S1: It's time for Midday Edition on KPBS. Today's arts and culture show takes us to the hotel del Coronado , the World Beat Cultural Center , and to all of the events in your weekend preview , I'm Jade Heinemann with conversations that keep you informed , inspired , and engaged. The PBS show Historic Places chronicles restoration efforts to preserve the history of the hotel del Coronado. You walk into the.
S2: Dial and you step back into history , and I think that's what really captures us into loving the dial.
S1: Then we check in with the World Beat Cultural Center as they get ready to kick off the Kwanzaa season. And art , music and science come together in your weekend preview. That's ahead on Midday edition. At. The hotel del Coronado is one of the most iconic landmarks in San Diego. If you've been in the past few years , you might have noticed ongoing efforts to preserve its Victorian buildings. While one show chronicles its restoration process and the important place the hotel holds in Coronado's history. Elsa Sevilla is the host and executive producer of the KPBS program Historic Places. She sat down with KPBS Midday Edition producer Andrew Bracken to talk more about the series. Take a listen.
S3: So tell us more about this restoration project for the Hotel Del.
S2: And then it was a process to really get it moving forward until 2018. And it's part of the amended master plan. And so as a part of the amended master plan. The goal was to restore anything that was historical. Which is the Victorian building , which is also the industrial buildings that a lot of people don't realise are there. And the industrial buildings were actually built , most of them before the Dell. They were built so that they could build the Dell. Anything that had to be cut , designed , had to be done on location , on site. And so that's what the industrial buildings were created for. So those were restored , the Victorian building , parts of that were restored , and they're still being restored right now. The plan will not be completed until next year , 2025 mid 2025. So they're still in the process. And we our crew , my husband Guillermo Sylvia , who's the co-producer , and I and our son Julian Sylvia , it's a family affair , but we have been documenting the restoration from before the plan got started in 2018. They wanted us to document these buildings before anything happened to them , and they wanted to see what kind of shape they were in and what needed to be restored , what needed to be recreated. And in some cases , if it doesn't have a historical value , you can remove some of the buildings.
S3: And I mean , you mentioned they're a family affair and this project.
S2: I always feel like I'm a history detective. Or like I'm walking in the footsteps of history , reliving history. So those are the things that attracted me. But , you know , the Del has an incredible story anyway , to know that it was built in 1887. It's going on 137 years this coming February , when it actually opened in February 1888. So to have that much history , you know , for us , that's a long time here in San Diego that there wasn't anything in Coronado. There were the indigenous people that have lived here for millennia , and they lived in Coronado for millennia. And of course , we have the first people of the Kumeyaay Nation , which we have covered on this program. So to look at the history that is in San Diego , Southern California , we've even covered Baja California. It's just an honor to tell San Diego stories , especially because I think that people really enjoy the history. We're connected , and I always love to watch something that's got a history connection. So I hope that KPBS viewers continue to enjoy it.
S3: Yeah , and you're right , it's such an important piece of kind of the region's history , a symbol of the of the history of recent times here in San Diego and Coronado. But there's , you know , a lot of craftsmanship that that goes into this and you're talking about , you know , kind of like recreating history in a sense. Right. Can you talk more about that ? Yeah.
S2: You know , we were so lucky we had , you know , unprecedented access to the Hotel Del. The entire property , especially the historical areas we had , we were behind the scenes. We talked to the lead architect from Heritage and Architecture and Planning , hotel del was the staff was very accommodating with photos , black and white historical documents , historical plans , anything that we needed. They were so accommodating and it allowed us to do a better job at telling the Del story. We were so lucky to talk to the architect on multiple times throughout the years heritage manager Gina Petrone , David Marshall , the architect and they allowed us to learn so much about what was. What was the plan for the restoration of the doll ? And so to go behind the scenes and see what the that the veranda , the porch had been missing for 80 years , and the two front staircases that go into the Dell had also been missing for 80 years. And so Blackstone Real Real Estate , that owns the Dell , they saw how important it was to bring so much of that back and to really bring back , um , 1887 Victorian architecture design so that , you know , people who visit can really walk in the steps of history. The lobby , which was called a rotunda , was also incredible to see the restoration get unprecedented access. We were there with the crew. We were there with the architect and , you know , learning about how things were removed , labeled and stored. And then once the beams were installed , you know , bringing back the coffered ceiling , it was like a big , giant jigsaw puzzle. Everything was numbered so that everything could be brought back together.
S3: Very exacting. Exactly.
S2: Exactly. So having that access , it just allows us to , to tell it like this really intricate story history of the doll. And so we , we've been very lucky. And so we're so excited with the project , the two episodes that will air next week. And then we have a third episode that will air in June 2025 , when the Victorian building is finally restored and , um , completed. You know , we're still in the process of gathering video interviews , information , black and white photos to continue to tell the story of that third episode that we're still working on.
S3: Can you talk a little bit about what makes the Hotel Del so unique , like , architecturally speaking , I think you mentioned , you know , the Victorian architecture.
S2: We've done several episodes and several segments on The Dell. And I always ask the question , you know , like , what is the attraction ? I know what I like , right ? But why do so many people continue to come to the Dell ? And I really think that it's , you know , the Victorian Queen , an architectural design. It's very unique. It's very attractive to the eye. We don't see that kind of architecture anymore. There are buildings in San Diego , obviously , but it's just a unique and rare. And then the fact that it's a seaside , you know , resort next to the beach and the wonderful weather , I think it's like , you know , the architect David Marshall describes The Dell as this great big mansion. So who doesn't want to go to a great big Victorian mansion and , you know , and just look at this beautiful architectural design and the work from artisans , from craftsmen and and look at the intricate gingerbread style , the , you know , stained glass windows rare in San Diego. But , you know , the older homes , Victorian homes were very popular with , you know , they had the stained glass windows that are really , we think of Victorian or stained glass windows with cathedrals and , and castles in , in Europe. And so to have them here at the Dell and it just all this just really adds a layer and on top of layer of how intricate , beautiful , attractive it is to just , you know , go to the Dell and , and look at this great craftsmanship and , and beautiful architectural design.
S3: Tell us more about the history of the hotel. I mean , who founded it ? How did it how did it come to be ? Yeah.
S2: In 1886 , Elijah Babcock junior in Hampton's story. They were developers and they came to San Diego and saw Coronado , and they fell in love with that. And they envisioned this great mansion , this great Victorian mansion hotel. And so what's so interesting is they they didn't really even have plans like official plans , architectural design plans. They worked with the lead architect , James Reed , and between the three of them continued to design a Victorian design. But they weren't really any plans. And so that's amazing to think that how do you build this mansion without any official plans ? And so as they went on , they would continue to change things , add things , remove things. And it took them 11 months , which is amazing to to build , you know , such a great Victorian Queen Anne design , um , mansion hotel resort in 11 months. So it's just it's incredible just to learn about all these details. And so they built the hotel in 1887 , opened in February 1888. And so , you know , since then people have just been really flocking to the Del. And not only , you know , around Southern California or the Western United States , of course , across the country. And the Del really became , you know , very popular when it opened in 1888 with folks from the East Coast who wanted to get away from the really cold weather. Um , and they felt that coming to Southern California , the weather was restorative to their health , and a lot of them would come for the , the summer , during the summer , or also specifically the winter. They would come on their personal trains from the East coast , and the train would literally stop right in front of the hotel. That's another thing that folks don't know , but because of the black and white photos , were able to learn about all this , you know , wonderful history connected to the doll. And so that's a little bit about the history. But there's so much more 137 years almost. And the great thing about this restoration , part of the amended master plan , is that the Delaware has a museum for the first time in its history , and folks can go and learn more about it and look at those black and white photos. And they have tours. I believe they have a ghost tour as well , because there's a ghost at the Hotel Dell. And that's a really interesting story as well that we've covered several times.
S3: Yeah , like any real good historical building , having a good ghost stories , you know , comes in handy. Yes. Halloween time.
S2: Not only that , looking at the black and white photos , we know that the heritage manager at the Dell , Gina Patron , and the lead architect , David Marshall from Heritage and Architecture and Planning , they work together to do a lot of research through the black and white photos and any documents , any letters. Um , to find out what was missing. And so through the black and white photos , through the before footage , before the construction , before the restoration , and then after , they're going to see and they're going to be amazed to see what a difference. Um , it , you know , it looks like now and what a difference a few years make , actually , right , that things have been restored , but things that were lost have been replicated and been brought back. As I mentioned , the veranda , the porch , the two staircases going into the Dell , all that had been missing for 80 years. So when people see that before and after , they're going to be pretty surprised to see that , Oh , wow. That had been there forever. But , you know , it was removed for such a long time , and there's just so many elements from the historical angle that people are really going to be mesmerized.
S3: I've been speaking with Elsa Sevilla , host and executive producer behind the KPBS series Historic Places. You can stream new episodes on the PBS app. They premiere on December 9th and December 16th. Elsa , thanks so much for being here.
S2: Thanks for having me.
S1: Coming up , we check in with the World Beet Cultural Center as they get ready to kick off the Kwanzaa season. Hear more when KPBS Midday Edition returns. Welcome back. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. 30 years ago , Marquita Dread Cheatham walked into an old water tower on the edge of Balboa Park and transformed it into the World Beat Cultural Center. KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando spoke with Cheatham about the center's history and its exciting future. Here's their conversation. Makeda.
S4: Makeda. This has been a pretty exciting year for you and the World Beat Center. So first of all , let's talk about the fact that you got an extended lease here.
S5: I've been around doing , you know , good things in this town , and one of them is having a cultural center for all cultures to come together and learn about , you know , what a beautiful America we have with all different nationalities and cultures. And so this leaves represent longevity to the future generation. And , you know , Native American Indians say that we are responsible for generations before us and generations to come. So we better all get busy.
S4: Now this lease is for 25 years , and you've also received a grant for $1 million.
S5: The lease will , you know , give us a museum and bathrooms and a media studio. So we were going to give the youth lessons and production and sound and , you know , podcasting. So it looks really good. And outdoor classrooms. So it's great for the community , uh , with them banding books and knowledge and the turn of the country. Right now , cultural centers will be the ones that will bring this truth on to our future generations.
S4: And tell us where we're sitting right now. This is an area that is kind of an exhibit space , and you have quite a lot of wonderful objects here. Explain what this is and what it may turn into in the future.
S5: Well , this will be a museum. Right now , we're sitting in our African section of the museum , and I'm sitting with a gun , and that's our ancestors. That's the dance of the ancestors. You know , we really believe in honoring our ancestors. So we're sitting here with just these great statues of our ancestors. And so this will be a museum honoring our ancestors through music , dance and culture.
S4:
S5: We'll be able to fix up , you know , our building. We came with no help , a leaky roof , no bathrooms , and , you know , no stage. But we kept on going. White , black , red , yellow. You know , we have a Tyco department. We have Native American drumming , uh , African drumming and dance. Uh , we represent all the nations. And I can't wait to put in a exhibit on the Sami people. Uh , the only indigenous people of Europe. So we're going to be all represented here. And since most of civilization comes from Africa , of course , Africa , it will be represented real strong here at the World Cultural Center. And we are into black Indians , Black Seminoles , the Gullah Geechee , our maroon societies , and the Africans that are in America.
S4: And remind people how World Beat Center started. Because I believe you told me that you used to come here as a teenager before it was anything but a water tower.
S5: I went to San Diego High School in San Diego City College , and at San Diego High School when there was lunchtime. And I supposed to be there for lunch , you know , I would come over here and sit at this water tower and to know that I built a cultural center at this water tower that we used to hang out in. It's incredible that you're able to give back to your city , your country , your nation , your world. You know , the ancient Egyptians said , you know , when Osiris was weighing his heart and what it is the RA the masters are asking him , what joy did you bring to the world ? And what joy did the world bring to you ? Two things , and that's what we have to do. Continue is bring joy to the world. This cultural center has brought a lot of suffering , but you don't get , you know , suffering is there for you to realize the beauty and happiness. They both go hand in hand. So when you learn to evolve from suffering and that little secret , the little key is being kind. There's too much ugliness that's going around people saying what they want to say , ugly things. It's gotten popular , but we have to be kind. And kindness is so important. And that's what we represent at the World Beats Center. And that's what we're going to continue to teach is compassion.
S4: And when you did first come in here , there was really nothing. You had to work from scratch. Remind people of the process that you had to go through.
S5: It was nada , nada , nothing here. And what they did , they left. Uh , it was a storage place. It was just for us to put all this junk in the dumpster. But no help or nothing. But we kept trying on , and that's what our ancestors did. So we. We must try to , um. If I can turn this old water tower into a cultural center , all of us can change the world for a better place and make our cities grow. So whatever you do , you have to take a part of making this world a joyful world.
S4: And another change that's going to be happening here is a cultural plaza between you and the Central Control de la Raza.
S5: It's so I don't have to bring stages in , you know , to have my Earth Day. It's going to be just really nice. There'll be booths and just lighting up with people and kids running and poetry and just a place for us all to be together and commune. It's so important that we come together , you know , Covid , we were so apart. And so the kids suffered. Everybody suffered. But coming together as a family , as one human race , and that's what we are , one human race. There's no division. Once people realize that and come back to our Aquarian Aids selves. You know , I'm a kid of the 60s , so we were waiting for the Age of Enlightenment. And so people think it's the Age of darkness coming in. But , you know , they say the darkness is here before the light. The light is coming. And I feel the light is coming. I got little discouraged. I go , wait , where's the Age of Aquarius ? And we're just keep serving each other and having reciprocity as the key. We're going to do a lot of leadership training in love and reciprocity. And there's an institute called the Ani Institute that's based on old Peruvian and ancient wisdom and the ancient wisdom of our ancestors. So it's so important that we keep our ancestors wisdom that's been , you know , blocked out. So we'll have the the elders and the youth together. So we have to come together with our ancestors. And leadership training from the Omni Institute in reciprocity is going to be one of my goals in the future.
S4: And this cultural plaza is basically extending the space that you and the Centro have to do more things. Yes.
S5: Yes. I'm so glad you're talking about the Cultural Plaza , because it's going to bring us together central and the will be cultural center , and we'll be having more things on this end because we've been left alone on this end of the park. We kept on going up , going on , and we're going to just liven up this end. And with more activities , cultural activities. Culture is so important. If you don't know where you came from , as Marcus Messiah Garvey would say , if you don't know where you came from , you don't know where you're going. So we have to teach culture.
S4: And some people may not realize that you also have a restaurant here and that you have a garden.
S5: Yes we do. I come from the Prophet Vegetarian restaurant. I had the first vegetarian an restaurant in San Diego. So I learned a lot of things from those ancient people and those ancient wisdoms of these health practitioners. And so we have a restaurant called the One World Cafe , and we have a garden , and we grow a lot of our food. And now we're starting a farm. And and we work with farmers. So that's what we're doing. We're starting a farm to keep the elders able to eat good. We had these boxes to give to the elders we're working for with Habitat of Humanity. Also , we have a seed library here. So anybody that want seeds , they can come and get seeds. Heirloom seeds by Baker Creek. We work with Baker Creek. So our food is so important. Our food is so good. We grow moringa trees were given moringa trees. We're going to be given a lot of plants away and for you to grow. And so that's so important that you come in and get really good food. Like we're going to be in the mushroom conference and we're going to have mushroom burgers and everything here in Balboa Park. And also we're our opening up our herb store. So you'll be able to come and get your herbs here. And especially , you know , we had a whole seminar with women and they were in menopause and nobody talks about that , you know , so we we had a seminar. We showed them what to do with hot flashes , what herbs to take evening primrose. You don't have to get estrogen replacement therapy and all that. If you know your herbs and you know your body , you can heal yourself.
S4: And this is also a site for events.
S5: And that's our African American holiday. It's the 26th to the 30 , first to the first. You know , it's all about the unity. First day is emotion and that means unity in Swahili. All the principles are in Kiswahili. And so we get to know our language. The you know , San Diego comes together. We've been doing it for like 40 years. It was , uh , in the 60s. Doctor Ron , Melanie Karenga invented Kwanzaa. So it was based on African principles. Marcus Garvey just really a holiday for togetherness. It's not a religious holiday. It's a cultural holiday. You know , after Kwanzaa , we move into Martin Luther King Day , and it's on the 20th , January 20th. I think that's the inaugural day. So it's also , uh , it's also , um , a celebration of Doctor King. You know , our hero , and it's with Pato Banton and which is a reggae star. And it's all about Umberto. You know , I exist because of you. So everybody gets together black and white , and we all come together brown , and that's that's it. That's what makes America , you know ? That's what makes us. That's why I love this country. Because there's so many different cultures. I can go and eat Filipino food. Or I could just go and eat some great , uh , lovers. I could go and eat Ethiopian food , you know ? And that's what we have to do is keep our country , like , beautiful. That it's always been and it is. And it will be there forever. Because this is America , baby.
S1: That was Makeda Dred Cheatham , founder of the World Beet Cultural Center , speaking with KPBS Beth Accomando. This Sunday , the World Beat Cultural Center will host a mystic market. And then on December 26th , it kicks off its 44th annual Kwanzaa celebration. Still to come , Sameer Patel , the new orchestra director of the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus , talks about blending art , music and science in the new concert series luminosity.
S6: What's fun about the music that we encounter together is that it's often a journey that we take on together. That's certainly the case with this program.
S1: That and your weekend preview when KPBS Midday Edition returns. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. This weekend , the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus will perform a concert inspired by the interplay Play between music , art and nature. They're combining a selection of music by French impressionist and living composers , including a piece that's inspired by bioluminescence. To talk about this undertaking , KPBS arts reporter Julia Dickson Evans sat down with conductor Samir Patel. Here's their conversation.
S7: What inspired this concert ? The intersection of music , art and and science.
S6: So originally we looked at orchestral color to begin with. And when we talk about color in orchestral music , that's synonymous with the name Maurice Ravel. It's a composer that I always wanted to perform with this orchestra. And we're going to be playing his second suite from Daphnis and Chloe , a ballet he wrote , and another name that is often mentioned when we talk about orchestral color is another musical impressionist , Claude Debussy. So as I was building a program together. I thought , well , we've got French music , but also one of the great missions of the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus is to perform and champion the music of our time. So I wanted to create a couple of musical performances , or I wanted to share some some music by living composers in the first half. And so we decided that we would feature Vivian Fong and Gabriella Smith , two living composers , both with roots in the Bay area. I thought of two of their compositions of Violin Concerto Number one from Vivian Fung and Bioluminescence Ciccone , and I thought that these pieces would go well together , because they do stand on the shoulders of these these French colorful giants , if you will , and Debussy and Ravel and Foray. And so as we're developing the program , it came about that one of our supporters , Doctor Michael Latz , who's an oceanographer at Scripps , he said , hey , I have this connection to a visual artist named Yvonne Koo , and she has created a visual representation of bioluminescence. And so we thought , why don't we bring this into the picture ? So we reached out to the composer. She was all for it. We took the opportunity to create a video using Yvonne's visual art , and we're pairing it with this music. So it's bridges a lot of different worlds here.
S7: I want to talk a little more about Gabriella Smith. Um , her work is so unique. She uses nature and science based elements in her work , sometimes like field recordings , and she's also informed by the climate.
S6: You know , one of the things that I love about living composers , especially , is I look at their music or I listen to their music , and I I'm just in awe of how they're able to create the sounds that they have. And that is the case in this work that we're going to perform bioluminescence Chacon , which has these soundscapes that sound not traditionally orchestral , but they sound like they could be happening in nature somewhere. And in this case , there are moments that it sounds like you are thousands of feet underwater , and these are the sounds of marine life or whales or something like that. Or in the beginning of the piece they sound like birds. And so the natural world is an important thing for her. The the climate situation is an important part of her work. And she she has said that many times that , you know , this is the two go hand in hand for her. And so she's always trying to find a way to create not only beautiful music , but music that means something to people. And they could take this away.
S7: Can you take us a little bit behind the scenes , and how does a piece that has so much meaning , how do you translate that to the musicians.
S6: They love music and they love sharing music with each other and with audiences. And so what's fun about the music that we encounter together is that it's often a journey that we take on together. That's certainly the case with this program. I think for all of them , playing the music of Ravel , Debussy and Foray is a fun and beautiful experience because it's such great music to begin with. And for many of them , that's why they they chose to play an instrument. It's why they chose to play in this group. But they're also in this group because they love the new. And that's what is also on this program. So for many of the musicians , they're on stage. And for me too , there's this element of we are encountering the music of Vivian Fung together for the first time in this violin concerto number one. And we're encountering this music of Gabriela Smith for the first time together. And so we naturally have that buy in. And what I love about the group is that there's so much curiosity when they encounter a piece of new music. I would say that they don't look at it from the lens of judgment , but from the lens of curiosity. And , you know , they they take everything on with this music. And it's not without its technical challenges , but there's a spirit of curiosity that is in the room as we work. And so oftentimes I find that when we are working together , we are discovering together. And that's what makes it fun.
S7: Let's move on to that other piece of music by composer Vivian Fung. This is a violin concerto to be performed by Nancy Zhou.
S6: I mean , she's a world class artist who has won competitions , performed all over the world , is a virtuoso and is just a brilliant , brilliant musician. So we're very fortunate to have her. But the piece itself is extraordinary. I mean , it's not a long violin concerto , it's clocks in in just over 20 minutes. But the piece was informed by her own travel. In this case , she had gone to Bali and encountered Balinese gamelan music , and she had created a piece that sort of bridges the Western classical traditions with the sound world of Balinese gamelan. So it fuses these two different styles together in a remarkable way that not only showcases the virtuosity of our soloist , but also of the orchestra. It's not an easy piece to put together. There's a lot of technicality in the writing , but it is beautifully orchestrated. It's extremely colorful , and that's why I think it fits so nicely in this program. As I mentioned , we get a little bit of the taste of the original colorists and the French composers that are on their second half. But we also have music from this current generation that , as I mentioned , stands on the shoulders of these these great composers from the past.
S7: You've talked about color and Impressionism in music.
S6: And , you know , I think that one of the things that when we think of , of orchestrators and particularly these French composers that are on the second half of our program , I think of them not only as brilliant technicians in the way that they were able to write , but how they were able to imagine new sounds and new textures and new harmonies and new melodies , and to put these into a new soundscape in so many ways , they were original sound designers , if you will. So when we take a piece like the Ravel , Daphnis and Chloe , which has , if you ask me , or many other musicians , this has some of the most gorgeous music ever written , and it depicts Dawn. And , you know , many other composers have.
UU: Depicted Dawn from Grieg to so many more.
S6: But there's this way of writing that , uh , captures the sound of birds , the sounds of waves , the you know , if one can imagine sunlight happening in music , uh , these composers were able to do that. And like I said , for me it's it's always astonishing when I encounter a score on a page and , and then you hear it later on and you think , how did they do this ? How did they who who thought of an idea like this ? And not only that , but how did they represent it in such a powerful way ? I would also say that that when we think of these composers as impressionists , though many of them kind of hated the term , uh , they had an ability to take an image and to turn it into meaning and to turn it into sound. And so when I think our audience is able to experience this music , I think that they will see these representations and sound and find that it's quite accurate.
S1: That was Sameer Patel , conductor of the La Jolla Symphony , speaking with KPBS arts reporter Julia Dixon Evans , the concert luminosity colorist. Past and present , takes place Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at Mandeville Auditorium at UC San Diego. And Julia joins me now. Julia , welcome. Hey , Jade.
S7: Thanks for having. Me.
S1: Me. Always great to have you here. So let's take a look at what else is going on. It's a busy weekend for holiday events in San Diego. We know that December Nights is happening in Balboa Park this weekend , and it's expected to be bigger and more crowded than ever.
S7: And this is a fundraiser for McKinley elementary , and it's held at the intersection of Thorn Street and 32nd. There's a bunch of local restaurants and chefs. They're competing for the best chili. You can buy a handmade ceramic bowl before the event , or like a commemorative mug. And that gives you up to five separate tastings , or you can just attend for free and not eat. They have food trucks and other vendors and drinks there , and the event has two stages for music. So there's a bunch of great local bands that are playing , including Whiskey and Burlap , Tamara Burke , and then the creepy Creeps , who are this costumed concept rock band. My coworker Tony once told me that it doesn't feel like the holidays until he sees the creepy creeps perform at Chili Fest , and I love that sort of extremely San Diego way to pass the seasons. But also performing and totally on my radar is La Chateau. They just put out a new EP this fall , and it's been a while since we've had new music from them. They have this really great indie pop sound with A Little Darkness and the lead singer Laura Levin. Hagen's vocals really set them apart. She has such a beautiful voice. This track we're listening to is called Fall After Fall , and that's from that new Future Phantom EP.
UU: That is the future.
S1: All right. Well , in theater , a new play just opened at the La Jolla Playhouse. It's it's not a Christmas Carol , but it is about that play. Tell us. More.
S7: More. Right. So this is called your local Theater Presents A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens again , and it's by playwright Anna O. Young Munsch , who is she's one of the writers of severance , the Apple TV show. And she also wrote the play Birds of North America , which you might remember , it was on stage at Moxie Theater recently , and I just saw this play and it it actually did remind me of that play the way that the playwright did things like depicting this massive passage of time in a single set. It's really remarkable what she can pull off through dialogue , through character development and display your local theatre presents A Christmas Carol. This follows kind of a group of actors , actually , but you're focused on one in particular. He is a highly trained actor just struggling to find work. And so everyone always comes back to this regional theater production of A Christmas Carol. And this guy is like , aging through all the roles. And I think for anyone who spent time in the theater , whether in youth theater or as an audience member , there's a lot of humor and relatability in some of that insider behind the scenes stuff to the theater , but it's also just this really relatable story about aging and trying to figure out who you are and what you want to be. It's on stage now through December 15th , and the Playhouse does a rush ticket program so that you can take your chances and check in with the box office on the day of the show , and maybe even get half price tickets.
S1: All right , well , what's going on in North County this weekend ? Lots there. Two. Right , right.
S7: So there one thing in particular , there's a free event at California's Center for the Arts Escondido this weekend , and it's their winter wonderland Saturday and Sunday from 11 to 5. And the museum is free. During these events , there's also going to be actual snow outside. There'll be crafts and stuff for kids and then food vendors. You can get like your seasonal drinks and something festive to snack on. And in the museum right now is the Helen and Newton Harrison , California work exhibit. And this is part of that Getty initiative , the street art program that's all over Southern California. So that's a great chance to check that out during this free event. And also , if you want to make a day of it , tickets are sold separately. But they they have Nutcracker ballet performances happening in the concert hall both days. So you could even check that out to you.
S1: It's great.
S7: They're playing with Jay Mahoney and locals Blair Gun and Blair Grande just put out a new album earlier this year. And this is the track The Thief. And to me this has such , like a retro post-punk sound.
UU: Do you feel out of alignment ? Cause I have poison on my lips. Cause you moving. But I can dance and shine.
S7: And I first heard Emma Ruth Rendell in 2016 when she released marked for death , her album. This is the title track here that we're listening to. Her music is dark and dreamy , kind of at the same time. It's this blend of folk , rock and even metal elements. But Soda Bar is such an intimate venue for a show like that , so it should be really , really great.
UU: Who is good enough for someone like you. That's smart for death. Who else is gonna be with you ? New. Brilliant.
S8: Excellent events coming up.
S1: You can find more arts events and sign up for Julia's weekly newsletter at KPBS Arts. I've been speaking with KPBS arts reporter Julia Dixon Evans. Julia , thanks.
S7: Thank you. Jade.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
