Free in San Diego This Weekend (part 1)
Are you looking for something fun to do this weekend, but don’t have much cash? In addition to seventy miles of beautiful beaches, San Diego offers dozens of parks, the Anza-Borrego Desert, and the Cleveland National Forest.
So maybe you’ve done all that and still want more? Well, you’re in luck. On this very weekend, you can join a guided nature walk, visit a farmers market, see a parade, take part in a political demonstration, celebrate the Chinese New Year, take in a little history, attend a memorial service, stroll through a museum, go to a concert, volunteer your time for a worthy cause, attend a class, enjoy a bike ride, become a philatelist, and learn all about home design products, all for free!
The 31st Annual Winter Home Decorating & Remodeling Show will take place at the Del Mar Fairgrounds all weekend. Admission is free (although parking isn’t). 
SANDICAL, San Diego’s premiere stamp show, runs all weekend at the Al Bahr Shrine Center. This year’s theme is A Salute to Our Military Overseas.
On Saturday morning at 10am, there’s a parade at Old Town State Historic Park. According to KUSI News San Diego:
There will be lots of hands on activities for kids - they can make pioneer dolls, learn to make their own adobe bricks, pan for gold, learn to quilt and make rope, learn how the pioneers used a washboard and water to clean their clothes and cook biscuits on a stick - all free. In addition guests can enjoy a Dutch oven bake-off contest with tasty samples to delight your taste buds.
The San Diego Button Club will host their annual winter show on Sunday, at La Jolla Village Square. A variety of antique/collectable buttons ranging in age from early 18th Century to 1918 will be offered by many reputable dealers from across country.
Chinese & Vietnamese New Year Celebrations
Welcome the Year of the Pig by celebrating with Chinese and Vietnamese food and refreshments, music and the traditional performance of the Lion Dance.
11:00 AM Tet’s Storytime
11:30 AM Lion Dance Performance and Refreshments
This event will be held in the Meeting Room and Patio of the Mira Mesa Branch Library.
Health & Fitness
A Health and Wellness Fair with health and safety exhibits, fitness demonstrations, snacks, bicycle checks, and a weight-loss discussion by Dr. Nick Yphantides (My Big Fat Greek Diet) is slated for Saturday, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., at Encinitas Community and Senior Center.
On Saturday, Doctor and Homeopathic Practitioner Jacquelyn Wilson will address Friends of Hellhole Canyon Open-Space Preserve on the Medicinal Uses of Native Plants in Valley Center.
On Sunday at 9 a.m., you can take a moderate-plus-paced, 2.5-hour walk over mixed up-and-down terrain in Rancho Santa Fe with Walkabout Adventures, starting at Via de la Valle and Cancha de Golf.
San Diego Bicycle Club’s “world famous” Saturday rides start every Saturday– rain or shine– at 8:30 a.m. at 8715 Via La Jolla Drive (in parking lot at La Jolla Village Square). For the heartier bicyclist, take an 82-mile ride with Bicycle Touring Society on Sunday starting at 8:45 a.m. in Doyle Park (8175 Regents Road) in University City.
There’s a free Lacrosse Clinic for those in grades five through eight sponsored by Pacific Ridge School on Sunday, 1-3 p.m., at Stagecoach Park (3420 Camino de los Coches) in La Costa.
Nature Walks
Canyoneer Nature Walks are led by trail guides form the San Diego Natural History Museum. On Saturday morning from 8 - 9:30 a.m., take an easy morning stroll to a small reservoir that attracts birds and other animals in Shepherd Canyon. On Sunday afternoon, from 1 - 2:30 p.m., the same group will lead a walk through San Dieguito County Park, providing access to chaparral habitats and geological formations that were once formed under water.
On Saturday at 8:30 a.m., view migratory waterfowl and wildflowers of Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge during an outing hosted by the Chula Vista Nature Center.
From 9 a.m. to noon, meet a biologist at the Wildlife Research Institute, who will lead a Hawk Watch, identifying up to 13 different species of raptors.
Mission Trails Regional Park will provide Nature Walks at 8:30 and 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, choosing from three trails where you’ll watch coots and migratory shorebirds performing their mating rituals, while learning about the history, geology, plants, animals and ecology of the park. Another Nature Walk is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Sunday.
Bizarre Trees, cacti, and succulents star when Offshoot Tours hosts its monthly hour-long guided stroll through desert garden, starting at Balboa Park’s Visitor’s Center at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
Take in Some History
Leo Carrillo Ranch Historic Park offers free self-guided tours on Saturdays and Sundays.
At 11 a.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday, San Diego County Park docents will lead guided tours of Ranch Santa Maria de Los Peñasquitos.
On Sunday at 4:30 p.m. hike out into Lopez Canyon to learn about the Old Lopez Homestead - a small turn-of-the-century dairy farm with the Friends of Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve.
(continued in part 2)
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