San Diego

Save the Dates: Big Events in San Diego in 2018

From the San Diego County Fair to Comic-Con, there's a lot to look forward to in 2018 in America's Finest City

Happy New Year! As 2018 unfolds, San Diego will host its share of big events – from the Farmers Insurance Open to Comic-Con, here’s a look ahead at noteworthy local happenings spanning the New Year.

San Diego Restaurant Week
Jan. 21 through Jan. 28
The tasty tradition continues in 2018 with this semi-annual foodie event featuring eight days of prix-fixe, often multi-course menus at more than 180 restaurants across San Diego. This year, the first round of San Diego Restaurant Week runs from Jan. 21 through Jan. 28. The second installment is expected to follow in September. Bon appetit!

[G] Preview: San Diego Restaurant Week, Fall 2017

Farmers Insurance Open
Jan. 25 through Jan. 28
The Farmers Insurance Open is San Diego’s prestigious PGA Tour golf tournament played at the scenic Torrey Pines Golf Course. Several ticket options are offered for the tourney, depending on which day you want to head to the green, and what you want to do (mingling, eating, drinking) when you get there.

NBC 7’s Todd Strain speaks with 2017 Farmers Insurance Open director Peter Ripa about the “Tiger Effect” – how Tiger Woods’ appearance at this year’s PGA Tour tournament at Torrey Pines Golf Course has impacted attendance and ticket sales. Ripa also shares what’s coming up this weekend at the tourney for spectators heading to the links.

Super Bowl LII on NBC
Feb. 4
Super Bowl LII will be played at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and NBC will air the action from the gridiron. You'll want to stick around through half-time, too: pop superstar Justin Timberlake is headlining the show -- his first time back on the gig since his infamously revealing 2004 performance with Janet Jackson.

PyeongChang 2018: The Winter Olympics on NBC
Feb. 8 through Feb. 25
Okay, so the 2018 Olympic Winter Games are all the way in PyeongChang, South Korea, but NBC will bring you every second of the action as the competition unfolds Feb. 8 through Feb. 25. We're watching you, Shawn White. Bring home that gold, USA.

Big Concerts in San Diego in 2018
All year
As the music experts at NBC 7's SoundDiego note, plenty of big headliners will take the stage in San Diego in 2018. This includes Tyler the Creator on Feb. 2 at Valley View Casino Center and the always-edgy Pink on May 28, also at that venue. Pop singer Demi Lovato performs a Feb. 26 show at Viejas Arena, while pop star Kesha and rapper Macklemore's tour stops into Mattress Firm Amphitheatre on June 12. Indie rock titans, The Killers, also plan to drop into San Diego in 2018. On Sept. 1, crooner Sam Smith headlines Valley View Casino Center, and, on Sept. 5, Shakira (and her hips) will shake things up at that same venue. That's just a sampling of the music coming to town in 2018; SoundDiego's guide has all that and more.

San Diego Padres Home Opener
March 29
The San Diego Padres will take on the Milwaukee Brewers at the home opener at Petco Park on March 29. The first pitch is at 1:10 p.m., and the three-game series continued through March 31. Also, for devoted Friars' fans who don't mind traveling, the Padres Spring Training Season starts on Feb. 14 at the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. They'll swing into the 2018 season there with a Feb. 23 game against the Mariners.

Memorial Day
May 28
Obviously, Memorial Day is not exclusive to San Diego, but it’s certainly worth jotting down the date in your planner. The unofficial start to the summer lands on May 28 this year, and thousands will flock to our sandy beaches to celebrate. Of course, thanks to the generous sunshine, beach days are standard long before this date in America's Finest City, too.

[G] What's Cookin' at the 2017 San Diego County Fair

San Diego County Fair
June 1 through July 4
Attracting more than 1.5 million visitors each year, the San Diego County Fair is the largest annual local event and one of the largest 10 fairs in the United States. For the 2018 season, the fairgrounds in Del Mar will officially open to the public on the afternoon of June 2, and remain open through the Fourth of July. Keep checking the fair's website for the official schedule as the event draws closer, and to keep tabs on the fair concerts and festivals lineups. This year's fair theme is "How Sweet it Is," promising visitors a bubble gum-sweet affair that'll make anyone feel like a kid again. Of course, as always, indulgent, fried fair food will also play a large role at the event. Come hungry.

2018 FIFA World Cup Russia on Telemundo
June 14 through July 15
The 2018 FIFA World Cup will be played in Russia and the dozens of match-ups will air on Telemundo. Telemundo Deportes plans to cover more than 500 hours of World Cup-related programming on broadcast and digital platforms over the month-long soccer event. In San Diego, Telemundo 20 will stay on top of the action, play-by-play, for futbol fanatics.

NBC 7's Wendy Fry reports on LGBT Pride festivities and preparations for the pride parade scheduled for Saturday.

San Diego Pride Parade
July 14, 2018
The annual San Diego LGBT Pride Parade is set to color the streets of Hillcrest on July 14, 2018, starting at the Hillcrest Pride Flag at University Avenue and Normal Street. The 1.1-mile route proceeds west on University Avenue, turns south on 6th, left onto Balboa Drive and ends at Laurel Street. Each year, thousands of spectators turn out for the parade, which includes lively floats and lots of music and dancing. Pride weekend also features live music acts, a street festival (July 14 and July 15), a Pride 5K run and other fun events in the hip Hillcrest community.

Check out some of the best hats we could find at Del Mar opening day.

Del Mar Opening Day & Opening Day Hats Contest
July 18
And away they go! The 2018 Del Mar horse racing season begins July 18 with all of the glitz, glamour and hats (oh, so many hats) of the famous Opening Day celebration. Expect the Opening Day Hats Contest and a large crowd, dressed to the nines and hoping to see and be seen. As always, NBC 7 will be there gathering stories and tracking down the best hats. The summer racing season lasts through Labor Day (Sept. 3) and will also include dozens of concerts and other social events at the venue.

The 64th annual tournament will take place over the next two weekends. NBC 7’s Steven Luke reports.

Over-the-Line (OTL) Tournament
July 14-15 and July 21-22
A San Diego summertime tradition, Over-the-Line (OTC), is hosted over the course of two weekends every July at Fiesta Island. Put on by the Old Mission Bay Athletic Club (OMBAC), the annual tournament typically gathers approximately 1,200 teams from around the world to play Over-the-Line, a bat and ball sport first played in Mission Beach in the 1950s. The rules are simple: games last three innings, no one had to run bases and the main goal is to hit the ball “over the line” about 55 feet in front of the batter. Teams dress up in wacky costumes and bring tents, chairs, beer and hilarious signs to the beach for the carefree, daytime tournament. This year's 65th annual OTL tournament is planned for July 14-15 and July 21-22.

[G-2017] The Costumes of San Diego Comic-Con International 2017

San Diego Comic-Con International
July 19 through July 22
A signature San Diego event, the huge pop culture spectacular that is Comic-Con International returns to the San Diego Convention Center in July 2018 with celebrity panels, elaborate costumes, sneak peek screenings, exhibits and events galore. As always, Comic-Con badges are hard to come by and the event will sell out. On the bright side, many interactive Comic-Con events are hosted outside the Convention Center, too, as downtown San Diego transforms into a lively hub for fanboys and fangirls of all ages. It really is an unforgettable sight. NBC 7 will bring you coverage of the big event on NBC7.com's special Comic-Con section.

A man was woken up by an altercation and looked outside to see the suspect light a sleeping homeless man on fire. NBC 7’s Wendy Fry has more on the latest attack.

Clear the Shelters
August 2018
NBC 7 and Telemundo 20 will once again take part in Clear the Shelters, a nationwide pet adoption drive that helps find loving forever homes for animals in need. Nearly 700 shelters across the country will team up for this, including many in San Diego County. NBC 7 will bring you live coverage on our website of touching tales as pets find new homes with caring San Diegans.

Clear the Shelters is a nationwide adoption drive. NBC 7s’ Danielle Radin has the cute and cuddly story.

KAABOO Del Mar
Sept. 14 through Sept. 16
KAABOO, a weekend-long music festival in Del Mar returns this September with a long lineup of artists spanning lots of genres. Of course, the music experts at NBC 7's SoundDiego will keep us abreast of all of the details as the festival draws closer.

San Diego Beer Week
Early November 2018
As a hub for quality craft breweries, it's only fitting that San Diego celebrates the success of the suds industry each year with an entire week dedicated to brews. San Diego Beer Week typically goes down for about 10 days in early November The stretch includes hundred of events at local craft breweries, plus a large festival showcasing the best of beer in America's Finest City. Cheers!

The 2017 San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival came to a close Saturday with its flagship foodie fiesta: The Grand Tasting. Attendees sampled their way through creations from San Diego’s top-notch chefs and sipped spirits, wine and brews from an array of purveyors. Here’s a look at The Grand Tasting along San Diego’s Embarcadero, in all its glory.

San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival
November 2018
The 15th annual San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival will return this November to shine the spotlight on the best wine, beer and spirit purveyors in the land, as well as top-notch local chefs. For a week, foodies and winos can indulge in different tasty events around town, all leading up to The Grand Tasting -- an epic food festival along the Embarcadero.

Balboa Park December Nights
Early December
Each year in early December, Balboa Park kicks off the holidays in San Diego with the merry and bright December Nights, a two-day, multicultural celebration of the season. The event will turn 41 in 2018. As usual, it's expected to draw more than 350,000 visitors to Balboa Park for festive, family-friendly fun, including live music, arts and crafts, photos with Santa Claus, free entry into select museums, drinks and food from across the globe and, of course, plenty of twinkling holiday lights. 

 The annual holiday event takes place December 1 and 2 in Balboa Park.

This is just a sampling of major events to come in San Diego in 2018. Did we miss something big? Comment in the thread below the article.

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