Best Bets for the Break: A quick guide to online entertainment and virtual experiences

This is a continuing series of online activities to undertake on your computer or tablet during your quarantine quandary.

Lectures & learning

• San Diego Writers, Ink holds a “Pen to Paper” writing class at 1 p.m. Thursdays via Zoom. The class is open to all writers 18 and older, experienced or not. $5 per class. Contact instructor Diane Malloy at mdtm07@gmail.com.

• UC San Diego presents “A Deep Conversation with Rita Colwell: One Woman’s Personal Journey through Sexism in Science” at noon Thursday, March 4, online. Colwell, a microbiologist and first female director of the National Science Foundation, will discuss her research that led to the discovery of how cholera survives between epidemics and will address themes and issues covered in her recently published book “A Lab of One’s Own.” Free. Register at deep_conversation_rita_colwell.eventbrite.com.

• The Center for Community Solutions presents the last in a series of virtual workshops on healthy relationships at 4 p.m. Thursday, March 4, online. The workshop, aimed at ages 13-24, will discuss unpacking messages in pornography. Free. bit.ly/TDVAMworkshops

• Birch Aquarium at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography continues its Jeffrey B. Graham Perspectives on Ocean Science Lecture Series at 6 p.m. Monday, March 8, online. “Getting Warmer? Ocean Temperatures off the California Coast” will feature Scripps oceanographer Katherine Zaba speaking about how scientists deploy innovative technology to monitor and understand ocean warming phenomena such as marine heat waves and El Niño events that affect California’s coastline. Free. bit.ly/birchlectures2021

• The La Jolla Community Center presents “Connecting to Your Passion & Joy in Times of Stress & Isolation” at 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 9, online. Psychologist and author Mara Karpel will offer tips for reconnecting to a purpose-filled and meaningful life. Free. ljcommunitycenter.org/DSS

• The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum presents the 2021 Western Region Virtual Event at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 11. Actress Emmy Rossum will emcee the evening, which includes Holocaust survivor Gerda Weissman Klein and former White supremacist Derek Black. Register by Wednesday, March 10. bit.ly/holocaustmuseum2021

Family & children

• TheCoderSchool La Jolla is offering free online coding workshops for children on Saturday, March 6. At 1 p.m. is “Build a Game in Scratch,” a drag-and-drop language, aimed at ages 7-11. For children 10 and older, “Build a Game in Python,” a typed language, is at 2:30 p.m. bit.ly/coderMarch

• The La Jolla Recreation Center presents a virtual St. Patrick’s Day craft class at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 17, for ages 5-10. Children will learn how to create their own leprechaun. Register by Friday, March 12, for the Zoom link and supplies. Go to sdconnect.com and enter code 86641.

Art & culture

• Point Loma Playhouse continues streaming “The Meeting” online March 5-6. The drama by Jeff Stetson depicts a hypothetical meeting between Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Directed by Jerry Pilato and starring Rhys Greene, J.K. Weldon and Julian King Monroe. $10 and up. bit.ly/themeetingptloma

• Bach Collegium San Diego continues its 2020-21 virtual season with “Reginald ‘Rex’ Mobley: Bach to Bop” on Saturday, March 6. The program, part of MainStage Concerts, features musical fusion between the baroque and jazz idioms, along with a talk by Matthew Henson. $25. bachcollegiumsd.org

• North Coast Repertory Theatre has extended “Necessary Sacrifices” online through Sunday, March 7. The full theatrical production, written by Richard Hellesen and directed by Peter Ellenstein, is a drama featuring portrayals of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. $25. northcoastrep.org

Leonard Patton will be featured in Bodhi Tree Concerts’ “Broadway Cabaret” online Sunday, March 7.

(Courtesy)

• Bodhi Tree Concerts presents “Broadway Cabaret” at 4 p.m. Sunday, March 7, online. The livestreamed event, part of Bodhi’s 10th-anniversary season, features Leonard Patton with Ed Kornhauser, Rob Thorsen and Julien Cantelm. $25. bodhitreeconcerts.org/tickets-1

• The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library presents “Leading Bad Boys and Girls of British Art” at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 10, online. The second of three lectures, led by Derrick Cartwright and Hugh Davies, will focus on Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud. Individual lectures are $14 for Athenaeum members and $19 for non-members. ljathenaeum.org/art-history-lectures

Author Claire Beams will discuss her book “The Illness Lesson” online through Warwick’s bookstore Wednesday, March 10.

(Courtesy)

• Warwick’s bookstore presents author Claire Beams at 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 10, via Facebook Live. Beams will discuss the new paperback edition of her book “The Illness Lesson” in conversation with Jeniffer Thompson. Free. warwicks.com/event/beams-2021

• Adventures by the Book presents “Pairings & Prose: A Virtual Wine & Book Adventure” at 4 p.m. Thursday, March 11, online. The event will feature San Diego author Kate Quinn. $21.99, including book. bit.ly/ABBQuinn

• Belly Up in Solana Beach presents Ziggy Marley at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 11, online. The performance, Marley’s first of the year, will be livestreamed with his band from Belly Up. $20. bit.ly/ziggyBellyUp

• The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego presents a discussion with Glendalys Medina at 11 a.m. Thursday, March 11, online. The conversation is part of MCASD’s “Experiments on Stone: Four Women Artists from the Tamarind Lithography Workshop.” bit.ly/mcasdstone

Virtual galas & events

• Soroptimist International of San Diego presents “Women with Vision” and the Live Your Dream awards at noon Saturday, March 6, online. The event features a virtual fashion show, a luncheon, an awards ceremony and entertainment. Soroptimist’s Live Your Dream awards provide women who are the financial support for their families with resources to improve their education, skills and employment prospects. Tickets are $50 and up. sisandiego.org

• United Way of San Diego County and Warwick’s bookstore are presenting a virtual book drive for National Read Across America Day through Friday, March 12. Local companies and individuals are encouraged to donate new children’s books. uwsd.org

What have you found for entertainment and other activity from a (social) distance? Email your leads to efrausto@lajollalight.com. ◆