2 Oktoberfests, A Beach Fest, & Del Mar Food & Wine

October arrives with steins raised in La Mesa and El Cajon, runners and revelers taking over Pacific Beach, and more than 100 chefs serving up the weekend in Del Mar. There’s plenty more happening around San Diego: fall festivities in Poway, 50+ tastes in North Park, Fashion Week, a donut-fueled run in Escondido, and 240+ live music events across the county.

If you’re ready for adventure, head into Cuyamaca to find a century-old airplane engine hidden along the trail. And this week’s trivia takes us back to the days when stagecoaches traveled around the clock through San Diego County.

Let's dive in.

 Steve DeLong
Publisher

PS - This weekly update goes out to folks who registered through our Facebook promotion for local events. If these messages are no longer a fit, there’s a simple opt-out link in the footer - one tap and delivery stops right away. Thanks for giving us a look!

The Events

🏖️ Pacific BeachFest & PB Half Marathon
Sat 10/3 • Pacific Beach
Run the Half Marathon or 5K, then stick around for a full day of live music, beach volleyball, local vendors, food and the famous Best of the Beach Fish Taco Contest.

🍺 La Mesa Oktoberfest
Fri 10/2–Sun 10/4 • La Mesa Village
Raise a stein at one of San Diego’s biggest Oktoberfest celebrations, with three biergartens, German food, live music, games and festivities throughout the village.

👗 Fashion Week San Diego
Thu 10/1–Sun 10/4 • San Diego
See emerging designers take the spotlight during four days of runway shows, fashion events and opportunities to discover what’s next in West Coast style.

🍂 Poway Fall Festival
Sun 10/4 • 9 AM–4 PM • Old Poway Park & Midland Road
Welcome fall with hundreds of vendors, food trucks, live music, family activities and classic cars filling the streets of Old Poway.

🍺 El Cajon Oktoberfest
Fri 10/2–Sun 10/4 • German American Societies, El Cajon
Celebrate Oktoberfest German-style with traditional food, imported beer, folk dancing, live music, stein-holding contests and plenty of gemütlichkeit.

🍩 Donut Dash 5K & Donut Mile
Sat 10/3 • 8 AM • Kit Carson Park, Escondido
Run, walk or satisfy your sweet tooth at a morning 5K followed by the Donut Mile, where running and donut eating collide.

🍷 Del Mar Wine + Food Festival Grand Tasting
Sat 10/3–Sun 10/4 • 1–4 PM • Surf Sports Park, Del Mar
Taste your way through 100+ chefs and restaurants alongside 150+ wineries, breweries, distilleries and beverage makers at the festival’s two-day Grand Tasting.

🌮 Taste of North Park
Sat 10/3 • 11 AM–3 PM • North Park
Stroll through North Park while sampling 50+ food tastes from neighborhood restaurants, plus 15 beverage sips from local breweries, wineries and makers.

☕ San Diego Coffee Fest
Sat 10/10–Sun 10/11 • 9 AM–4:30 PM • Broadway Pier
Sip your way through San Diego’s coffee scene with local roasters, specialty drinks, tastings, food, live music and coffee competitions along the waterfront.

Hidden in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park is an unusual piece of San Diego history: the engine from a U.S. Army biplane that crashed in the mountains more than a century ago.

The hike from Green Valley Falls follows the West Mesa Trail to the Airplane Monument, where a mounted V-12 engine marks the site and memorializes the two Army officers who died in the 1921 crash. The out-and-back hike is about 3.6 miles with 800 feet of elevation gain.

🥾 Distance: ~3.6 miles round trip
⛰️ Elevation Gain: ~800 feet
📍 Trailhead: Green Valley Falls, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park
✈️ Highlight: A 1921 airplane engine and memorial hidden in the mountains

Petco Park Sunset

Fri 10/2
High 92° / Low 74° • 🌤️ 19%

Sat 10/3
High 98° / Low 76° • ☀️ 0%

Sun 10/4
High 95° / Low 74° • ☀️ 0%

A hot and mostly dry October weekend is ahead. Friday will be partly cloudy with highs in the low 90s, followed by sunny skies and a jump to 98° Saturday. Sunday stays sunny and hot, with highs around 95°.

The Beacon – Jason Graham – La Costa – 9am-12pm
Bahia Resort Hotel – David Shyde – Mission Bay – 4:30-7:30pm
Gaylord Pacific – Danielle Angeloni – Chula Vista – 5-8pm
The Roxy Encinitas – Alex Kova – Encinitas – 5-7pm
Uvas Winery – Iris Mone – Poway – 5:30-8:30pm
La Valencia Hotel – Keni Yarbro – La Jolla – 6-9pm
Coomber Craft Wines Oceanside – Raynaldo Martine – Oceanside – 6-9pm
Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa – Trevor Davis – La Jolla – 6-9pm
Coyote Bar & Grill – Man I feel like Shania…Tribute – Carlsbad – 6-10pm
Misadventure & Co – Matt Blockley – Vista – 6:30-10:30pm
American Legion Post 282 – Fire Brothers – La Mesa – 7-10pm
The Roadies Brewery – The Tones – Vista – 7-10pm
Le Papagayo - Leucadia – Briana Grace Duo – Leucadia – 7-10pm
McP's Irish Pub – TBD – Coronado – 8pm-12am
Renegade Bar – Thunderbird Mountain Band – El Cajon – 9pm-12:30am

The list has gotten too big! To see everything click the button…

🎤 Karaoke

710 Beach Club – Karaoke – Pacific Beach – 8pm-12am
Happy Does Bar – Karaoke – Gaslamp Quarter – 8:30pm-1:30am
Werewolf American Pub – Karaoke – East Village – 9pm-1am
Wong's Dragon Room – Karaoke with DJ Javier – Rolando – 9pm-1am
Winstons OB – Karaoke w/Corey Glasper – Ocean Beach – 9:30pm-12:30am

🧠 Trivia

Dirty Birds - Ocean Beach – Sunset Trivia – Ocean Beach – 7-9pm

Bahia Resort Hotel – Keni Yarbro – Mission Bay – 10am-1pm
Culinary Dropout – Jackson Wagner – Del Mar – 11am-2pm
Grand Ole BBQ – The Cedar Shakers – El Cajon – 1-4pm
Coomber Craft Wines Vista – Raynaldo Martine – Vista – 1-4pm
Coyote Bar & Grill – The Buckley's – Carlsbad – 1-4:30pm
Burtech Family Vineyards – Miss Jenn – Vista – 3-6pm
One Paseo – David De Alva – Del Mar – 3-5pm
Del Mar Plaza – Ron's Garage Band – Del Mar – 5-7pm
Rancho Bernardo Inn – Kristi Krause – Rancho Bernardo – 5-9pm
Helix Brewing Co. – The Kaotics – La Mesa – 6-9pm
CoLab Public House – All Strung Out – Vista – 6-10pm
Dizzy's Jazz – Shunzo Ohno & Band – Bay Park – 8-11pm
The Roxy Encinitas – The M80's – Encinitas – 8:30-10:30pm
Mr. Peabody's Bar & Grill – The 005 – Encinitas – 9pm-12am
Moonshine Flats – Martin Mcdaniel – Gaslamp Quarter – 10pm-12am

The list has gotten too big! To see everything click the button…

🎤 Karaoke

American Legion Post 282 – Karaoke with Leslie – La Mesa – 6-9pm
Oceanside Elks Lodge 1561 – Karaoke w/ Sir Lou – Oceanside – 6-10pm
Junkyard Sports Bar & Grill – Karaoke – Oceanside – 7-9:30pm
Happy Does Bar – Karaoke – Gaslamp Quarter – 8:30pm-1:30am
Werewolf American Pub – Karaoke – East Village – 9pm-1am

🧠 Trivia

Communion / Paradis Cafe – Sunset Trivia – Mission Hills – 6-8pm
Dirty Birds - College Area – Sunset Trivia – College Area – 8-9pm

LandShark Bar & Grill – Day Drifters w/ Dylan's Steel Drum Duo – Gaslamp Quarter – 10am-1pm
Seasons Restaurant – Richard Galiguis – Carlsbad – 10am-1pm
The Landings at Carlsbad – Sheila Sondergard – Carlsbad – 11am-2pm
Fairmont Grand Del Mar – Ed Kornhauser – Del Mar – 12-3pm
Hungry Hawk Vineyards – John Patrick – Escondido – 2-5pm
Forgotten Barrel Winery – Will Fedak – Escondido – 2-5pm
The Kraken – The Crash Shouts – Cardiff – 4-8pm
Solterra Winery & Kitchen – John Lowery – Encinitas – 4:30-7:30pm
Tio Leo's Mexican Restaurant & Lounge – Sunday Night Jazz – Morena – 5-7pm
Kimball Bar & Grill – R-Tyme – National City – 5-8pm
Chandler's Oceanfront Dining – Alex Elisabeth – Carlsbad – 5-7pm
Panama 66 – Paul Smith Trio – Balboa Park – 5-7pm
Pala Casino Center Bar – Tribal Funk – Pala – 6-10:30pm
Plaza Del Sol – Blaise Guld – Mission Bay – 6-9pm
Humphreys Backstage Live – Burt Brion CD Release – Point Loma – 8-11pm

The list has gotten too big! To see everything click the button…

🎤 Karaoke

American Legion Post 282 – Karaoke with TerryOke – La Mesa – 5-8pm
Casino Inn Bar and Grill – Karaoke w/ Jess & Tony – Alpine – 5-10pm
The Salty Frog – Karaoke – Imperial Beach – 7pm-2am
710 Beach Club – Karaoke – Pacific Beach – 8pm-12am
Winstons OB – OBoke Karaoke – Ocean Beach – 8-11pm
Full Circle Saloon – Karaoke – Santee – 8:30-11:59pm
1st Street Bar – Karaoke Night – Encinitas – 9pm-12am
North Bar – Karaoke – Escondido – 9pm-1am
Pal Joey's – Karaoke with DJ Harvest – Allied Gardens – 9pm-1am
Werewolf American Pub – Karaoke – East Village – 9pm-1am

🧠 Trivia

Uvas Winery – Music Trivia w/ Laura Jane – Poway – 5-7pm
Eastbound Bar & Grill – Trivia – Lakeside – 6:30-8:30pm
Dirty Birds - LIberty Station – Sunset Trivia – Liberty Station – 8-9pm

*Some events may require tickets, reservations, cover charges, or be full/sold out, and we sometimes estimate the end time if not provided by the venue plus typos or errors can happen but we try our best!! …

Answer - C. 25 days

The Butterfield Overland Mail covered roughly 2,800 miles between the Mississippi River and San Francisco. To meet its government mail contract, the stagecoaches traveled around the clock, 24 hours a day, averaging roughly 100 miles a day.

Passengers ate and changed horses at stations along the route, including Oak Grove in San Diego County, but the stage kept moving day and night. The first westbound trip in 1858 actually beat the 25-day requirement, reaching San Francisco in just under 24 days.

Imagine spending nearly a month bouncing across 2,800 miles of mostly unpaved country in a stagecoach?

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San Diego Meteor is published every Friday morning by Steve DeLong. Steve is an Escondido High graduate and has lived in San Diego County since 1972.