ah , mine's the Casbah. I'll just say that out. Right.
S8: Stop calling dibs. Mine's the Casbah. All right.
S1: So we agree.
S8: Right now , I feel like it all depends on who is playing. But I have always loved the Casbah. Recently , I've seen some really great shows at Lulu's , so well.
S1: You've outlined so many great events over the month , a lot of them music , but a lot of great mixture here. So thanks so much for sharing that. And you know , happy New Year Julia. Thanks so much for being here.
S8: Of course.
S1: You can find more arts events or sign up for Julia's weekly arts newsletter at KPBS Org slash arts. That's our show for today. I'm Andrew Bracken. KPBS Midday Edition airs on KPBS FM weekdays at noon , again at 8 p.m.. You can find past episodes at KPBS. Org or wherever you listen. Thanks again for listening. Have a great day.
