La Jolla’s Best Bet for events May 14-21
Super Special Events
■ Experience a brief survey of silent sci-fi films from 1898 through 1929 with music from the Teeny Tiny Pit Orchestra accompanying Fritz Lang’s “Woman in the Moon” (1929). Orchestral instruments, theremins and synthesizers provide the score, 6 p.m. Thursday, May 21 at Seuss Room of Geisel Library, UCSD, 9500 Gilman Drive. Free, limited seating. (858) 822-5758. womaninthemoon.eventbrite.com
■ Tickets are still available for the annual springtime frolic through gardens with the La Jolla Historical Society’s Secret Garden Tour, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 16. The gardens featured on the tour will be revealed only when guests check in at Wisteria Cottage, 780 Prospect St. Tickets: $50. (858) 459-5335. lajollahistory.org
■ La Jolla Theatre Ensemble presents Clifford Odets’ “Rocket to the Moon,” 7 p.m. Friday, May 15 and Monday, May 18 at the Community Center, 6811 La Jolla Blvd. Set in the late 1930s during a hot, New York City summer, it’s the story of Ben Stark, a middle-aged dentist whose business and marriage are floundering when his father-in-law suggests not one, but two ways out. Donation: $10. (858) 459-0831. (Also 2 p.m. Sunday, May 17 at La Jolla Library, 7555 Draper Ave.)
Learn Something New
■ Turtle bones produce annual growth rings, much like a tree. By taking a closer look at these rings, scientists can note a turtle’s location, age, size and even diet. Learn more at SEA Days at Birch Aquarium at Scripps, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 16. 2300 Expedition Way. Admission: $13-$17. (858) 534-3474. aquarium.ucsd.edu
■ Notorious thefts will be among the topics discussed in the “Stories Mona Lisa Could Tell: Fascinating Tales of the Lives of Famous Artworks” lecture series, 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, May 14, 21, 28 and June 11 at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St. Individual lectures $14-$19, series pass $50-$70. (858) 454- 5872. ljathenaeum.org
■ La Jolla Phototravelers will gather 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 18 at Wesley Palms, 2404 Loring St., Pacific Beach, to explore a place of remarkable architecture and chaotic government — Yemen. World traveler, Christa McReynolds, will show photos she took in 1999 of this fascinating country. Free. christam10@icloud.com
■ Warwick’s will host author Scott McEwen, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 20 at 7812 Girard Ave. to present the latest installment of his Sniper Elite series: “The Sniper and the Wolf.” McEwen works with and provides support to the Navy SEAL Team Foundation. Free admission, books $24.99. (858) 454-0347. warwicks.com
■ The next CARTA symposium, “Human-Climate Interactions and Evolution: Past and Future” will be 1-5:30 p.m. Friday, May 15 at Salk Institute’s Prebys Auditorium, 10010 North Torrey Pines Road. Free. Can be viewed online via live webcast posted on the event page the day of at: carta.anthropogeny.org/events/human-climate-interactions-and-evolution-past-and-future
Concert Time
■ Headlining the final concert of La Jolla Music Society Jazz Series, Latin Jazz icons Arturo Sandoval and Poncho Sanchez sizzle with back-to-back performances, 8 p.m. Saturday, May 16 at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave. Both Sandoval and Sanchez were influenced by Dizzy Gillespie as he became the first musician to bring Latin influences into American jazz. Tickets: $27-$77. (858) 459-3728. ljms.org
■ Mainly Mozart will present violinist Sheryl Staples, Cynthia Phelps on viola, cellist Carter Brey and pianist Shai Wosner, performing Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 26, 6:30 p.m. reception, 7:30 p.m. concert Saturday, May 16, at The Auditorium at TSRI, 10620 John Jay Hopkins. Tickets: $55. (619) 239-0100, ext. 2. mainlymozart.org
■ San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus’s Chamber Chorale will present “Tyler’s Suite & A Celebration of Life” 3 p.m. Sunday, May 17 at St. James by-the-Sea, 743 Prospect St., as part of the San Diego premiere of a co-commissioned work helmed by Stephen Schwartz, composer of “Wicked,” “Pippin” and “Godspell.” Tickets: $20. (619) 432-2244. sdgmc.org
■ The last family-friendly concert of the season at La Jolla United Methodist Church will be 4 p.m. Sunday, May 17 at 6063 La Jolla Blvd. Sergei Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf,” featuring W5, a woodwind quintet with clarinet, flute/piccolo, bassoon, oboe and French horn, will be narrated by Bill Propp. Freewill offering. (858) 454-7108. lajollaunitedmethodist.org
■ San Diego Symphony presents its second-to-last Jacobs Masterworks Weekend with “A Spanish Rhapsody,” starring violinist Ray Chen, 8 p.m. May 15- 16 and 2 p.m. May 17, at Copley Symphony Hall, 750 B St., downtown San Diego. Tickets: $20-$96. (619) 235-0804. sandiegosymphony.com