Eight great things to do in San Diego under $8

Money may not buy happiness, but it certainly makes entertaining yourself a bit easier. San Diego News Network compiled a guide to eight great things under $8 you can do locally. You don’t have to be a Rockefeller to enjoy America’s Finest City. Check out our suggestions and, if you know of an inexpensive local activity,  add your two cents in our comments section

Tickets to Ida Maria's show at The Casbah are only 91 cents, courtesy of 91X.

The Next Big Thing with Ida Maria at The Casbah: The Casbah - San Diego’s legendary live music venue - hosts a number of inexpensive shows each month. Ticket prices for select shows start at $5, which is welcome reprieve from the top-dollar ticket prices and booking fees through Ticketmaster and Live Nation. This month, your best bet is 91X’s Next Big Thing show featuring Ida Maria, the Norwegian rock goddess who graced the oh-so-hot “Gossip Girl” promos with “Oh My God” this spring. Tickets for the June 29 show are only 91 cents and available for purchase the day of. The Casbah is located at 2501 Kettner Blvd in San Diego.

$1 mimosa Sundays at Dish: Dish - the trendy, year-old restaurant next door to Universal Hillcrest - serves up $1 mimosas every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. - or, until the party stops. Mimosas alone, though, may lead to trouble - and a wicked champagne hangover. The restaurant’s reasonably-priced brunch menu will help absorb a bit of the bubbly. Try Frangelico-soaked ciabatta French toast, a Brandt beef chuck burger, or the pricier Brandt beef coulotte steak and eggs. You won’t be disappointed. Dish is located at 1220 University Ave. in Hillcrest.

Free Museum Tuesdays in Balboa Park: Every Tuesday through December, Balboa Park’s first-class museums offer free admission to San Diego County residents, active-duty military and their families. The museums offer free admission on a rotating basis, so each Tuesday, different museums offer no-cost admission to their permanent collections. Museums may still charge admission for special exhibits, such as the San Diego Natural History Museum’s Body World’s display. The park’s Web site lists which museums offer free admission which Tuesdays - for example, the Natural History Museum and the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center offer free admission on the first Tuesday of the month, while guests get in free to the San Diego Museum of Art and the San Diego Museum of Man the third Tuesday of the month. Balboa Park is just minutes from downtown San Diego, and accessible from Interstate 5 and Highway 163.

Malashock’s free dance classes: Hot weather means fewer clothes and fewer clothes means … well, it means you’d better be ready to put your best bod forward. Who better to emulate than the dance company at The Malashock Dance School? The company members are as well known for their sculpted bodies as they are for their dynamic performances. Malashock is offering one week of complementary dance classes to all interested participants. Classes at all skill levels are available, so doors are open to beginners. Malashock’s studio is a fun, welcome alternative to the meat-market gyms. For more information on Malashock’s free classes, call 619-260-1622.

San Diego Farmer’s Markets: The Farm Bureau of San Diego County has 36 neighborhood certified farmer’s markets, which boast fresh local produce, and an array of community vendors. The farmer’s markets are free, and the goods are inexpensive. In most cases, you can sample produce before you buy, which guarantees you’re getting the best bang for your buck. If you’re headed to a local farmer’s market, you’re likely to spend more than $8 on the home-grown produce - but, there’s no cost to walk through and browse all the offerings.

The Malashock Dance School offers a week of free dance classes to interested participants.

$5 Padres park passes: Located in the heart of the East Village, the Padres relatively new digs are definitely worth exploring. Petco offers $5 advance-purchase park passes, and $7 day-of passes. Once you’re in, the park also has a new 5 for $5 Value Meal, which includes a hot dog, a regular soda, peanuts, popcorn and a cookie for $5. Upgrade your soda to a 16-ounce beer for $5 more.

Happy Hour at Ra Sushi: Located downtown, Ra Sushi offers half-price happy hour pricing on selected sushi rolls, and an unbeatable $5 Kirin and sake combo; $5 beer + a $2.50 California roll = a great downtown deal for less than $8 (before tax and tip). Spicy tuna rolls, vegetarian rolls, shrimp tempura rolls and Viva Las Vegas Rolls are among the half-price sushi, available from 3-7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Half-price appetizers, and $3 wells, and $2 Budweisers, Bud Lights and Miller Lites are also available. Ra is located at 574 Broadway in downtown. 

See the seals: The seals are here to stay … for now. It’s hard to believe these adorable mammals are responsible for all the legal drama of a “Law & Order” episode. It’s safe to say they’re oblivious to the countless court rulings, scheduled public hearings, and angry public outcry over their residence at Children’s Pool in La Jolla. Though the seals may win in the end and avoid eviction, it’s possible they’ll be forced off the beach. Before that happens, head down to Children’s Pool with a packed lunch and watch them lounge about - at a distance of course. Just don’t bring your dog; word has it, seals and dogs don’t mix. If you’re a staunch seal supporter, or you want them booted from the sand, consider attending one of the two public forums hosted by city councilmember Sherri Lightner. La Jolla High School will host the two forums on June 18 and June 25 at 6 p.m. Check out San Diego News Network’s coverage of the seals here, here, here and here.

Tags: SDNN

This entry was posted on Monday, June 8th, 2009 at 5:15 pm and is filed under 8 great, Arts & Entertainment, Food, Lifestyle, Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.