Entertainment & Events

This weekend in San Diego: Film Festival, Fighter Jets and Haunted Houses

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This weekend San Diego has a tremendous variety of activities to choose from which are great just about everyone. Events include the 10th annual SD Film Festival, the always popular Miramar Air Show, and various haunted happenings to help get ready for Halloween. So, keep your eyes on the screen, on the sky, or on the back of your head and get ready for sights you can only find in San Diego.

San Diego Film Festival

Everyone loves going to the movies, and this weekend there is no shortage of good ones premiering at the Gaslamp Theater as part of the 10th annual San Diego Film Festival.  Starting on Wednesday and continuing through Sunday, movie-goers can catch over 75 films that range from documentaries to short films to full length features as well as meet-and-greats with directors and after-movie parties.  Tickets for the event can be purchased on a per movie basis for at $12 or a day pass starting at $25.   Tickets for a full festival pass are going for $135.  For a full list of films, visit the San Diego Film Festival website.

Miramar Air Show

Celebrating the birthplace of Naval Aviation in San Diego back in 1911, the MCAS Miramar Air show is one of the most popular events in our area.  With it being the 100-year anniversary, this year’s Air Show promises to be one of the best yet.

The Miramar Air Show starts today and runs through Sunday with demonstrations beginning each day at 9 a.m. and ending at 4 p.m.  On Saturday evening only, there will be a special twilight show starting at 5:30 until 9 p.m.  Demonstrations throughout the day will feature a multitude of fighter jets, helicopters, and trick planes on display both on the ground and in the air performing acrobatics, with the famous U.S. Navy Blue Angel fighter jet team performing the last show of the day each day of the event.

The shows will take place on and above the Miramar Air Force base and general admission tickets for the event are free although preferred seating ticket options are available for purchase online as well.

Haunted Houses

The unfortunate reality that we San Diegans have to come to terms with is that summer is officially over and the fall season is now upon us.  It’s not all bad news though, fall simply means that some of our favorite holidays, including Halloween, are right around the corner.  And Halloween means haunted houses.

Two of San Diego’s most popular and fright-filled attractions both begin this weekend and run through the end of October: Del Mar’s Scream Zone and Balboa Park’s Haunted Trail.

The Del Mar “Scaregrounds” boasts the House of Horror, with rooms filled with terrifying scenes and scares, a haunted hayride, and “the Chamber,” which promises to be one of the largest spinning tunnels in San Diego.  The Scare Zone begins each night at 7 p.m. and runs until 11 p.m. except for Friday and Saturday, when it stays open until 12 a.m.  Admission prices range from $15 to $28

The Balboa Park Haunted Trail is an “all-outdoor haunted attraction that follows a mile-long trail through the twisted groves of pines and gnarled oaks of Balboa Park,” and, speaking from experience, offers plenty of creepiness for the Halloween season.  This year’s haunted adventure also features “the X-periment” haunted maze.  Tickets range from $15 to $17 and the Haunted Trail will run through the entire month of October on Wednesday through Sunday nights, from 7 to 11 p.m. or 11:45 p.m. on weekend nights.

photos courtesy of U.S. Navy Blue Angels and barb_ar via flickr

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