This Weekend in SD: Ghosts, E.T. and an Italian Santa

This weekend in San Diego, do something exciting every day! Start the weekend off with some cocktails and a movie with Film Pop Ups, then visit the Philippine Cultural Arts Festival on Saturday. At night, catch a the play “Roman Holiday” with some friends and then wrap up your four-day adventure with some ghost hunting on Sunday. There’s never a dull moment in San Diego.

Haunted San Diego Ghost Tour

This weekend, head to the Best Western Hacienda Hotel for a haunted ghost tour. Tour stops include documented haunted historic sites such as a Gaslamp Quarter hotel, downtown’s oldest building, a Victorian mansion, San Diego’s oldest cemetery and the Whaley House, one of 30 ghost houses recognized by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The tour also encourages guests to be in good physical condition and able to climb steep steps. The tour also warns, “Although the tour is entertaining, please be aware that this is a history tour and not a Halloween fun house. Those expecting a thrill ride will be disappointed.” Tickets are $32.99 and tours are Friday and Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at 8:30 p.m.

A Roman Holiday

This is the last weekend to catch “A Roman Holiday,” performing at the La Jolla Playhouse. The play focuses on Stacey, who, when arriving in Rome to rendezvous with her boyfriend, Michael, unexpectedly encounters Nigel, a British professor and kleptomaniac; members of the lively, animated Pagliazzi family; and an Italian don dressed in a Santa suit and sunglasses. Tickets are $20-$25 and show times are at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Film Pop Ups

The San Diego Film Festival is getting ready for the 2011 event by hosting a new film pop-up event series, happening the first Thursday of every month at the Gaslamp Theatre. The series will feature unique, award-winning movies along with a cocktail reception and Q&A discussion. This Thursday, the movie will be “These Amazing Shadows,” an 88-minute documentary that tells the history and importance of the Registry, a roll call of American cinema treasures that reflects the diversity of film, and indeed the American experience itself. The movie also features interviews from an all-star lineup including Christopher Nolan (“Inception”), John Lasseter (“Toy Story”), George Takei (“Start Trek: the Motion Picture”) and Peter Coyote (“E.T.”) to name a few. Cocktails begin at 6 p.m. and the movies starts at 7 p.m. The event is $12.

27th Philippines Cultural Arts Festival

The main attraction of this two-day Festival is continuous entertainment presented in a well-designed stage. The family-oriented and alcohol-free event showcases traditional performing arts of the Philippines including colorful folk dances, folk songs, Rondalla music and Kulintang music of the Southern Philippines. Also featured are cultural and photo exhibits and a Philippine crafts booth. Other booths will offer unique T-shirts and costume jewelry and popular Filipino food including adobo, lumpia and pancit. The festival will be held on Saturday and Sunday in Balboa Park at the corner of Park Boulevard and Presidents Way. A yearly production of the Samahan Filipino American Performing Arts & Education Center, the Festival runs from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm both days. Admission is free.

In theaters this weekend:

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
The Change Up
Bellflower (Limited)
Gun Hill Road (Limited)
Magic Trip (Limited)
The Perfect Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll (Limited)
The Whistleblower (Limited)