Hello, San Diego!

Special Announcement: As a special for Participant Observer readers, the Center for World Music has given us a discount for their upcoming concert at the Mingei. Use the code WVP10 to get a $10 discount (online orders only) on General or VIP admission for the Hermanos Herrera concert tonight! These concerts have been selling out, so don't miss out, get your tickets now!

Welcome to the newest edition of the San Diego Participant Observer newsletter. In this issue you will find a recipe for Ecuadorian Locro de Papas, a absolutely delicious potato chowder that warm your tummy and soul while we all wait for warmer weather to arrive! Our Book of the Month is the Man Booker award-winning The God of Small Things, a novel set in Kerala, India. It is also the selection for the Worldview Project book club for April we meet the 1st Tuesday of every month and have just celebrated our 10-year anniversary for the book club! Our International Music selection for the month is Mis 30 Mejores Canciones by the late-great Argentine singer, songwriter, and guitarist Atahualpa Yupanqui!

On to the events!

This weekend, the Japanese Friendship Garden's Cherry Blossom Festival continues allow all to take delight in ephemeral things. The exhibit Anna May Wong: Icon of the Silver Screen continues at the Chinese Historical Museum. Molière's Tartuffe, which opened yesterday, will continue at North Coast Repertory Theatre and continue through to the 1st week in April.

Friday and Saturday, the 11th Annual USD Mariachi Conference will take place in Shiley Hall.

Friday (today), at the Mingei, the Center for World Music will present the acclaimed Hermanos Herrera band. A Midsummer Night's Dream opens at the Coronado Playhouse, and performances run through to the end of March. Award-winning singer-songwriter Carlos Olmeda will perform at the Vision Center for Spiritual Living.

Saturday, Cary Lowe will discuss his book Becoming American. Guitarist Jose Rodriguez will perform in Encinitas. There will be a South Asian Dance Performance at the Rancho Bernardo Library. At the Athenaeum Art Center, there will be an opening for the Tarrah Aroonsakool Exhibit. The Invisible Traditions exhibit at Fronte Art & Cultura will feature works by Black, Indigenous, People of Color, women, and non-binary designers and artists from both sides of the border. Kids for Peace will hold a Hero Gala Fundraiser honoring the contributions of Giancarlo Esposito. There will be a Nowruz Celebration at UCSD. La Parranda will perform at Over the Border.

Sunday, the House of India Lawn Program will take place at the International Cottages. There will be Pro Lucha Libre at Bay City Brewing. Japanese Shamisen artist Anju Madoka will perform Japanese Folk Songs at the Serra Mesa-Kearny Mesa Library. She will also perform Monday at La Jolla Riford Library as well as next Wednesday at the Taiwanese American Community Center. The San Diego Jewish Men's Choir will perform uplifting Jewish music at Congregation Beth Israel. At the Mission Hills Library, saxophonist/flutist Adrienne Nims and accordionist Mark Danisovszky will play Music from Italy. Popular Mexican band Los Huracanes del Norte will perform at Balboa Theatre.

Monday, at the SDSU Library, Professor Seth Lerer will deliver a talk on the History of the English Language.

Tuesday at UCSD, there will be a symposium on the Literature and Religion in Modern Iran. At Warwick's, Laura McNeal will talk about and sign copies of her new book The Swan's Nest.

Wednesday, Warwick's will host Aimie K. Runyan when she discusses her new book, The Memory of Lavender and Sage.

Next Thursday, the 31st Annual Latino Film Festival will begin and continue for the following 10 days. We are super psyched! There will be a new exhibit opening at SDSU called The Imaginary Amazon featuring contemporary and historical art and material culture exploring the topic of representations of the Amazon Rainforest region. Warwick's will host Katherine Reay as she discusses her new book, The Berlin Letters: A Cold War Novel. There will be a Flamenco Night at Liberty Station featuring the wonderful dancer "La Chimi". It will be a night of Irish music with fiddler Gerry O'Connor at Hooley's Pub. At La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas, the San Diego Italian Film Festival will screen Primadonna (The Girl From Tomorrow). At the California Center for the Arts, Highland Way will perform traditional Scottish tunes.

Next Friday, it will be Kpop Club Night at the House of Blues. In honor of Nowruz (Spring equinox), there will be a Persian Music Performance at the San Carlos Library. Irish music and dance group Celtic Spells will perform at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts. Mexican bands La Nueva Linea, Grupo Destello, and La Descarga will all perform at the Warehouse.

Next Saturday and Sunday, at Balboa Theatre, City Ballet will present An American In Paris (and two other works).

Next Saturday, the 42nd Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade and Festival will take place in Balboa Park. ShamROCK Music & Beer Festival will also be next Saturday. Also, there will be an Irish Dance Performance at Pacific Highlands Ranch. The Chinese Historical Society will host the online talk on the Dragon Boat Festival and the Symbolism in Poem “Li Sao”. The San Diego Storytelling Festival will take place at the Coronado Library. This year's theme will be "Building Bridges". At the San Diego Marriott La Jolla, the Persian Cultural Center will hold a Nowruz Celebration featuring the Iranian pop singer, songwriter, and composer Mansour. Peruvian comic Luz Pazos will be tickling funny bones at Mic Drop Comedy. Noche Sinaloense at La Sinaloense Bar & Grill will feature 4 different Mexican bands. Maz Jobrani, who you may know from NPR's radio program Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, will perform at the Comedy Store in La Jolla.

Next Sunday, the House of Ireland will hold their annual Lawn Program. Save some soda bread for us! At the Carmel Valley Ranch Rec Center, there will be a Akshaya Patra Holi Fest which by its very nature should be very colorful. The Latino Film Festival will how their Family Day. Rounding out St. Pat's weekend, the Young Dubliners will performing at the Belly Up.

Local theatrical productions include N at the Point Loma Playhouse (ends Sunday), Fiddler on the Roof at San Diego Musical Theatre (ends Sunday), Molière's Tartuffe at North Coast Rep, and Midsummers Night's Dream at the Coronado Playhouse.

Please note that after two weeks in the main calendar section, ongoing events (such as exhibitions and plays) can be found in Ongoing and Extended Events.