Best Art Gallery:
Museum Of Contemporary Art San Diego
With the recent opening of its second location downtown at the restored Santa Fe Depot, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) more than proves art is alive and well in San Diego. The museum’s permanent collection includes more than 3,000 works created after 1950, representing all media and genres: painting, sculpture, works on paper, photography, video, film, and installation. MCASD has become a bright beacon of light for emerging artists, as the museum is known to actively seek out new talent. Works are displayed alongside pieces created by major figures. Some of the most popular attractions include an impressive collection of minimalism and pop art of the 1960s and ’70s, conceptual art from the 1960s to the present, installation art, Latin American art, and art from California and the San Diego/Tijuana region. (858/454 3541, www.mcasd.org) — Ryan Thomas

Best Theater Company:
The Old Globe
The Tony Award-winning Old Globe Theatre offers a great mix of new and classic plays, and has been the site for development of many Broadway productions. Set in scenic Balboa Park, this theatre complex has three distinctly different performance venues, and is busy all year round with scheduled productions, plus additional attractions such as playwrites’ workshops and movie screenings. Upcoming productions include Restoration Comedy, Hold Please, and the much anticipated Summer Shakespeare Festival. (619/231-1941, www.theoldglobe.org) — Darlene G. Davies

Best Band:
The Mar Dels
Labeling The Mar Dels best band is a misnomer. The Mar Dels are a show: glamorous Barbie-like lead vocalists, celebrity impersonations, and Doug Allen’s flaming keyboard. Not only does this seven-member band perform a wide repertoire of favorites from the ’40s to the ’90s, they do it big, whether at a public venue or private party. And if you like to dance, they can get a crowd on its feet and shaking it with a band that knows how to have fun on stage. (800/626-3357, www.mardels.com) — E.S. Magill

Best Musical Arts Organization:
The San Diego Symphony
The San Diego Symphony performs the world’s finest music in the acoustically superior restored downtown Symphony Hall under the musical direction of Jahja Ling. The Jacob’s Masterworks program features revered classical pieces performed by the world’s top musicians. Pops presentations, family programming, and young people’s concerts ensure musical offerings for everyone — even newbies can acclimate themselves through the much-touted Thursday Night Lite series. Sit back and let the music transport you to another world. (619/235-0804, www.sandiegosymphony.com) — Ryan Thomas

Best Live Music Venue:
The Belly Up
Located in Solana Beach, just a few blocks from the ocean, The Belly Up walks that fine line between local hangout and big league rock venue. Patrons can grab a beer at the bar or have a burger at the Wild Note Café. A good sized stage is only mere feet from the dance floor. This middle ground makes for well-produced shows while maintaining a sense of intimacy between the audience and the musicians. Aspiring bands in the region consider having made it if they can get on The Belly Up’s roster. Larger acts range from Robyn Hitchcock to George Clinton to Common Sense and everything in between. (858/481-9022, www.bellyup.com) — Ryan Thomas

Culture Calendar

March

Ongoing: Juried Fine Art Show
The Carlsbad-Oceanside Art League (COAL) presents a juried fine art show every Saturday and Sunday on the lawn in front of the Carlsbad Inn. The show runs from 9am-4pm. (www.carlsbadinnart.blogspot.com)

Thru 3/8: Sammy Pasto Exhibition
Sharp Gallery presents new works by pastel artist Sammy Pasto. (619/546-9546, www.sharpgallery.net)

Thru 3/9: Jem Southam Exhibition
The Joseph Bellows Gallery presents the first West Coast solo exhibition of British photographer, Jem Southam, who has been an important figure in British photography for over 25 years. (858/456-5620, www.josephbellows.com)

Thru 3/11: The Four Of Us
The Old Globe presents the world premiere of The Four of Us, by Itamar Moses, directed by Pam McKinnon, playing in the Cassius Carter Centre Stage. (619/23-GLOBE, www.theoldglobe.org)

Thru 3/11: The Secret Garden
Lamb’s Players Theatre presents Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon’s haunting adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic book. (619/437-0600, www.lambsplayers.org)

Thru 3/11: Christopher Burkett: Tapestry Of California
This exhibition is the eighth show in the series Visions of the Natural World through the Lens of the Masters at The Ordover Gallery at the San Diego Natural History Museum. (858/720-1121, www.ordovergallery.com)

Thru 3/11: Seeing Through Light
Front Porch Gallery presents a photo exhibition that showcases how the featured artists view our world and the things around them through the use of light and lens. (760/795-6120)

Thru 3/24: Paintings And Book Illustrations
The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library showcases paintings and book illustrations by Austrian artist Georg Eisler, a noted figurative painter at a time when European art was moving toward the abstract.
(858/454-5872, www.ljathenaeum.org)

Thru 3/25: The Farnsworth Invention
Written by The West Wing creator, Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winner Aaron Sorkin, this riveting new drama put on by the La Jolla Playhouse uncovers the story behind one of the world’s most powerful inventions: television. (858/550-1010, www.lajollaplayhouse.com)

Thru 3/25: Will Gibson And Blake Shaw Exhibition
The Ordover Gallery in Solana Beach presents black and white photographs from Will Gibson’s Eastern Sojourn portfolio, and Blake Shaw’s interpretive botanical imagery. Work will also be shown by Lew Abulafia, Robert Barry, John D. Clark, Jim Cline, and more. (858/720-1121, www.ordoverproject.com)

Thru 3/31: Marching To A Different Drummer
The San Diego Watercolor Society presents a juried show of approximately 90 watermedia paintings by Southern California’s award-winning artists. (619/876-4550, www.sdws.org)

Thru 3/31: Guatemala! Celebrations Of Weaving
On view in Evernham Hall at the San Diego Museum of Man, this exhibit showcases textiles made by women of the Mayan villages in Guatemala, and includes examples selected from villages located throughout the country. (619/239-2001, www.museumofman.org)

Thru 3/31: 3 Women
Shiva Artistic Collections in Escondido presents works of art quilt maker Kris Estenger, photographer Susan Kanfer, and Claire-Lise Matthey Anderegg, an experimental mixed media painter. (760/745-7835, www.shivacollections.com)

Thru 4/7: A Distraction From Flowers
Distinction Artist Studios and Gallery presents and exhibition featuring four artists currently working in the Urban Surrealism movement. A reception with live music will take place on March 10 from 5-8pm. (760/781-5779, www.distinctionart.com)

Thru 4/15: Of Gold And Grass — Nomads Of Kazakhstan
Mingei International Museum presents objects of adornment in elegant, animal forms from gold, bronze, and wood that were fashioned by warriors and merchant caravans more than 2000 years ago, along the Silk Road through what is now Kazakhstan. (619/239-0003, www.mingei.org)

Thru 5/13: Brian Ulrich: Copia
Works by Brian Ulrich on view at MCASD’s La Jolla location. The exhibition features the Chicago-based artist’s large-scale photographs documenting the shopping habits of Americans. (858/454-3541, www.mcasd.org)

Thru 5/13: Tell Me A Story: Narrative Photography Now
The Museum of Photography Arts presents an exhibition of more than 50 images that includes work by contemporary artists who address issues of narrative. (619/238-7559, www.mopa.org)

3/1-4/1: Hothouse
Susan Street Fine Art Galley presents paintings and sculptures by Eleanor Miller, Will Robinson, Barbara Rogers, and Nancy Sansom-Reynolds. An artists’ reception will take place on Thursday, March 15 from 6-9pm in conjunction with Cedros Gallery Night. (858/793-4442, www.susanstreetfineart.com)

3/2: Christina Aguilera
iPayOne Center at the Sports Arena. (619/220-TIXS, www.ticketmaster.com)

3/2: Harry Chapin, A Celebration In Song: A Chapin Family Concert
The music of the late Harry Chapin ("Taxi," "Cat’s In The Cradle," "Mr. Tanner" and "Circle") are sung by those who know them best — his original band and amazing family. Concert Hall at California Center for the Arts, Escondido. (800/988-4253, www.artcenter.org)

3/3: Snow Patrol With OK Go
SDSU Open Air Theatre. (619/220-TIXS, www.ticketmaster.com)

3/3-4: Beauty & The Beast
Performed by California Ballet at San Diego Civic Theatre. (858/560-6741, www.californiaballet.org)

3/4: National Philharmonic Of Russia
The company will perform Shostakovich’s "Festival Overture," Rachmaninoff’s "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini," and Tchaikovsky’s "Symphony No. 5 " at California Center for the Arts, Escondido.
(800/988-4253, www.artcenter.org)

3/5-6: Joe Turner’s Come And Gone
Cygnet Theatre, in collaboration with the San Diego Black Ensemble Theatre, presents a staged reading of August Wilson’s play. Common Ground Theatre. (619/337-1525, ext. 3#, www.cygnettheatre.com)

3/6-11: Altar Boyz
Broadway San Diego presents the acclaimed musical comedy and winner of the coveted Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical Off-Broadway. Full of sharp parody, sinfully spectacular dancing, and irreverent humor. Civic Theatre. (619/570-1100, www.broadwaysd.com)

3/8-18: 14th San Diego Latino Film Festival
Media Arts Center San Diego. (619/230-1938, www.sdlatinofilm.com)

3/9-10: Ozomatli With Guest
The Belly Up. (858/481-8140, www.bellyup.com)

3/9-11: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Concert Hall at California Center for the Arts, Escondido. (800/988-4253, www.artcenter.org)

3/9-11: Mainly Mozart Spotlight Series Presents Pianist John Lill
Lill will perform Beethoven’s classics, including Sonata in C# minor, Op. 27/2, "Moonlight;" Sonata in C, Op. 53, "Waldstein;" Sonata in F, Op. 54; and Sonata in F minor. March 9 and 10 The Neurosciences Institute and March 11 at Saint Elizabeth Seton Church. Lill will then perform Beethoven’s Sonata in C, Op. 53 (Waldstein) and Sonata in F minor, Op. 57, "Appassionata" at The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe.
(619/239-0100, ext. 2, www.mainlymozart.org)

3/12, 13, 16: French Connections
San Diego Chamber Orchestra’s artistic director and conductor, Jung Ho Pak, combines Couperin, Ravel, Satie, and Milhaud into an evening of music that shimmers and moves. (858/350-0290, www.sdco.org)

3/15: Eric Clapton With Robert Cray
iPayOne Center at the Sports Arena. (619/220-TIXS, www.ticketmaster.com)

3/16-4/1: Fiddler On The Roof
Lyric Opera San Diego presents Bock & Harnick’s Fiddler on the Roof, the tale of a Jewish shtetl in Tsarist Russia, with general director Leon Natker recreating the role of Tevye the dairyman. (619/231-5714, www.lyricoperasandiego.com)

3/17-4/29: Philipp Scholz Rittermann: A Personal Vision Of Landscape
This exhibition is the ninth show in the series Visions of the Natural World through the Lens of the Masters at The Ordover Gallery at the San Diego Natural History Museum. (858/720-1121, www.ordovergallery.com)

3/23: Pat Methany And Brad Mehldau
Two of the world’s most revered jazz musicians launched their greatly anticipated collaboration with the release of the album "Methany Mehldau." Methany and Mehldau will perform at California Center for the Arts, Escondido. (800/988-4253, www.artcenter.org)

3/24: Rod Stewart
Cox Arena. (619/220-TIXS, www.ticketmaster.com)

3/29-5/6: Fine Art Photographs By Peter Fay And Art Myers
The Ordover Gallery in Solana Beach presents color nature photographs from Fay’s Solitude series, and Myer’s imagery encompassing years of photographing children with HIV. (858/720-1121, www.ordoverproject.com)

3/30-4/1: Grace Slick Art Exhibit
Wentworth Gallery presents the artwork of rock and roll Hall of Fame member Grace Slick (best known as the lead singer of Jefferson Airplane). (858/551-7071, www.wentworthgallery.com)

3/30-4/1: Mainly Mozart Spotlight Series Presents Works By Brahms
Violinsts William Preucil and Sara Trobäck, violist Cynthia Phelps, cellist Ronald Thomas, cello, and pianist Arthur Rowe ill perform works by Brahms. March 30 and 31 at The Neurosciences Institute, and April 1 at Saint Elizabeth Seton Church. (619/239-0100, ext. 2, www.mainlymozart.org)

3/30-4/1: Tchaikovsky Spectacular City Ballet of San Diego presents
Swan Lake Act II, Black Swan Pas de Deux, and the world premiere of Tchai Celebration at Garfield Theatre at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center in La Jolla. (858/272-8663, www.cityballet.org)

3/30-5/13: Enchanted April
Lamb’s Players Theatre presents the San Diego premiere of Enchanted April by Matthew Barber, adapted from the novel by Elizabeth von Arnim. (619/437-0600, www.lambsplayers.org)

3/31: Switchfoot With Copeland
Soma. (619/220-TIXS, www.ticketmaster.com)

3/31-4/22: Sailor’s Song
New Village Arts presents an extravagant, romantic seaside story decorated with dance by Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winner Jon Patrick Shanley. (760/433-3245, www.newvillagearts.org)