The Riford Center

If bridge, Jazzercise, and cooking classes are things you enjoy, check out La Jolla’s Riford Center while you’re in San Diego. This long-time La Jolla recreational facility located on La Jolla Boulevard has been revitalized by a new director and is drawing renewed attention from local residents.

Frankly, until I spoke with Director Dona Aumann this week, I thought The Riford Center was only open to La Jollans, but she assured me that all adults – visitors and residents – are welcome to join classes and attend events.

The cooking classes offered by Swiss Chef Urs Baumann are a particularly popular addition to the weekly calendar. As I write this, Le Chef is leading his students through a menu that includes potage vichyssoise, gazpacho, and pasta salad with gorgonzola, nuts, grapes and herbs, as well as a healthy dessert. “Students,” who enjoy the lunch they’ve made, pay a fraction of the cost of other cooking classes offered in La Jolla.

Traveling bridge players will find a home-away-from-home at the center, which originally started – 35 years ago – as a bridge club. Visitors can also take classes in yoga, tai chi, art, investing, dance, and various languages. The center also offers a fully-equipped computer lab with Internet connection.

If your La Jolla vacation is in mid-July, you might want to attend “Summer Afternoon at the Riford,” featuring an exhibit of 25 local artists, live music, a silent auction, hosted wine and appetizers.

In any case, take a look at the Riford Center’s website and see what else is on offer when you’ll be in town. After all, you can’t spend all your time on the beach.

La Jolla Playhouse

For many travelers, San Diego means beaches, the Zoo, and Sea World, but as I said in “Debunking Myths About La Jolla,” our significant cultural advantages are less known.

This was underscored Sunday night when “Memphis” won the Tony Award for “Best Musical.” The show’s director Christopher Ashley is also the Artistic Director of La Jolla Playhouse, and “Memphis” was part of the 2008 La Jolla Playhouse season before opening on Broadway in 2009.

This isn’t the first time La Jolla Playhouse has produced a show that went on to win a coveted Tony Award. “Jersey Boys” got its start here, as did “I Am My Own Wife,” “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” “The Who’s Tommy,” and “Big River.”

Today, “Surf Report” opens at La Jolla Playhouse. This new play from an award winning San Diego playwright takes place in a costal Southern Californian town. Is this world premiere headed for Broadway? I have no idea.

What I do know is that I can’t think of anything more fun than seeing a play by a local playwright right here in my very own Southern California community.

La Jolla Playhouse will continue its 2010-2011 season with the World Premiere of Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin , September 7 - October 17. Based on the true story of one of the world's best-loved and most famous entertainers, Limelight goes behind the camera to show how a comic genius found soaring success in motion pictures and later fell from grace among scandals and controversy.

Later in the season, the Playhouse will present Ruined, November 16 - December 19, an award-winning off-Broadway hit that takes place during the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and tells the courageous survival story of women who work in a lively brothel commonly visited by disturbed war soldiers.

Caption: Linda Gehringer as “Judith” and Gregory Harrison as “Bruce” in La Jolla Playhouse’s world-premiere production of SURF REPORT, by Annie Weisman, directed by Lisa Peterson, playing June 15 - July 11; photo by Craig Schwartz.

Calendar of La Jolla Summer Events

San Diego is a great year round travel destination, but summer is really our specialty. The beach scene goes into high gear, the weather is perfect for outdoor dining and open-air concerts and – the best part – neither humidity nor mosquitoes will spoil your fun.

Now thru July 5 - "June Colours" at the La Jolla Art Association, 8100 Paseo del Ocaso in La Jolla Shores, is an eclectic mixture of fine art photography, paintings and sculpture depicting hot summer colors and cool relaxing scenes.

Now thru July 16, from noon to 4pm – At the La Jolla Historical Society - "Waveriders: Perspectives of Surfing La Jolla 1930-1950" looks back at the early days when boards were big, the stories tall, and guys found fun and adventure at Windansea, The Cove and the Shores. Wisteria Cottage, 780 Prospect Street. For more information: 858-459-5335 or visit their website.

Now thru Sept. 19 – “Here not There,” at The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) in La Jolla. San Diego visual artists and the variety, strength, and vitality of individual contemporary art practices are featured. “Here not There” explores the broad range of media and techniques used by local artists including an alternative art section that ranges from painting to furniture design.

June 15 thru July 11 – “Surf Report.” This world premiere at La Jolla Playhouse is a comic drama about a surf-obsessed venture capitalist, a hard-working mother, and her starving artist daughter who all receive a wake-up call when life in a beautiful Southern California town becomes filled with more than just good surf. For tickets: 858-550-1010 or visit their website.

June 16, July 21, Aug. 18, & Sept. 11 & 15 – Green Flash Concert Series at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps. Live music and spectacular ocean sunsets make this concert series a La Jolla favorite. A sophisticated mix of national performers - including Peter and Paul of Peter, Paul & Mary - will entertain on the aquarium’s outdoor tide-pool plaza. Green Flash Concerts take place from 6 to 9 p.m. and are for guests ages 21 years and older. Tickets: 858-534-4109.

June 19; July 10, 17 & 31; Aug. 14, 21 & 28, from 8-10 a.m. – Snorkel with Sharks. Naturalists from Birch Aquarium at Scripps will lead the way as you swim with schooling leopard sharks, smoothhound sharks, and guitarfish in the mild surf of the gently sloping beach at La Jolla Shores. RSVP: 858-534-7336 or online.

June 13, 22-26; July 8-12 & 22-25 with additional dates through September. Times vary. – High tide dinners at the Marine Room. San Diego’s best “dining with a view” only gets better during the summer high tides. Enjoy award-winning cuisine and dramatic surf crashing against floor-to-ceiling windows. Reservations: 858-459-7222.

June 25, July 24, and Aug. 23 & 24 from 7-9:30 p.m. and Sept. 22 & 23 from 6-8:30 p.m. – Full-Moon Walk on Scripps Pier. During this moonlit walk along the 1,090-foot concrete pier, Birch Aquarium naturalists will teach participants about the structure's history, and guide them as they dissect a squid, make marine organisms glow in the dark, collect plankton, observe ocean conditions, and study the nocturnal habits of marine life. RSVP: 858-534-7336 or online.

June 26 & 27, 9a.m. – 5 p.m. – The 24th Annual La Jolla Festival of Arts, UCSD East Campus, corner of Genesee and Regents Rd. Over 190 award-winning local and national artists will display paintings, sculptures, fine jewelry, photography and more. Guests can enjoy a variety of cuisines in the festival food area, listen to live entertainment and visit the children's area featuring interactive booths, hands-on games and activities. Info: 858-586-1202.

July 3 & Aug. 7 from 8-10 a.m. – Snorkel La Jolla Cove with naturalists from Birch Aquarium. Enjoy the calm, picturesque waters of La Jolla Cove, part of the San Diego-La Jolla Underwater Park and Ecological Reserve. Discover the exotic playground of such beautiful creatures as garibaldi, lobsters and octopuses. RSVP: 858-534-7336 or online.

July 4 – Fireworks at The Cove. Arrive early and bring a picnic for this very popular annual event.

July 11, 18 & 25; Aug. 1, 8, 15, 22, &29; Sept. 5 at 2 p.m. – La Jolla Concerts by the Sea. Held in Scripps Park near The Cove, these free Sunday afternoon concerts are a La Jolla summertime staple. Check the website for line-up details.

July 17-23, from 11 a.m.-­ 3 p.m. daily – Shark Week features a week of hands-on exploration for all ages into the world of these mesmerizing and misunderstood ocean predators. Birch Aquarium at Scripps.

July 20 thru Aug. 22 – La Jolla Playhouse will present A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This timeless classic of forbidden love will be re-imagined into a gravity-defying production where secret lovers find themselves in a world turned upside-down – literally. Tickets: 858-550-1010 or visit their website.

Aug. 6 - 27 – Summerfest presented by the La Jolla Music Society includes 14 concerts, three enrichment events, and a gala fundraiser - mostly in the Sherwood Auditorium at the Museum of Contemporary Art. See the LJ Music Society's website for details and ticket info.

Sept. 12 – The La Jolla Rough Water Swim. America's premier rough water swim takes place at The La Jolla Cove every September. More than 2,000 swimmers churning up the water make for a memorable sight. This event has been part of La Jolla's history since 1916.

There's more La Jolla information on iNeTours' site.

The image above "Kauai Hanalei Pier" is courtesy of photographer/publisher Laurent Martres. His book PHOTOGRAPHING OREGON just won the 22nd annual Benjamin Franklin Award in the Travel category. Look for Laurent at the La Jolla Festival of Arts on June 26 and 27.

There's so much to love about summer in La Jolla. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do - and please let me know if I've left out a local event.