Encinitas events this week (July 20)

For more information and a complete listing of events, visit the city’s newsletter at https://bit.ly/2umIuvR.

Insect Festival

This one-of-a-kind festival on July 21 and 22 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the San Diego Botanic Garden, 230 Quail Gardens Drive, is sure to intrigue bug-devotees of all ages featuring thousands of fascinating creepy-crawlies including live lizards, snakes and the famous Madagascar hissing cockroaches. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/2JvrlVJ.

Community Habitat Restoration Event

Volunteers are invited to a nature workout with the San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy team on July 21 from 9 a.m. to noon at the San Elijo Lagoon. Help remove invasive plants to enhance habitats for animals and birds, and which aids the expansion of native plants whose roots hold down soils. Volunteers are invited to a nature workout with the San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy team. Help remove invasive plants to enhance habitats for animals and birds, and which aids the expansion of native plants whose roots hold down soils. The location of the event will be given upon registration confirmation. For more information and to register, visit https://bit.ly/2L1FyiC.

Families Make History: Uncle Sam Hat

Join artist and musician Cici Artemisia every Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. at the Heritage Ranch, 450 Quail Gardens Drive, for arts, crafts and sing-alongs. July features fireworks/flag inspired patriotic painting of paper bags to create an Uncle Sam hat. This fun make and take project will inspire creativity in you and your family. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/2uHEaqy.

Class: Reiki Technique

Learn about the hands-on activity that promotes stress reduction, relaxation, and helps create balance and healing on July 21 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. at Cardiff Library, 2081 Newcastle Avenue. Led by Marcela Alva, who will explain the body’s energy centers, or “Chakras,” to help better understand how healing works. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/2zP2T1Q.

Ikebana Class with Mitsuko Takeya

Ikebana emphasizes other areas of the plant, such as its stems and leaves, creating works of art. See how these beautiful and thoughtful arrangements are designed and created at the Encinitas Library, 540 Cornish Drive, on July 21 from 1 to 3 p.m. Participants will receive a raffle ticket and chance to take one of these beautiful arrangements home. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/2NkWVHQ.

Concert: Give My Regards to Broadway

North Coast Symphony presents “Give My Regards to Broadway,” featuring famous tunes from My Fair Lady, Porgy and Bess, West Side Story, Phantom of the Opera and more with soprano soloist Malesha Taylor and the Villa Musica Chorus on July 21 at 2:30 p.m. at the Encinitas Community Center, 1140 Oakcrest Park Drive. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/2msbGwZ.

La Paloma Theatre

Now showing: North of Nightfall, Mountain and Rocky Horror Picture Show. Tickets: $10. For showtimes and more information, visit https://bit.ly/2LgckvM.

Mobile blood drive

Saint John’s Catholic Church will host a mobile blood drive on July 25, July 26 and July 27 from 1:30 to 6:30 p.m. each day at 1001 Encinitas Boulevard. Donors must be at least 17 years old, a minimum of 114 pounds and in good health. Appointments are encouraged. To schedule an appointment, call 1-800-469-7322 or visit www.sandiegobloodbank.org. Walk-ins are also welcome.

Taste of Encinitas

The Encinitas 101 MainStreet Association recently announced that tickets are on sale for the 30th Annual Taste of Encinitas. This year’s event will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 7 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. along Coast Hwy 101 in downtown Encinitas. With the purchase of a $45 ticket, participants will be able to enjoy tastes from a number of local restaurants, sample wine and beer at Sip Stops, and enjoy a variety of live music.

Tickets can be purchased online at visitencinitas.org and at the Encinitas 101 office located at 818 S. Coast Hwy 101.

Free art/creativity for adults

Linda Luisi will host free art/creativity workshops for adults, beginning August 16 at the Buena Vista Lagoon Audubon Center, 2202 South Coast Highway in Oceanside. Beginners are welcome, and intermediate artists are encouraged to attend to improve skills. Other classes take place Sept. 20, Oct. 18 and Nov. 15. Space is limited; advanced registration is required by calling 760-439-2473. For more information, visit www.lindaluisi.com.

Law enforcement hiring event July 24

The CA-San Diego Law Enforcement Hiring Expo, serving much of the Greater San Diego region, will be held on Tuesday, July 24, from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. at the Handlery Hotel San Diego, 950 Hotel Circle North, San Diego, 92108. This job fair helps bring law enforcement agencies face-to-face with eager job seekers pursuing careers in the law enforcement industry. Job seekers will have time to meet with several agencies, all in the span of just a few hours. To preregister or view the list of employers attending, visit www.CALawEnforcementJobs.com

Park Dale Players: It Happened In The Hood!

Don’t miss this hip-hopping musical about how a ragtag group of friends fight back against the evil Mr. Guy Jantic who wants to turn their neighborhood into a parking lot.

Friday & Sat, July 27 & 28, 7 p.m. Olivenhain Pioneer Elementary School, 8000 Calle Acervo. $4. 760-672-3581. theparkdaleplayers.com

Del Mar Racing Season

The 2018 Del Mar racing season continues at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and Racetrack through Labor Day, Sept. 3, featuring 41 stakes races worth $7.3 million and plenty of activities for people of all ages. The event also includes great concerts, food, a variety of activities and more. Information: (858) 755-1141, www.dmtc.com

Neil Simon classic ‘Barefoot in the Park’

at Old Globe

The Old Globe’s 2018 Summer Season continues with Barefoot in the Park, as director Jessica Stone (Ken Ludwig’s Robin Hood!, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike) returns to the Globe to extend its decades-long relationship with giant comic playwright Neil Simon with this fresh and hilarious new look at his “bubbling, rib-tickling comedy” (The New York Times). Barefoot in the Park will play July 28 – Sept. 2 in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Tickets start at $30 and are on sale to the general public now. Previews run July 28 – Aug. 1. Opening night is Thursday, Aug. 2 at 8 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE [234-5623]. The Old Globe is located in San Diego’s Balboa Park at 1363 Old Globe Way.

Free conference

for caregivers

Are you providing care for a family member or friend? Are you concerned for the well-being of a parent? This free conference for caregivers is Wednesday, July 25 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Solana Beach Presbyterian Church, 120 Stevens Ave., Solana Beach, 92075. Educational programs, community resources, refreshments and more. A free caregiver resource fair and free respite care is available to those who need someone to look after their loved one during the conference. To register, call 858-509-2587.

Adult auditions

for ‘Death by Dessert’

The Village Church Community Theater announces auditions for “Death by Dessert” by Nathan Hartswick (a comedy mystery dinner theater). Parts needed are for men and women adult roles, ages 18 and up. Auditions will be held Sunday, Aug. 5, 2-4 p.m. and Monday, Aug. 6, 6-8 p.m. Performance dates are Sept. 21, 22, 23.

For audition details and appointment: Email amyz@villagechurch.org or call (858) 756-2441, x110. Address: 6225 Paseo Delicias, Rancho Santa Fe, 92067. Visit villagechurchcommunitytheater.org

Bayside Summer Nights: Patti LaBelle on July 28

Entertainer...entrepreneur... humanitarian – these are just a few words to describe the incomparable force known as Patti LaBelle. With several decades worth of hits such as “Lady Marmalade,” “You Are My Friend,” “Stir It Up” and more, LaBelle is sure the deliver one of the hottest, most soulful nights of the summer. sandiegosymphony.com

Bayside Summer Nights: Burt Bacharach Aug. 3

The one-and-only Burt Bacharach is returning to Bayside Summer Nights Aug. 3 for a night of lively pop hits. Accompanied by sensational singers and the orchestra, his fresh twist on pop favorites has made him a San Diego Symphony favorite. sandiegosymphony.com

Concert Time

 The Del Mar Thoroughbred Race Club’s summer season presents concerts after the last race of the day every Friday and almost every Saturday night in the seaside concert area at the west end of the grandstand. Series opens with the Psychedelic Furs (“Pretty in Pink” and “Heaven”) Friday, July 20 and Iration (“Wait and See” and “Fly with Me”) Saturday, July 21 at Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd. Free with track admission. (858) 755-1141. delmarracing.com

 Each year, top musicians from around the world travel to San Diego for the San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory’s International Youth Symphony program. This year, 17 musicians representing 10 countries participate in open rehearsals, 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. July 19-20, July 23-25 and July 27 at Saint Paul’s Cathedral, 2728 Sixth Ave., near Balboa Park, San Diego. At 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 24 the International Youth Symphony presents “Twilight in the Park” Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park. Free. (619) 233-3232. sdys.org

 The 20th annual Athenaeum Music & Arts Library Summer Festival concludes 4 p.m. Sunday, July 22. Pianist Gustavo Romero performs a selection of works from his storied involvement with the Summer Festival. Tickets: $45-$165. 1008 Wall St. (858) 454-5872. ljathenaeum.org

Art Exhibits

 Contemporary fine artist, Stephanie Paige, describes her latest collection “Reflections” as “meditative and peaceful” and “inspired by Mother Nature.” Her large scale works are made with layers of marble dust plasters hand-made with natural pigments on wood panels and canvases. See it at through Sept. 19 at Contemporary Fine Arts Gallery, 7946 Ivanhoe Ave., La Jolla. Free. (858) 551-2010.

 Through July 27, see UC San Diego MFA alumnus Corey Dunlap’s works in the 1805 Gallery, 1805 Columbia St., San Diego. The exhibition focuses on a series of digitally-rendered prints and sculptures that explore the boundaries between object and body. The objects resemble fluid bodily forms that exist only within a virtual realm Dunlap has produced with a digital modeling software. Free. (619) 888-8288. 1805gallery.com

Book Talk

 Jennifer G. Spencer is a painter and photographer who creates images using alternative photographic processes and digital imagery. She will release and sign her latest book, “The Artist Portrait Project,” 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 19 at Warwick’s books, 7812 Girard Ave. Only books purchased from Warwick’s ($39.95) will be signed. (858) 454-0347. Visit warwicks.com for more information.