Best Bets: A quick guide to online and in-person entertainment and experiences

This is a continuing listing of online activities and local in-person events.

Health & fitness

• The hatha yoga class “Warm & Wonderful” is presented at 4:40 p.m. Wednesdays through Jan. 31 at the La Jolla Cove Bridge Club, 1160 Coast Blvd. The weekly class is open to all levels. $20 per class. For reservations, email solyoga@yahoo.com.

• Author William Hancock discusses “How Medicines Work: An Informative Talk on How Medicines Affect the Body” from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 13, in the Community Room at the La Jolla/Riford Library, 7555 Draper Ave. Hancock will provide examples of drugs that can prevent or treat a variety of maladies, such as high blood pressure and arterial blockage caused by cholesterol. Free. (858) 552-1657, bit.ly/3NHXpJG

Lectures & learning

• The Pen to Paper writing class is offered at 1 p.m. Thursdays at the La Jolla/Riford Library, 7555 Draper Ave. The weekly class is open to writers 18 and older of all experience levels. Free. (858) 552-1657

• The La Jolla Community Center launches its winter-quarter classes of the Peer Learning Collaborative with film and television industry veteran Lori Holmes leading “The Mythology of the American West,” a series of four discussions about iconic film Westerns. The sessions, from 4 to 5:15 p.m. Tuesdays at 6811 La Jolla Blvd., will cover “Stagecoach” on Jan. 16, “The Searchers” on Jan. 23, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” on Jan. 30 and “Unforgiven” on Feb. 6. Wine and cheese will be included. $15 for the four-week course for Community Center members, $35 for non-members. ljcommunitycenter.org/plc

• David Kertzer, a research professor at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University in Providence, R.I., will discuss his book “The Pope at War” from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 18, online and in the Seuss Room of UC San Diego’s Geisel Library, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. The book, based on thousands of never-before-seen documents, describes what Pope Pius XII did and did not do as World War II enveloped Europe and as the Nazis began their systematic elimination of Jews. Free, though registration is required. bit.ly/3vudI6I

• The La Jolla Music Society renews its Changemaker Speaker Series with adventurer Peter Hillary, son of Sir Edmund Hillary, who made the first ascent of Mount Everest in 1953. Peter Hillary has been on 50 mountaineering expeditions around the world, including five on Mount Everest and the six other tallest peaks in the world. He was the first second-generation summiteer to reach the top of Everest. He will talk about his adventures, accompanied by photos and video, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 18, in the Baker-Baum Concert Hall at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, 7600 Fay Ave. $23-$48. (858) 459-3728, theconrad.org/events/peter-hillary

Arts & culture

• Bestselling author James Patterson discusses his new book, “Holmes, Marple & Poe: The Greatest Crime-Solving Team of the Twenty-First Century,” in conversation with author Matt Coyle at 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 11, online. The event is presented by Warwick’s bookstore in La Jolla. $30-$35. warwicks.com/event/patterson-2024

Painting by artist Marie McKenzie in the exhibition "Ebb and Flow: Giant Kelp Forests Through Art, Science and the Archives"

• “Ebb and Flow: Giant Kelp Forests Through Art, Science and the Archives,” a group exhibition presented by the UC San Diego Library and curated by San Diego-based photographer, marine scientist and Scripps Institution of Oceanography alumna Oriana Poindexter, opens at UCSD’s Geisel Library on Friday, Jan. 12, and runs through Sunday, April 21. The exhibit explores the giant kelp forest ecosystems of Southern California and how they have been observed and documented in the past 134 years. Works by featured artists Poindexter, Julia C. R. Gray, Dwight Hwang and Marie McKenzie will be accompanied by a curated selection of archival seaweed pressings created in La Jolla between 1890 and 2023. An opening reception will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 25, at the Geisel Library, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. The exhibit and reception are free and open to the public. library.ucsd.edu/news-events/events/ebb-and-flow

• Quint Gallery opens “Capricorn Rising,” an exhibition of new paintings by Mara De Luca, on Saturday, Jan. 13, in its new exhibit space at 7722 Girard Ave., La Jolla. Hours will be 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. (858) 454-3409, quintgallery.com

• The La Jolla Art Association presents a winter exhibition Saturday, Jan. 13, through early February at the La Jolla Community Center, 6811 La Jolla Blvd. An artist reception will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. Jan. 13 The reception and exhibition are free and open to the public. lajollaartassociation.org

• Non-fiction filmmaker Sara Dosa, director of the 2022 film “Fire of Love,” which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, is the featured speaker of the Suraj Israni Memorial Lecture from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 13, in Auditorium 113 of the Mosaic Building at UC San Diego’s North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood off Scholars Drive North, La Jolla. The event is sponsored by the Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts within the School of Arts and Humanities at UCSD. Free. ah.ucsd.edu/initiatives/cinematic-arts.html

• The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library presents artist Anne Labovitz’s exhibition “The Blue Hour,” featuring works exploring luminosity and color, in the Joseph Clayes III and Rotunda galleries through Saturday, Jan. 13, at 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. Free. ljathenaeum.org/current-exhibitions

• The Stanford Club of San Diego will host a cappella performances by the Stanford Mendicants and Stanford Counterpoint from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 14, at the Shepherd YMCA Firehouse, 7877 Herschel Ave., La Jolla. $15 for club members, $20 for non-members, $5 for student club members. groups.stanford.edu/events/71291

• Jazz pianist and composer Sean Mason and his quartet make their San Diego debut at 5 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 14, in The JAI at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, 7600 Fay Ave., La Jolla. $68-$83. (858) 459-3728, theconrad.org/events/sean-mason-quartet

• Art of Elan returns to La Jolla with a performance featuring Schubert’s work for string quartet “Death and the Maiden” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 16, in The JAI at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, 7600 Fay Ave. $35-$50. A free discussion will precede the concert at 6 p.m. in the Wu Tsai Courtyard. There also will be a post-concert Q&A with the performers. (858) 459-3728, theconrad.org/events/23-24-art-of-elan

• La Jolla Pen Women presents award-winning playwright and librettist Catherine Filloux at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17, at the La Jolla/Riford Library, 7555 Draper Ave. Filloux, who grew up in La Jolla, will discuss her work and read excerpts from one of her plays. Free, including light refreshments. (858) 245-1677. Email annehoiberg1@gmail.com.

• The La Jolla Library Poetry Group meets at 2 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 18, in the Community Room of the La Jolla/Riford Library, 7555 Draper Ave. The group meets the third Thursday of every month for local residents to read and share poems they have written with other budding and experienced poets.

The Special Consensus will play Friday, Jan. 19, in La Jolla.

• The San Diego Bluegrass Society presents a concert by two-time Grammy Award-nominated band The Special Consensus at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19, at La Jolla Christian Fellowship, 627 Genter St. Free. Donations are accepted online and at the door. specialc.com

• The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library presents an opening reception for artist Peter Cochrane’s exhibition “The Magician Longs to See” from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19, at 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. The show, featuring photographic images and mixed-media works, will run Saturday, Jan. 20, through Saturday, April 13. ljathenaeum.org/events/exhibition-2024-cochrane, (858) 454-5872

Pianist Tony Siqi Yun will perform Sunday, Jan. 21, in the Baker-Baum Concert Hall in La Jolla.

• The La Jolla Music Society’s Discovery Series features Canadian-born pianist Tony Siqi Yun at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 21, in the Baker-Baum Concert Hall at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, 7600 Fay Ave. The program will feature music by Brahms, Wagner, Liszt, Beethoven, Busoni and Schumann. $33-$58. theconrad.org/events/tony-siqi-yun

• The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library presents its annual series of winter concerts beginning Sunday, Jan. 21, in the Joan & Irwin Jacobs Music Room, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. The series will include performances by the Linda May Han Oh Quintet at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 21, the Gilad Hekselman Trio at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 28, the James Francies Trio at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 4, and the Benjamin Lackner Quartet at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28. $152 for the series for Athenaeum members, $172 for non-members; $40 per individual concert for members, $45 for non-members.
ljathenaeum.org/jazz, (858) 454-5872

• The La Jolla Historical Society presents “Tigers, Unicorns & Puppy Dog Tales” through Sunday, Jan. 21, at the Wisteria Cottage Gallery, 780 Prospect St. The exhibit highlights three former area landmarks — Unicorn Theatre, Mithras Books and Green Tiger Press. Free. lajollahistory.org

• Isaac Brynjegard-Bialik presents his art exhibition “Heroes & Legends” through Friday, Feb. 16, at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla. The show explores art prophecy and fear. Free. nicejewishartist.com

• The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego presents the exhibition “Kelly Akashi: Formations” through Sunday, Feb. 18, at 700 Prospect St., La Jolla. Akashi often pairs hand-blown glass or wax forms with bronze casts of her own hand, each a unique record of the slow-changing human body. The show is the first major exhibition and catalog of her work. mcasd.org/exhibitions/kelly-akashi-formations

Galas & events

• The La Jolla Newcomers Club presents a Coffee Around Town get-together at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 12, at Shorehouse Kitchen, 2236 Avenida de La Playa. The event is open to club members and new La Jolla residents interested in joining the club.

• The La Jolla Garden Club meets at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 16, at the La Jolla Woman’s Club, 7791 Draper Ave. lajollagardenclub.org/next-meeting

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