Art and Entertainment

Art and Entertainment

Museums and galleries in San Diego host monthly nighttime events meant to lure the city's culturati—especially of the younger variety.

The San Diego Museum of Art hosts a sundown series called Culture & Cocktails (619/232-7931www.sdma.org) to coincide with major new exhibitions. For a $10 admission, visitors can enjoy a complimentary themed cocktail (a "Bombay Sapphire" for a recent Indian art-related exhibit) and nibbles, DJs and live entertainment (a Bollywood film, for example), plus a much cooler crowd than the tired daytime tourists dragging their kids from gallery to gallery.

Two artsy neighborhoods host monthly community nighttime art walks. For seven years, Ray at Night (www.rayatnight.com) takes place on the second Saturday of every month on Ray Street in North Park, one of San Diego's hippest, most up-and-coming neighborhoods. Galleries stay open late and often offer drinks and light bites, as well as scintillating cultural conversation. Après art, the neighborhood bars are always packed. Up in Solana Beach, the third Thursday of the month brings Cedros Gallery Nights. Galleries and boutiques keep their doors open, and locals head out to mingle. Design aficionados will especially enjoy it, as Solana Beach is one of San Diego's primary design districts.