In today’s Carlsbad Scoop:
Sabrosas Latin Orchestra plays free tonight at Calavera Hills Park in Carlsbad. San Diego's first all-female salsa band, outdoors, with dance lessons at 5pm, maracas personalization, and a free shuttle from Sage Creek.
Slamarack is Saturday at Tamarack Beach. Hundreds of soft-tops all trying to ride the same wave at once. No registration, no organizer, just the crowd and the swell.
Tilly's opens at Encinitas Ranch Town Center Saturday with a free grand opening party, and Del Mar's first Grade I stakes weekend runs Friday through Sunday.
Let’s get to it.
🗓️ Upcoming Events in (and around) Carlsbad
Friday 7/24:
Del Mar Racing | Del Mar Racetrack, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd, Del Mar | 2pm
The summer meet runs Friday through Sunday. Saturday features the Bing Crosby Stakes, a Grade I sprint, and the Del Mar Summer Betting Challenge. Sunday adds the Eddie Read Stakes on the turf course, a $250K race, plus Family Fun Day activities on the infield. General admission and reserved seating available all three days. detailsTGIF Concerts in the Parks: Sabrosas Latin Orchestra | Calavera Hills Community Park, 2997 Glasgow Dr, Carlsbad | Gates 4pm, music 6-8pm
An all-female salsa band from San Diego, playing salsa, cumbia, and cha cha at the outdoor stage. Dance lessons run 5-5:45pm before the band goes on, and maracas personalization is happening 4:30-7:30pm. Free shuttle from Sage Creek High School and bike valet on-site. Bring your own food and drinks. detailsFox Point Farms Friday Sunset Sessions | Fox Point Farms, 1701 N El Camino Real, Encinitas | 5-8pm
The weekly outdoor music series runs every Friday evening through summer. Open farm layout, food and drinks available, and plenty of room to spread out while the band plays. Casual crowd, easy parking, no cover. detailsAtomic Groove Summer Sparkle Dance Party | Belly Up, 143 S Cedros Ave, Solana Beach | 8pm
Funk, soul, and R&B in a small room that turns into a dance floor once they get going. Atomic Groove has played the Belly Up long enough that the crowd follows and shows up ready to move. Happy hour pricing runs before showtime, arrive early and settle in before the set. detailsCruisin' Grand | Grand Ave, Escondido | 4-9pm
Pre-1974 hot rods, muscle cars, and customs fill Grand Avenue every Friday through September. Free to walk, cars start rolling in by late afternoon, and the strip fills up as the sun drops. Live music and DJs work the block through the evening. details
Saturday 7/25:
Slamarack | Tamarack State Beach, Tamarack Ave & Carlsbad Blvd, Carlsbad | (at high tide and around sunset, check forecasts but likely starts around 6pm)
Hundreds of people, mostly on soft-top longboards, paddle out and try to ride the same wave at once. No registration, no schedule, no officials. The swell and tide determine when it actually happens. Find a spot on the sand to watch to carnage. detailsTilly's Grand Opening | Encinitas Ranch Town Center, Encinitas | 1-4pm
Show up before it fills. The first 100 customers get free tees, prize drawings run every 15 minutes, and they've got BYRD haircuts, Levi's chain stitching, and free tote bag personalization on-site. Admission is free, DJ plays through the afternoon. detailsCarlsbad Wine & Food Festival | 2456 Town Garden Rd, Carlsbad | 4-9pm
The Carlsbad Rotary's annual wine and food festival. Local wineries, Temecula and Paso pours, craft beer, cocktails, and bites from local restaurants, all in one outdoor session. Festival window runs 4-7pm, DJ dance party carries it to 9pm. Tickets required, grab them before the weekend. detailsComedy Juice | Playgrounded, 6884 Embarcadero Ln, Carlsbad | 7pm
Stand-up comedy at the speakeasy-style club on Embarcadero, with touring headliners rotating through every week. The room stays small so no matter where you sit, sightlines are solid. About 90 minutes. Shows sell out before door, grab tickets in advance. detailsThe Devastators w/ Roots Covenant + Raiz Muzik | Belly Up, 143 S Cedros Ave, Solana Beach | 8pm
Reggae and roots across three acts, back to back. Roots Covenant opens, Raiz Muzik follows, The Devastators close it out. The room fills fast on Saturdays, so get there early and you'll have space to move. details2nd Annual North County Arts Awards | California Center for the Arts, 340 N Escondido Blvd, Escondido | 6-9pm
The evening recognizes artists, organizations, and contributors across music, visual art, theater, and community programming in North County. Ticketed, check the website for remaining seats. The event is in the Conference Center at CCAE in Escondido, about 20 minutes east of Carlsbad on the 78. detailsCharlie and the Chocolate Factory (Closing Night) | Moonlight Amphitheatre, 1250 Vale Terrace Dr, Vista | 8pm
Closing night of Moonlight's outdoor production, with Josh Adamson as Willy Wonka. The show has run since July 8 and tonight's the final performance under the stars. The Moonlight Amphitheatre is open-air in Vista, so check the weather before you head out. details
Sunday 7/26:
Annie's Canyon Group Hike | Annie's Canyon Trail, N. Rios Ave. Trailhead, Solana Beach | 9am
The trail winds through a narrow sandstone slot canyon before opening to lagoon views at the top. Hosted by The Nature Network and The Group SD, moderate difficulty. Plan about 90 minutes. Closed-toe shoes and water required, and the trailhead gets warm early, so a 9am start is well-timed. detailsGate 5 + Slack Key ʻOhana at Moonlight Beach | Moonlight State Beach, 400 B St, Encinitas | 1-5pm
Free afternoon concert at the beach. Gate 5 opens at 1pm, then Slack Key ʻOhana follows at 3pm with Hawaiian-inspired guitar and ukulele from the Witkin family, whose dad Joe performed at the original Woodstock as a founding member of Sha Na Na. Bring a blanket. details
🍊🥑Farmers Markets:🍓🧺
Wednesday: Carlsbad: 2:30pm-7pm | State Street | details
Thursday: Oceanside: 9am-1pm | Pier View Way | details
Friday: San Marcos: 4pm-8pm | N City Drive | details
Saturday:
Sunday:
🌤️🌊 Carlsbad Weather and Wave Forecast
Weather ☀️
Friday 7/24
80 🌡️ 70 | ☀️
Saturday 7/25
82 🌡️ 68 | ☀️
Sunday 7/26
83 🌡️ 67 | ☀️
Slamarack: Inside Carlsbad's Annual Soft-Top Wave Mob
Slamarack isn't an organized event. There's no registration, no officially announced date, and no organizing committee. What happens every summer is that hundreds of people show up at Tamarack Beach with soft-top longboards and a loose agreement: when the swell and tide line up, everyone paddles out and tries to ride the same wave at the same time.
The format is a party wave taken to its extreme. A party wave is when multiple surfers drop into the same wave together, normally frowned upon in surf etiquette but accepted when everyone consents. At Slamarack, everyone does. The soft-tops are part of the logic. Foam boards hurt less on impact than fiberglass, which matters when hundreds of people are sharing a line.
The event has drawn coverage from national surf publications and local news, but it stays informal. No time gets posted anywhere. Locals who follow the swell watch the forecast and show up when conditions look right. That's what's expected this Saturday at Tamarack. Read more
San Diego Comic-Con Is Downtown Through Sunday
San Diego Comic-Con runs through Sunday at the Convention Center downtown, wrapping up its annual four-day run. The convention pulls over 100,000 attendees and the Gaslamp Quarter and surrounding streets are packed from morning to midnight. The 5 southbound runs slower than usual Thursday through Sunday. If you're heading into the city this weekend, add buffer time.
For North County locals who haven't been: the convention floor requires a badge that sells out months in advance. But the surrounding Gaslamp area has off-site activations, fan gatherings, merchandise pop-ups, and a street scene that runs without one. The cosplay shows up on the sidewalks outside as much as inside. Sunday afternoon is typically the quieter end of the four-day stretch.
Until next time,
Carlsbad Scoop