La Jolla’s Best Bets for events May 8-15

Two-for-One Ballet

City Ballet of San Diego presents two works in one show, 8 p.m. Friday, May 9; 8 p.m. Saturday, May 10; 2 p.m. Sunday, May 11, when Swan Lake Act II will be performed, followed by Mozart’s Requiem with a live orchestra and 100-voice choir. Tickets: $29-$69. Spreckels Theater, 121 Broadway, downtown San Diego. (858) 272-8663.

CityBallet.org

High-Speed Hijinx

Essayist, novelist and world adventurer Pico Iyer will address his doubts about technology at a presentation, “Weapons of Mass Distraction: Keeping our Sanity and Balance in a High-Speed, Displacing World,” 7 p.m. Thursday, May 15, at UC San Diego’s Price Center East Ballroom. Iyer’s talk is presented by UCSD Extension, as part of the Helen Edison Lecture Series. It is free and open to the public.

Born in England to Indian parents, Iyer, 57, spent his formative years in Berkeley, where his father was a professor at UC Berkeley. Educated at Oxford and Harvard, he became a journalist and has been a frequent contributor to TIME, Harper’s and The New York Times. Iyer divides his time between Santa Barbara and rural Japan, admitting he’s “ever grateful” for the convenience of jet travel.

helenedison.ucsd.edu

Piano and Cabaret Series

■ La Jolla Music Society will close its season’s Frieman Family Piano Series with a program of pieces by Brahms and Schubert by Irish pianist Barry Douglas, 8 p.m. Friday, May 9 at Sherwood Auditorium, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, 700 Prospect St. A prelude opens the show at 7 p.m. Tickets: $30-$80.

■ The season’s Cabaret Series ends with Ann Hampton Callaway singing a classics from five decades of Barbra Streisand’s career, including “The Way We Were,” “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” “Evergreen” and “I’ve Dreamed of You,“ 8 p.m. Saturday, May 10 at Sherwood Auditorium, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Tickets: $27-$87. (858) 459-3728.

LJMS.org

Art in the Garden

Bird Rock Artist Guild will present its annual “Art in the Garden,” 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 10, at 5571 Bellevue Ave. There will be a variety of works for show and sale. Donations will be collected for Art Reach and the La Jolla Historical Society. dwheeler@san.rr.com

Author Visits

The “Authors at the Astor” program will present Sam Halpern speaking about his book, “A Far Piece to Canaan: A novel of friendship and redemption,” 7 p.m. Sunday, May 11 at the Jewish Community Center, 4126 Executive Drive. Tickets: $8-$10. (858) 362-1348.

lfjcc.org/about/events.aspx

Time with Mom

Spend the day with mom this Mother’s Day weekend surrounded by begonias and fuchsias, free tea and cookies, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 10 and Sunday, May 11, at Weidner’s Gardens, 695 Normandy Road, Encinitas. (760) 436-2194.

weidners.com

Global Warming Lecture

UC San Diego School of International Relations and Pacific Studies Professor David Victor, who recently wrote “Global Warming Gridlock: Creating More Effective Strategies for Protecting the Planet,” will speak on climate change. 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 13 at Birch Aquarium, 2300 Expedition Way. Tickets: $5-$8, RSVP: (858) 534-5771.

aquarium.ucsd.edu

Glass Works

Art Glass Guild will host its annual Spring Show and Sale, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 10 and Sunday, May 11. Blown, fused, torch worked, stained, cast, etched and mosaic pieces will be featured by some 30 juried glass artists. Spanish Village Art Center, in Balboa Park, 1770 Village Place, San Diego. (858) 576-9466. gail@san.rr.com