San Diego's top three attractions--the San Diego Zoo, Wild Animal Park, and SeaWorld--keep extended summer hours. SeaWorld caps its Summer Nights off at 9pm with a fireworks display nightly. You can catch them from SeaWorld or anywhere around Mission Bay.
Drive-ins may be all but a thing of the past, but San Diego's most unique movie venue is experienced at Movies Before the Mast (tel. 619/234-9153), aboard the Star of India at the waterfront Maritime Museum. During July and August, movies of the nautical genre (such as The Perfect Storm or Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea) are shown on a special "screensail" Fridays and Saturdays at 7pm.
In summer, free concerts are offered at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park on Monday (organ recitals) and Tuesday through Thursday nights (bands, dance, and vocal groups) as part of Twilight in the Park (tel. 619/239-0512). Concerts run from mid-June to August and begin at 7:30pm. Also in the park, the Starlight Theater presents four Broadway musicals in the Starlight Bowl from mid-June to mid-September (tel. 619/544-STAR; www.starlighttheatre.org). This venue is in the flight path to Lindbergh Field, and when planes pass overhead, singers stop in mid-note and wait for the roar to cease. The Globe's Festival Stage (tel. 619/239-2255; www.theglobetheatres.org) in Balboa Park is a popular outdoor summer theater venue for Shakespeare.
Another Balboa Park event, Christmas on the Prado, has been a San Diego tradition since 1977. The weekend of evening events is held the first Friday and Saturday in December. The park's museums and walkways are decked out in holiday finery, and the museums are free and open late, from 5 to 9pm. There is entertainment galore, from bell choruses to Renaissance and baroque music to barbershop quartets. Crafts (including unusual Christmas ornaments), ethnic nibbles, hot cider, and sweets are for sale. A Christmas tree and nativity scene are displayed at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.
Running with the Grunion--The Grunion Run is a wacky local tradition that few visitors experience. But if someone invites you to hustle down to the beach for a late-night fishing expedition, armed only with a sack and flashlight, do not be afraid. Grunion are 5- to 6-inch silvery fish that wriggle out of the water to lay their eggs in the sand. They make for decent eating (coated in flour and cornmeal, then fried), providing you don't mind catching them barefoot, but it's fun just to watch the action. From April to early June is peak spawning season in Southern California (which, with Baja California, is the only place you'll find grunion)--anywhere from a few dozen to thousands of grunion can appear during a run. The grunion runs happen twice a month, after the highest tides and during the full or new moon. The fish prefer wide, flat, sandy beaches (Mission Beach is usually a good spot); you'll spot more grunion if you go to a less-populated stretch of beach, with a minimum of light. You do need a valid state fishing license to catch grunion. If you'd like more information, the little critters have their own website: www.grunion.org.
