THURSDAY, March 15 • Museum of Contemporary Art open house, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Museum of Contemporary Art La Jolla, 700 Prospect St., enjoy free admission to the museum plus free themed gallery guide-led tours, (858) 454-3541, www.mcasd.org, free • The Ian Tordella Group with DGQ in concert, The Loft at UCSD, 9500 Gilman Drive, Ian Tordella is a modern tenor saxophonists with influences from modern jazz to electronic music, (858) 534-8497, www.artpwr.com, free • La Jolla Town Council Sunsetter Community Happy Hour, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Chedi Thai Bistro, 737 Pearl St., meet and mingle with your community leaders, business professionals, and neighbors, (858) 454-1444, www.lajollatowncouncil.org, $5 for La Jolla Council Members and $10 for nonmembers • ShadowPlay exhibition, 6:30 p.m., Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall Street, an A-list evening presented by Alexander Jackson featuring his Line and Shadow exhibition of ink line drawings, (858) 454-5872, www.ljathenaeum.org/alist, free FRIDAY, March 16 • The Craft of Stone Brewing Co., 7 p.m., Warwick’s Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave., enjoy book signing, beer and food tasting with the authors of Liquid Lore, Epic Recipes, and Unabashed Arrogance, ages 21+, (858) 454-0347, www.warwicks.com, free SATURDAY, March 17 • 33rd Annual St. Patrick’s Day Open Readings of Irish Poetry and Prose, 7 p.m., D.G. Wills Books, 7461 Girard Ave., members of the public are invited to read their favorite passages from the numerous Irish poets and writers, 858-456-1800, www.dgwillsbooks.com, free • Couples Sushi Making Classes, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., Cafe Japengo, 8960 University Center Lane, master the art of sushi-making with executive sushi chef Jerry Warner, includes two sake tastings, sushi-rolling mat, ingredients, (858) 450-3355, www.cafejapengo.com, $60 • “The La Jolla Homefront During WWII” lecture series, 5 p.m., Wisteria Cottage, 780 Prospect St., the La Jolla Historical Society presents is spring lecture series which looks at aspects of La Jolla during the war, (858) 459-5335, www.lajollahistory.org, $15 for members, $20 for nonmembers SUNDAY, March 18 • La Jolla Open Aire Market, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., La Jolla Elementary School, Girard Avenue and Genter Street, (858) 454-1699, www.lajollamarket.com, free • Nate Donnis performs, 11 a.m., Beaumont’s, 5662 La Jolla Blvd., Nate Donnis performs acoustic covers, (858) 459-0474, www.beaumontseatery.com, free • “The Classicist,” 2 p.m., Mandeville Auditorium at UCSD, 9500 Gilman Drive, explore Stravinsky’s classical roots when La Jolla Symphony and Chorus continues “Stravinsky Circus” themed season, (858) 534-4637, www.lajollasymphony.com, $29 for adults, $26 for seniors, $15 for students MONDAY, March 19 • Open Mic Monday, 8 p.m., The Comedy Store, 916 Pearl St., open mic night at La Jolla’s Comedy Store, 21+ event, (858)454-9176, lajolla.thecomedystore.com, two drink minimum TUESDAY, March 20 • The La Jolla Garden Club presents Jim Neitzel, 1 p.m., La Jolla Lutheran Church, 7117 La Jolla Blvd., Neitzel is one of the founders of the San Diego Chapter of the Rare Fruit Growers, he has traveled the world to study tropical and subtropical fruits, their will be a reception following his talk, www.villagegardencluboflajolla.com, members are free • “Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree,” 3 p.m., Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 8602 La Jolla Shores Drive, Jonathan Losos of Harvard University explains the paths of evolution and branches of species diversification using the Anolis lizards as his model, (858) 534-3624, sio.ucsd.edu, free • Mendelssohn’s “Octet,” 7:30 p.m., Neurosciences Institute, 1064 John Jay Hopkins Drive, members of San Diego Symphony play chamber works, (619) 235-0804, www.sandiegosymphony.org, $30 WEDNESDAY, March 21 • Curie Elementary School kindergarten registration, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Curie Elementary School auditorium, 4080 Govenor Drive, registration for incoming kindergarten students who reside in Curie boundary, (858) 453-4184, www.curiepta.org, free • Science Speed Round, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., The Neurosciences Institute, 10640 John Jay Hopkins Drive, a series of seven short, sharp expertly refereed talks by some of San Diego’s finest minds, tops range from “Red Gene, Blue Gene” to “Growing the World’s Fuel,” (858) 822-4470, www.sdsciencefestival.com, free THURSDAY, March 22 • Screening of the documentary Race to Nowhere, 6:30 p.m., La Jolla High School’s Parker Auditorium, 750 Nautilus St., the film uses real-life stories of students, parents, and educators to challenge current assumptions on how to best prepare American youth to become healthy, bright, contributing citizens, there will be a discussion about student stress and what you can do about it after the film, rtnlajollahighschool.eventbrite.com, $10 in advance, $15 at the door • Chagall, 8 p.m., LFJCC Jacobs Family Campus, 4126 Executive Drive, a stage production that tells the story of artist Marc Chagall’s life through song and dance, (858) 362-1348, www.sdcjc.org, $20-$24 MUST SEE The La Jolla Historical Society will kick off its spring lecture series “The La Jolla Homefront During World War II” on March 17. The first lecture in the series “Living in La Jolla During the War Years” looks at how different a place La Jolla was, with camouflaged buildings, gun turrets dotting hillsides and residents cultivating their own vegetables in Victory Gardens. The lecture will also describe how La Jollans contributed to the war effort. Speakers include Robert Mosher, architect and resident of La Jolla during World War II; Eugene Alfaro, a historian on food production during the war; Mildred Lee Bell, a retired educator who attended La Jolla High during the war years; and retired educator and actress Dorothy Haven, whose husband trained at Camp Callen (now Torrey Pines Gliderport and golf course). The lecture begins at 5 p.m. at Wisteria Cottage, 780 Prospect St. and costs $15 for society members ($20 for the general public). For more information call (858) 459-5335, or visit www.lajollahistory.org. MUST GO For those looking to celebrate St.Patrick’s Day without pints of beer and Irish jigs, D.G. Wills Books will host its 33rd annual St. Patrick’s Day Open Readings of Irish Poetry and Prose. Expect to be inspired by the words of Irishmen James Joyce, William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Edmund Burke, Samuel Beckett, Flann O’Briend and Sean O’Casey, to name a few. The readings will be held at D.G. Wills Books, 7461 Girard Ave., and will begin at 7 p.m. For more information call 858-456-1800, www.dgwillsbooks.com. The event is free and open to all ages.