Commissioned by sugar magnate John D. Spreckels to commemorate the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, the theatre was originally built with 1,915 seats. Over the years, worn seats were replaced and upgraded. Today, it has 1,463 seats.
A 360ËEXPERIENCE
The theatre’s unique design allowed for a staging of the famed horse-drawn chariot race in a 1923 performance of Ben Hur, with horses galloping through the theatre, onto the stage, and out onto First and Second avenues.
QUAKE-PROOF
Architect Harrison Albright began construction in 1910, two years after the great San Francisco earthquake. More than a century later, the theatre still retains a top-tier earthquake rating.
BOUGHT AND PAID FOR
The theatre opened on August 23, 1912, with a performance of the long-running New York show Bought and Paid For. It came via private train for one show only, at John Spreckels’ expense. The audience gave an extended ovation with five curtain calls.
STAGE TO SCREEN
From theatrical productions and Vaudeville, the venue made the leap to motion pictures in the days of silent film, investing in a projection booth and silver screen in 1923. In 1928, the theatre switched exclusively to movies.
For its 2012 Centennial Celebration, the 75-year-old marquee was turned off for three months while it underwent a historically accurate restoration.
BUILT TO LAST
The structure, which cost an unprecedented $1 million to construct, remains mostly intact today, with its original onyx Grand Lobby, detailed woodwork, and tiled floors.
NEW MANAGEMENT
Owner Jacquelyn Littlefield, daughter of movie pioneer and one-time Spreckels manager Louis B. Metzger, took over operation of the theatre in 1944 at age 22.
GRAND GESTURE
In 1962, Littlefield bought the theatre from the Star and Crescent Investment Company and returned it to a stage-production venue. In 1978, when arson destroyed the Old Globe Theatre, she donated the use of the Spreckels for the Globe’s season.
FAMOUS ACTS
The Spreckels Theatre has hosted perhaps the widest variety of acts in the region, ranging from Charlie Chaplin to Abbott and Costello, Ronald Reagan to Ray Charles, and Ellen DeGeneres to Eddie Vedder.
Happy June! Welcome summer’s first month with a robust roundup of things to do in San Diego, from a suds-soaked brew fest and a long-distance bike race to a handful of musicals and a museum showcase of youth-made art—plus more fun happenings in our beloved city.
Want to party with San Diego Magand North County’s most influential tastemakers? Have your fill of unlimited food and drink offerings from the area’s standout restaurants, distilleries, brands, and more at the Carlsbad Flower Fields this Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. Guests can also take part in golden hour photo-ops, listen to live music, and check out over 40 local vendors. General admission to this 21-plus party is $85 per person.
5704 Paseo Del Norte, Carlsbad
San Diego Brew Festival
June 8
The 13th annual San Diego Brew Festival is back with food trucks, live music, and many, many beers. This 21-plus event at Liberty Station NTC Park is a craft beer lover’s paradise, with more than 70 local breweries serving up a couple hundred different selections—from hazy IPAs to malty pale ales—plus several food trucks, lawn games, and cover-band concerts to enjoy. Ticket options include $50 general admission passes, which get you access to the brews from 1 to 4 p.m., and $65 VIP passes, which come with an extra hour of sipping from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., as well as specialty pours.
2455 Cushing Road, Point Loma
Courtesy of La Jolla Playhouse
Concerts & Theater in San Diego This Weekend
Mrs. Doubtfire at the San Diego Civic Theatre
Through June 9
In this musical adaptation of the beloved 1993 Robin Williams movie, a down-on-his-luck actor desperately attempts to reconnect with his family by posing as an eccentric Scottish nanny. As expected, hijinks and hilarity ensue. Following successful stints on Broadway and abroad, the musical heads to the San Diego Civic Theatre for eight shows. Tickets for Mrs. Doubtfirestart at $48.
1100 Third Avenue, Downtown
Pásale Pásale at Bayfront Charter High School
Through June 30
Written by Mario Vega with music and lyrics from Eliza Vedar, Pásale Pásale—a poignant love letter to South Bay—continues its month-long run at Bayfront Charter School. TuYo Theatre’s new musical (which premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse’s Without Walls Festival earlier this year) tells the story of a community coming together when vendor fees are raised at the local swap meet. Ticket prices range from $25 to $39.
830 Bay Boulevard, Chula Vista
The Ballad of Johnny and June at the La Jolla Playhouse
Through July 7
The La Jolla Playhouse hosts the world premiere of The Ballad of Johnny and June, a musical detailing the passionate and sometimes volatile love story of country music’s beloved “it couple.” There will be four performances of The Ballad of Johnny and June this weekend, and tickets start at $25.
2910 La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla
Janet Jackson & Nelly Concert at SDSU
June 6
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Janet Jackson stops by the North Island Credit Union Amphitheater this weekend, performing crowd favorites from her hit-heavy discography. The concert will also feature rap legend Nelly, known for addictive chart-toppers like “Hot In Herre” and “Ride Wit Me.” Tickets for Thursday night’s performance start at $40.75.
2050 Entertainment Circle, Chula Vista
Courtesy of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
Festivals & Art Exhibits in San Diego This Weekend
room in a room in a room at (LOS/NR) Gallery
Opens June 6
Through July 14, new La Jolla gallery levels of service not required (LOS/NR) hosts its first-ever exhibition, room in a room in a room. The show’s group of eight local artists includes photographers, psychologists, and woodworkers. This Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m., room in a room in a room will open with a free reception featuring a ribbon-cutting ceremony and free soft-serve ice cream cones.
7910 Ivanhoe Avenue, La Jolla
Teen Arts Collective Showcase at MCASD
June 7–9
Interconnections: The Relationships that Form Us will showcase the work of 20 high school juniors and seniors from San Diego County for one weekend only at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Museum visitors can hear from the young artists and enjoy refreshments and a local DJ set during the museum’s Teen Night event this Friday at 4:30 p.m. The free exhibition will be on display in the Axline Court gallery from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
700 Prospect Street, La Jolla
Latino Book & Family Festival
June 8
At MiraCosta College from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Saturday, the 74th annual Latino Book & Family Festival brings together more than 120 educational, health, and author-led booths; a food village; bilingual workshops; and more. Keynote speakers at this free event include La Bamba writer and director Luis Valdez; Dr. Beatriz Villareal, director of the Mano a Mano Foundation; and author and O’side lifer Victor Villaseñor. The night before the fest, catch a screening of La Bamba at the Little Theatre on campus at 7:30 p.m. Seating is first-come, first-served.
1 Barnard Drive, Oceanside
San Diego Greek Festival
June 8–9
St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church hosts the San Diego Greek Festival this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Spend the weekend watching folk music and dance performances and sampling Greek bites, beers, wines, and spirits—but be sure to go easy on the ouzo. General admission is $4, and children under the age of 12 get in for free. A complimentary park-and-ride shuttle will take off from the San Diego Unified School District lot (4301 Campus Avenue) every ten minutes throughout the festival.
3655 Park Boulevard, North Park
Courtesy of the Giro Di San Diego GranFondo
More Fun Things To Do in San Diego This Weekend
Giro Di San Diego GranFondo Bike Race
June 8
Cyclists can test their endurance on this Tour de France–esque ride through inland San Diego. Riders will start bright and early at Ryan Park with the choice of 20-, 32-, 56-, and 95-mile ride options. Once you cross the finish line, celebrate with a beer garden, live music, and the greatest reward of all: an Italian feast. There’s still time to register for this long-distance ride.
390 Hidden Trails Road, Escondido
Queer Mvmnt Fest at the City Heights Performance Annex
June 9–15
This week-long movement and arts festival kicks off Sunday with free dance workshops and performances at City Heights Performance Annex from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. (Bring blankets and chairs to stay comfy during the outdoor happenings!) Highlighting local queer artists, the week-long event series includes workshops, panels, and live performances throughout San Diego and Tijuana. All offerings are free, but attendees are encouraged to RSVP ahead of time.
Ryan Hardison is a freelance arts and entertainment writer and recent graduate of San Diego State. When he's not staring at his laptop, he's likely eating an adobada burrito or getting sunburnt at the beach.
Plays that set out to make a big, bold statement—to be “about” something—are risky. They risk reducing their characters to tools to serve a point. The Humans, which won the 2016 Tony for Best Play and was nominated for the Pulitzer the same year, does a better job than anything I’ve seen in recent memory at integrating what it’s “about” into its character interactions, so those themes emerge naturally instead of announcing themselves. It sands down those sharper edges—almost to a fault.
On the surface, it’s just about a family Thanksgiving dinner, unfolding in near real-time with no scene breaks. Erik and Deirdre Blake (Jeffrey Meek and Elizabeth Dennehy) have driven in from Scranton, Pennsylvania to visit their daughter Brigid (Kate Rose Reynolds) and her boyfriend, Richard (Brian Mackey), in their new Lower Manhattan duplex. With them are their other daughter, Aimee (Amanda Sitton) and Erik’s mother, “Momo” (Rosina Reynolds).
Everyone is dealing with an anxiety of some kind or another: Brigid is struggling to find work in her field and bartending to make ends meet, Aimee’s just gone through a bad breakup and has newly diagnosed ulcerative colitis, Momo is practically uncommunicative from Alzheimer’s and requires daily nursing care from her family, and Erik, troubled by nightmares, has some awful news that Deirdre is in on, and he’s struggling to find a good time to break it to his daughters.
Given all this baggage, it’s a testament to playwright Stephen Karam and director Todd Salovey how brisk and funny the play is. The dialogue here is the kind that writers of realism dream of perfecting: A natural chatter, overlapping and interrupting and peppered with misunderstandings and repetitions, in which everyone has their own consistent voice, stemming from the majority of their iceberg that’s lived outside these 90 minutes.
Everyone wants Thanksgiving to go well, of course, and so despite how frequently their various conflicts come to light—Erik and Deirdre are disappointed their daughters have abandoned religion, Brigid resents receiving no financial help from them, and so on—they bounce back, course correct, or sweep under the rug in the interest of keeping the peace for this one night. It’s a rich family dynamic that I’m sure most of the audience will recognize.
Kate Rose Reynolds and Jeff Meek in The Humans by the San Diego Rep
Jim Carmody
In fact, these conflicts shift in and out of focus so smoothly that, if you didn’t bother to ponder the themes further—fear of facing illness alone, fear of poverty, of estrangement—you might come away with the impression of having spent a mostly pleasant evening with a typical, relatable American family…and not much else.
It’s consistently enjoyable, often touching, and even frightening—the final cast member is the duplex itself, which is so beset by city-living quirks that they accumulate into a nearly haunted atmosphere. Loud thumps from upstairs. Underground mechanical grumblings. A cigarette-ash-filled “interior courtyard.” Unreliable electrical wiring. Even the mere presence of visible, wicked-looking tree roots flanking the basement portion of the stage gives me the willies. Scenic designer Giulio Perrone has made a great claustrophobic space that always seems to be teetering just this side of Poltergeist.
The play even manages to invoke September 11 in a meaningful way that doesn’t drown out the quieter themes surrounding it—which a similar work, The Year to Come, botches to the detriment of the whole experience. So it feels unfair to say that despite all the design, writing, and acting marks in its favor, The Humans still doesn’t leave much of a lasting impression on me. Maybe it could have afforded to retain some of its sharper edges after all.
Dan Letchworth is the copy chief of San Diego Magazine. His print column Dansplaining explores San Diego trivia, and his theater review blog Everyone’s a Critic was a finalist for best online column in the 2019 National City & Regional Magazine Awards.
Adults often fail at having empathy for high school kids. Why would a bright-eyed youth with no responsibilities or mortgage be so melodramatic about their problems? We project our nostalgia on them: “This is the best time of your life! You should be enjoying it!” When a 17-year-old acts like their first breakup is the end of the world, we think we’re reassuring them by saying NBD, there’s more and worse heartbreak to come.
It takes real honesty to sit in one’s own past and remember what half-formed proto-people we used to be, managing every brand-new experience with an incomplete emotional toolbox. How many high school narratives have you sat through starring the same recycled punch-out characters, all miniature adults with perfect wit?
Girlfriend, written by Todd Almond with music and lyrics by Matthew Sweet, strips away the clichés. It remembers how paralyzing it is to express your feelings for someone when you never have before—difficult enough for the floor-model heteros, but exponentially more so when you’re a closeted gay kid in rural Nebraska in the early 1990s, deathly afraid of the wrong people finding out.
Shaun Tuazon has the rare skill, appropriate to his character’s social awkwardness, of getting laughs by reacting to his own lines.
Despite centering gay characters in a way that’s particular to their identity at that historical moment, the play is not About the Gay Experience. Which is a relief. We need the hugely consequential, gut-punching stories, too, but there’s room enough these days for a traditional romance that develops its queer leads as three-dimensional people who aren’t being asked to represent an entire marginalized group. It aims simply to touch your heart, not rip it out.
Gone is the meet-cute: We open just after the first brief spark between popular athlete Mike (Michael Louis Cusimano) and shy Will (Shaun Tuazon), so instead, the first scene is Will’s giddy nervousness about making that first phone call. Gone, mostly, are the cliché secondary characters: This two-man show clears everyone else out, giving the budding relationship as much space to develop as possible. And gone, thank god, is the urge to be clever or to coddle short attention spans. The dialogue is starkly natural, even its hesitations and seemingly random thoughts the ice caps over unspoken depths of character work.
A production this intimate and reliant on subtle expression leaves no room for phoning it in. Cusimano and Tuazon put an amazing amount of work into inhabiting their characters at every moment. More happens in between the spoken lines than during them: You can watch them processing what they hear, rather than simply waiting for their cue. Tuazon especially has the rare skill, appropriate to his character’s social awkwardness, of getting laughs by reacting to his own lines. It’s the only way to tell this story, since so much of it relies on what’s unsaid. No matter how sure both boys are about the other’s feelings, expressing them means plunging into a wild, dangerous new world. Their courage grows just incrementally enough to maintain a rich tension without becoming excruciating.
Michael Louis Cusimano in Girlfriend at Diversionary Theatre
Photo by Daren Scott
This is a musical—strictly speaking. Mike opens the story by giving Will a mixtape he made, and instead of spontaneously breaking into song about themselves, most of the play’s ten tracks are relatively generic pop from that tape that are perfectly appropriate for the moment. The songs may not be essential to the storytelling, but they’re never unwelcome; much like he was in last November’s This Beautiful City, Cusimano is joyful and charismatic on lead vocals and guitar. The band is right there on stage the whole time, too, which is is always preferable to the orchestra pit: Music director Kyrsten Hafso-Koppman is on keys and provides backing vocals; so does Melanie Medina on guitar, with some very cool solos. Nobuko Kemmotsu and Christian Reeves are steady on the drums and bass, respectively.
Diversionary Theatre chose their season opener well, bidding goodbye to summer with a sweet story about the sublime thrill and exquisite heartbreak of first love. Bring a date, take a stroll down to Stella Jean afterward for some ice cream, and be thankful that you’re not in high school anymore.
Dan Letchworth is the copy chief of San Diego Magazine. His print column Dansplaining explores San Diego trivia, and his theater review blog Everyone’s a Critic was a finalist for best online column in the 2019 National City & Regional Magazine Awards.
Entrepreneurs typically launch businesses because they’re passionate about a product or service, not because they want to manage its finances. While working to carve out a niche in their respective industries and drive their companies forward, many business owners find themselves bogged down by day-to-day accounting. Their existing accounting tools don’t provide the necessary visibility or insight, and they don’t have the time or resources to hire additional staff or a chief financial officer. That’s where NOW CFO comes in.
For more than 20 years, NOW CFO has been pairing businesses across the country with experienced accounting and finance professionals. Its outsourced model allows clients to customize solutions that match their individual needs, size, and financial challenges, whether that’s fractional or interim support, project-based services, or full-time placement.
NOW CFO’s clients range from startups preparing for rapid growth to established companies that need additional financial leadership without the commitment or expense of building an in-house team. However, many of these companies don’t fully understand their needs until they experience a “trigger” event: preparing for an acquisition or capital raise, navigating a first-time audit, or another period of transition. With a team of over 300 consultants nationwide, NOW CFO can start quickly and match the right expert to the right business.
“It’s important for companies to have financial visibility, and we can help them avoid a lot of the potholes that companies often run into,” says Mariah Block, a partner at NOW CFO’s San Diego branch. “Roughly half of our clients have an in-house finance person or department, and we’re resourced for more bandwidth when they need an extra set of hands at the staff or senior accountant level, or the controller or CFO level. Some clients use this a few hours a month and others use multiple people close to full-time. Our model is solution-based and customizable. We’re like a faucet you can turn on and off.”
With NOW CFO, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Solutions are based on the client’s individual goals, challenges, needs, and budget, meaning a client never pays for more than they need. Whether it’s a few hours of executive-level guidance or a full accounting team to support daily operations, NOW CFO meets businesses where they are and grows alongside them.
“We pride ourselves on providing our clients with the right resources at the right rate and being able to evolve as their needs evolve,” says Block.
And clients appreciate on-demand access to cost-effective support designed to improve performance and profitability.
Luxury car storage service Auto Concierge has partnered with NOW CFO to support growth over the past year. The arrangement began with a staff accountant who covered a leave of absence, but as the client’s needs changed, they also added a controller role. This allowed Auto Concierge to put effective processes in place and navigate operational challenges. Lori Church, Auto Concierge’s chief operating officer, says NOW CFO has been an “outstanding resource” and a “true strategic partner.”
“From the controller to the bookkeeper, every professional they’ve placed has brought a high level of expertise, responsiveness, and professionalism to our organization. Their team took the time to understand our business of high-profile clients and needs, adapted quickly to our fast-paced environment, and became a trusted extension of our team,” she says. “As Auto Concierge continues to grow, having a reliable financial partner like NOW CFO has allowed us to strengthen our financial and business operations while remaining focused on delivering exceptional service to our clients.”
The Addams Family is one of those properties that feels impervious to review. It carved out a comfortable niche in pop-goth culture half a century ago, and every generation since has grown up with some version of it, whether a live action series, an animated one, or the ’90s movies. A new animated film modeled directly after the original comic’s character designs is due in time for Halloween next month, and Welk Resort Theatre in Escondido is getting in the spooky spirit by staging the 2009 Broadway musical.
You know the characters; you know the theme song. The only time my family ever walked out of a theater was during the 1991 film (I was seven years old; it was apparently more violent than Mom and Dad expected?), so I barely remember it, yet whenever the Addamses reincarnate in some new medium I feel an irrational fount of goodwill for them. It’s got to be more than store-brand nostalgia, right? There’s something evergreen about Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, et al.; a sweet spot of accessible counterculture that keeps appealing to new generations.
Erica Marie Weisz is a poised, elegant vamp as Morticia; her smoldering chemistry with Koppman is the heart of the show.
Not to overanalyze—and I could be mistaken—but the musical seems to present the most overtly Latin rendition of Gomez and Morticia yet, and it can’t be coincidence that what freaks out their WASPy visitors is their unashamedly intimate relationship both with each other and with the world of the dead. Which makes this story’s central plot an even more delicious twist: Wednesday is in love with a normie. (Morticia recoils at her wearing—gasp—a color besides black.)
Kevin Hafso Koppman is magnetic as Gomez, employing much of the same swagger as when he played “The Visitor” in Picasso at the Lapin Agile. Erica Marie Weisz is a poised, elegant vamp as Morticia; her smoldering chemistry with Koppman is the heart of the show. Chelsea Emma Franko is no stranger to the witching hour, having been the standby for Elphaba in the national tour of Wicked—she may not quite have Christina Ricci’s ice-cold glare, but she has the voice to beat.
Berto Fernandez, fresh off a wonderful turn as Dennis in Rock of Ages, inspires laughter with every grunt and lumbering step as Lurch. Nancy Snow Carr and Steve Gunderson are a perfect pair as Alice and Mal Beineke, said WASPs: Both have a demonstrated excellence in “goody-good who reveals a wild side,” the former as Rosie in Welk’s own Mamma Mia! and the latter as Wilbur in Hairspray. Another familiar Mamma Mia face is Drew Bradford, playing their son and Wednesday’s beau, Lucas. Pugsley (Blake Ryan) and Grandma (Kat Fitzpatrick) don’t have as much to do but are funny when they do it, and Uncle Fester (Andrew Metzger) has the standout number of the whole production, “The Moon and Me,” exquisitely weird in the most delightful way. (I could’ve done without the character’s topical fourth-wall breaks—I’m at the theater to get away from the news, thanks—but if anyone here’s going to do it, Fester’s the right choice.)
Drew Bradford, Nancy Snow Carr, Steve Gunderson, and Berto Fernandez in The Addams Family at Welk Resort Theatre
Ken Jacques
This show apparently got some major revisions after it was first tried out in Chicago, and they were all for the better: The new or revised songs, “Secrets,” “Trapped,” and “Not Today,” all sell you on the Addamses as real people worth caring about, bizzare as they may seem. A set of mostly-mute “ancestors,” ghosts from various periods of history, serve multiple purposes: backup dancing, chorus commentary, even creepy-statue set dressing. Out of the whole soundtrack, the most memorable hooks belong to “Crazier Than You” and the opener, “When You’re an Addams,” though the rest all add up to a phantasmagorical good time with plenty of laughs. Get your snapping fingers ready.
The Addams Family, directed by Larry Raben and Noelle Marion
Dan Letchworth is the copy chief of San Diego Magazine. His print column Dansplaining explores San Diego trivia, and his theater review blog Everyone’s a Critic was a finalist for best online column in the 2019 National City & Regional Magazine Awards.
There's more to this local marvel than a famous marquee
By Christina Orlovsky Page | Photos by Paul Body
Spreckels Theatre
PLEASE TAKE YOUR SEATS
Commissioned by sugar magnate John D. Spreckels to commemorate the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, the theatre was originally built with 1,915 seats. Over the years, worn seats were replaced and upgraded. Today, it has 1,463 seats.
A 360ËEXPERIENCE
The theatre’s unique design allowed for a staging of the famed horse-drawn chariot race in a 1923 performance of Ben Hur, with horses galloping through the theatre, onto the stage, and out onto First and Second avenues.
QUAKE-PROOF
Architect Harrison Albright began construction in 1910, two years after the great San Francisco earthquake. More than a century later, the theatre still retains a top-tier earthquake rating.
BOUGHT AND PAID FOR
The theatre opened on August 23, 1912, with a performance of the long-running New York show Bought and Paid For. It came via private train for one show only, at John Spreckels’ expense. The audience gave an extended ovation with five curtain calls.
STAGE TO SCREEN
From theatrical productions and Vaudeville, the venue made the leap to motion pictures in the days of silent film, investing in a projection booth and silver screen in 1923. In 1928, the theatre switched exclusively to movies.
Spreckels Theatre
MARQUEE MOMENT
For its 2012 Centennial Celebration, the 75-year-old marquee was turned off for three months while it underwent a historically accurate restoration.
BUILT TO LAST
The structure, which cost an unprecedented $1 million to construct, remains mostly intact today, with its original onyx Grand Lobby, detailed woodwork, and tiled floors.
NEW MANAGEMENT
Owner Jacquelyn Littlefield, daughter of movie pioneer and one-time Spreckels manager Louis B. Metzger, took over operation of the theatre in 1944 at age 22.
GRAND GESTURE
In 1962, Littlefield bought the theatre from the Star and Crescent Investment Company and returned it to a stage-production venue. In 1978, when arson destroyed the Old Globe Theatre, she donated the use of the Spreckels for the Globe’s season.
FAMOUS ACTS
The Spreckels Theatre has hosted perhaps the widest variety of acts in the region, ranging from Charlie Chaplin to Abbott and Costello, Ronald Reagan to Ray Charles, and Ellen DeGeneres to Eddie Vedder.
If you’re anything like us, it can be easy to get so caught up in taking care of everyone else, that your own needs get lost in the ether. But while this may be a cliché, that doesn’t make it any less true: You can’t give your best self to other people unless you’re taking care of yourself.
Sometimes, that looks like stopping in for your regular acupuncture or chiropractic appointment. Other days, it means giving your body the fresh, organic fuel it needs to truly feel and function at its best. And some other times still, it involves leaving your responsibilities behind for a weekend to pamper yourself at an incredible resort and spa.
Only you can decide what your truly need. We’re just here to help you find the best ways to get it.
Tommy Bahama Miramonte Resort & Spa
Island living meets desert luxury at the Tommy Bahama Miramonte Resort & Spa in Indian Wells. When you step onto the 11-acre property, you’ll be surrounded by sweeping view of the Santa Rosa Mountains with olive trees and fragrant citrus groves decorating the grounds. In other words, everything about this relaxed but refined resort is primed to help you let go of the stress from home and enjoy easy sun-soaked days and gorgeous starry nights.
The rooms blend calming, woven textures with Tommy Bahama’s signature tropical prints and feature private lanais, making it easy unwind the moment you walk in the door. If you book one of the four Villa Suites, you’ll be treated to exclusive Tommy Bahama furniture and unique personal touches to further that feeling of instant ease.
At the award-winning Spa Rosa, the expert team will help reset and recharge your body and mind using methods and rituals inspired by the desert. The 12,000-square-foot retreat includes outdoor soaking pools, eucalyptus steam rooms, and outdoor cabanas, as well as massages, facials, and body masks—all aimed at creating a day dedicated to you. We’re particularly partial to the Day Long Escape, an indulgent all-day affair of CDBs soaks, renewing scrubs, life changing massages, and transformative facials.
Following your treatment, continue the experience with a meal on the patio at Grapefruit Basil. We love the Hamachi Crudo, a light, citrus-forward dish featuring premium yellowtail, house-made ponzu, creamy avocado, and fresh seasonal garnishes.
Whether you’re strolling the gardens, relaxing beside its saltwater pools, or indulging in a restorative treatment, you’ll be able to escape in style and relax in luxury at the Tommy Bahama Miramonte Resort & Spa.
Healcove Chiropractic
There’s no shortage of ways to stay active in San Diego—but if you really want to enjoy everything the city has to offer, you’ve got to make sure you’re giving your body its tune-ups. Enter: Healcove Chiropractic. The board-certified chiropractors and wellness professionals at Healcove are experts at addressing that stage where you’re not injured, exactly, but you’re not at 100%, either. Maybe you’re feeling a bit tense or stressed out. Or it could be that you’re not quite moving the way you want to. Sometimes, it’s just that the accumulation of days, weeks, or even years of daily strain is starting to take a toll. No matter what stage you find yourself at, the Healcove Chiropractic team can provide integrated, preventative care centered on long-term, science-backed approaches that ensure you can always stay active and live the life you want to live pain-free.
This starts by providing truly individualized care. Every patient can expect a thorough 60-minute consultation session that includes a posture and movement screening. This allows the team to develop a completely personalized plan. That plan might include chiropractic care, acupuncture, or massage therapy, as well as functional fitness training, vibration and sound therapy, and Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization, a clinical rehabilitation method that retrains the body’s stabilization systems. Whatever the team recommends, you can be sure that it’s tailored to meeting your body’s needs today and the future.
There’s a reason that San Diego Magazine named Healcove the “Best Chiropractor in San Diego”—don’t wait until you’re struggling with an injury to find out why. Book an appointment today for holistic, integrated care that helps ground and heal your body before it reaches a crisis point.
Juice Holler
West Coast wellness culture meets the community feel of Southern Appalachia at Juice Holler. Juice Holler’s menu consists of made-to-order smoothies and smoothie bowls, as well as grab-and-go cold-pressed juices, wellness shots, salads, and more. It operates from the blissfully simple premise that fueling up with food and drink that’s guilt-free and good your body should be simple, accessible, and, above all else, delicious. And if you haven’t yet made it out to the Encinitas café, which opened just this year, let us be the first to tell you: Juice Holler delivers on each and every of these fronts.
We love the Supercharger smoothie, a mood-lifting and body-fueling option made with banana, almond butter, blue spirulina, maca, grass-fed whey protein, raw cacao nibs, medjool dates, and coconut milk. We’re also partial to the Thrive Alive smoothie bowl, where avocado, mango, sea moss, spirulina, mint, coconut milk, and agave are mixed and topped with coconut, chia seeds, strawberry, mango, and chocolate drizzle. The wellness shots include the Detoxifier, a cleansing blend of kale, cucumber, lemon and spirulina, plus a shot specially designed to fight inflammation (named, fittingly, Anti-Inflammation). Probiotic overnight oats, lemon turmeric bars, and strawberry shortcake chia pudding are other standouts on the grab-and-go menu.
Much of the vibe feels beachy North County chic—think green tile with orange and pink accents, grounded with greenery and natural wood—but Juice Holler founder Kelly Sergott, a longtime Encinitas local, has also enfused the space with her Kentucky roots. In Appalachia, a holler is small valley between hills and mountains, where nature reigns, community is king, and nourishment comes right from the land. At Juice Holler, Sergott has created a holler for the busy modern times, using local ingredients to create a spot for people to come together and enjoy fresh, fast, feel-good fuel for their day.
Everwell Acupuncture
We’ve all had that experience with a medical professional where we’ve felt rushed, ignored, or misunderstood—and ultimately, like we didn’t get the answers that we needed. But at Everwell, the holistic acupuncture practice located in Solana Beach, the care team wants to transform your understanding of what healthcare can look like.
Patients at Everwell experience care rooted in intentional listening and radical empathy—and trust us, those aren’t just corporate buzzwords. This place actually puts those ideas into practice. You will always be given the time you need to tell your story— initial in-take appointments are two hours long—and you can rest assured that your story will be believed. Every single question and concern will be addressed by a dedicated practitioner who wants to find the specific solutions that work best for you, and you’ll receive care that’s aimed at healing the body, mind, and spirit.
Everwell’s highly trained, doctorate-level practitioners blend evidence-based acupuncture with the practice of classical Chinese medicine. (If you’ve never tried acupuncture before or aren’t sure if the team will be a fit, we’d highly recommended Everwell’s complimentary 20-minute consultations.) Research shows that by stimulating specific points on the body, acupuncture activates a natural healing response in the body, helping to restore balance, regulate the nervous system, and improve overall wellbeing. This allows the practice to address an incredibly wide range of conditions from chronic pain and autoimmune disorders to digestive issues, from stress and burnout to headaches migraines, fertility and postpartum struggles, hormonal imbalances, sleep concerns and more.
At Everwell, you can expect to feel heard, trusted, respected, and cared for. This is a space that doesn’t want to be just another healthcare provider you visit; it wants to provide patients with dedicated partner who will be there for their entire health journey.
